Karen Stackpole: solo ~~~~~~ Vorticella: Brenda Hutchinson, Krys Bobrowski, Erin Espeland, Karen Stackpole ~~~~~~ Ghost in the House: David Michalak, Kyle Bruckman, Tom Nunn, Karen Stackpole ~~~~~~ Euphonics: Aidan McIntyre, Karen Stackpole~~~~~Remora: Erik Larson, Adam Thompson, Dimitri Luedemann, Brian Chamberlin, Karen Stackpole~~~~~~Cheryl E. Leonard's Ensemble: Cheryl E. Leonard, A.L. Dentel, Karen Stackpole~~~~~~The Bay Area Chamber Symphony~~~~~Sabbaticus Rex: Cornelius Boots, Karen Stackpole, Mark Deutsch
Influences
Bill Bruford, Pierre Favre, Max Roach, Ed Mann, Gino Robair, King Crimson, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Evelyn Glennie, Danny Carey, Abe Cunningham, Terry Bozzio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Steve Reich, Moe! Staiano, Morton Feldman, Arvo Part, Michael Bettine.
Karen Stackpole, Dielectric Records:
Lush, huge dynamics ranging from chiming, piercing, scraping metallic rings to the rumbling deep bass of gongs and toms to challenge any sub-woofer. Solid and subtle electro-acoustic improvisations feature over 30 percussive instruments. Overall, sonic artistry made with love and care.
- XLR8R Magazine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole (Bay Area) solo gongs:
Karen Stackpole brings an entirely different approach to 'percussion'. Her work with gongs and other metal can be both meditative and jarring.
"Gongs and resonance are the calling. Small distinct sounds (a la insect music) and use of silence and space rank high also."
- Seattle Improvised Music Festival ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole's percussion is truly striking, memorable to anyone who has seen her perform: she uses very few of the elements of the traditional drum kit, instead relying heavily on a variety of "ethnic" instruments such as gongs, Tibetan prayer bowels, and Vietnamese wooden instruments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole - Metal Work, Music for Gongs:
Karen Stackpole is a local musician with an impressive collection of exotic percussion instruments. Here on this disk on the Limited Sedition label, she's focusing solely on metal gong sounds. Excellent, spacey mood music...
- KZSU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole - Metal Work, Music for Gongs:
By releasing an entire CD devoted to nothing but gong play, Stackpole asks that we journey with her to the hammered bronze alter. Metalwork just might make you join the cult. Metalwork is all of a piece. Everything moves at a stately ceremonial pace, each giant stride measured by the metals harmonic reverberations. A trove of secrets is slowly, softly revealed.
- The Wire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole is one of the foremost experimental musicians working with large metal, especially large gongs.
- High Zero Experimental Music Festival, Baltimore, MD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Stackpole
solo percussion
Metalwork: Music for Gongs (2000) leaves no mind unblown. This San Francisco-based drummer/percussionist specializes in gongs and soundscapes. In her explorations of metals, she has cultivated some special techniques for drawing harmonics out of tam tams with various implements: rubber mallets, felt and yarn mallets, ball chains, cello bow, kitchen utinsels, and other small objects. In addition to solo work, Stackpole currently performs and records with the improvising quartet Vorticella, the Left Coast Improv group, Ghost in the House, and gongs/metal duo Euphonics. Active in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles creative music scenes, she has collaborated with Gino Robair, Jack Wright, Myles Boisen, John Shiurba, Chris Heenan, Steve Roden, Rod Poole, Tucker Dulin, and John Schott among others. Given the gallery's dynamic acoustics, this is not one to miss.
- The Renaissance Society, Chicago, IL
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On probably our favorite of the first four Dielectric releases, Karen Stackpole employs an elaborate arsenal of percussion instruments: lots of gongs as well as cymbals, tibetan bowls, Thai tuned gongs, wind-up toys, music boxes, metal rods, dried bean pods and more. These are all played, rubbed, pounded, bowed, and struck to create a dense but spacious ambient soundscape of thunderous low end, rumbling ripples that wash lugubriously outward, as high-end shimmers and squeaks nestle alongside clatter and tinkle and splashes of percussive splatter. Gorgeous and thick, noisy and hypnotic, drony and transcendental, somewhere between 20th century classical, the stumbing free-rhythm workouts of No Neck Blues Band or Sunburned Hand Of The Man, and the dreamy upper register Ur-drone of Sunroof! or Vibracathedral Orchestra. So nice!
- Aquarius Records
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metal metal metal!
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