Y2k25 Performers

  • Jeff Kaiser – USA

    Jeff Kaiser – USA

    AllAboutJazz.com describes a Jeff Kaiser live performance as a “manic, hallucinogenic joyride through time, space and tonal distortions. He took some of the extended techniques of Lester Bowie and Bill Dixon, and stretched them past the breaking point. He would bend a note, transpose it to an impossible octave, and then send it spinning around…

    Read more: Jeff Kaiser – USA
  • James Sidlo

    James Sidlo

    James has been looping for approximately 25 years using various guitars (baritone, fretless, bass and 8 string/baritone double neck guitar to name a few and various processing. James has performed and/orrecorded with musical bands Crevice, Pseudo Buddha, DreamLand and Honey Barbara. Warren Rivera and James recorded in a Blue Star Art Complex silo. The subsequent release “Silo 10” exploited the natural reverb found that…

    Read more: James Sidlo
  • Ireri Mejia Almonte

    Ireri Mejia Almonte

    Ireri Almonte is an indie folk singer-songwriter, multidisciplinary artist, and multi-instrumentalist originally from Morelia, Michoacán. Her musical approach establishes a dialogue between the traditional and the contemporary, presenting an innovative live-looping show that maintains Latin American sonic roots while taking them to new experimental territories. With instruments such as the charango, guitar, cuatro, leona, and…

    Read more: Ireri Mejia Almonte
  • R Duck – USA

    R Duck – USA

    R Duck is a Northern California-based artist and radio host, known for his engaging performances and captivating radio programs in the Bay Area. When not on air, he roams the countryside, seeking out unique sound and vision sculptures while enjoying thoughtfully crafted, sensible meal plans. Like being the Walmart greeter for live improvised electronic music…

    Read more: R Duck – USA
  • Bill Walker – USA

    Bill Walker – USA

    Bill Walker is a guitarist of uncommon stylistic range who blends a world of influences in to a unique and lyrical personal voice. His solo performance creates a rich tapestry of layered sounds, blending electric and acoustic guitars, lap steel guitars, and percussive guit-boxing techniques, with state of the art live looping techniques and sound…

    Read more: Bill Walker – USA
  • Rick Walker – USA

    Rick Walker – USA

    Live looping artist Rick Walker is an electronic music composer, percussionist, trapset drummer, multi-instrumentalist and found sound musician. “I am a found sound/live looping/abstract electronica/world percussionist/drummer/lo fi toy digital video filmaker/multi media inventor living in Northern California with my wife, the talented multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, Chris Wedertz. I’m a found sound/live looping/abstract electronica/multi-instrumentalist who specializes…

    Read more: Rick Walker – USA
  • Hideki Nakanishi – Japan

    Hideki Nakanishi – Japan

    Live looping  guitar ,mandolin, et al. Player, luthier Nara Japan Hideki uses most of him time in his Sol Anemo workshop  building special order handcrafted stringed instruments for superior musicians with a fine touch. And when that touch comes to music, he creates compositions using multiple looping pedals and one electric instrument – mandolin or…

    Read more: Hideki Nakanishi – Japan
  • Dominika Belanska – Slovakia

    Dominika Belanska – Slovakia

    I am a tree with diverse fruits: an artist, poetess, singer-songwriter, dancer and creative facilitator. I grew up in the middle of Europe and was trained as an architect, but what I build nowadays is rather relationShips. I reconnect people with themselves, their community and the place they inhabit. The power of art is that it…

    Read more: Dominika Belanska – Slovakia
  • Luci Alter – Mexico

    Luci Alter – Mexico

    Luci Alter, originally from Querétaro, Mexico, fuses sonic experimentation and creativity in real time. Using tools such as a synthesizer and a looper, and with the voice as the main instrument, she creates complex and immersive musical layers. The project is distinguished by its exploration of new forms of performance, where the voice plays a…

    Read more: Luci Alter – Mexico
  • George Demarest – USA

    George Demarest – USA

    George Demarest earned degrees in trumpet performance and computer science from the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, studying trumpet with Raymond Mase of the American Brass Quintet. He has performed with the Cincinnati Ballet, Carmen McRea, the Santa Cruz Symphony, Ensemble Monterey, New Music Works and many others. He regularly records and performs in the…

    Read more: George Demarest – USA
  • MORTICAI – USA

    MORTICAI – USA

    Morticai, the creative persona of sound designer and musician Jeddy Grant, immerses audiences in ambient soundscapes and ethereal rhythmic melodies that transcend genre. Making use of bass and baritone guitars along with an array of effect pedals, Morticai weaves intricate, nonlinear compositions that transport listeners to realms of introspection and empathy. Their latest album, “Please…

    Read more: MORTICAI – USA
  • Rejyna – USA

    Rejyna – USA

    Festival Headliner. A multidisciplinary sound, visual and word artist, enticing inspiration from fortuity and improvisation and assembling them onto paper, photo, video and sound recordings. Rejyna’s lyrics, drawings, songs and stories are the foundation of a dozen releases by prog folk/symphonic metal band, Citadel. She’s an endorsed DigiTech artist, referred to as a JamMan guru…

    Read more: Rejyna – USA
  • Bob Amstadt – USA

    Bob Amstadt – USA

    Bass player, Looping inventor: drawn to bass guitar 30 years ago, and the new wave/punk/post-punk (now termed dark wave) musical styles before that, Bob was intrigued by what could be done with the early looping technologies. In 1994, he decided to create his own looping technology based on his own needs. This is now known…

    Read more: Bob Amstadt – USA
  • Joey Fabian

    Joey Fabian

    Joey is a San Francisco Bay Area bassist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, composer, producer/engineer/editor and bass/guitar instructor. His performance credits include critically acclaimed fusion unit The Bartron Tyler Group, BMA nominated blues singer Paula Harris, pop star Alana Davis and guitar hero Will Ray of The Hellecasters. He currently tours with The Stinkfoot Orchestra; a 14 piece tribute to…

    Read more: Joey Fabian
  • POM-LYF

    POM-LYF

    A Multi Instrument player/Percussionist Sound Designer who only knows Drums and Frequency as a second language. Sonic Journeys into the Realms Unknown or Tranquil Uplifting Downtempo to Keep it Mellow. POM-LYF will take you There!

    Read more: POM-LYF
  • Bob Burnett

    Bob Burnett

    7 string guitarist Bob Burnett has shared the stage with Google Co-founder Larry Page, Emeril, David Lindley, Tony Curtis and Bruce Willis and was a regular on Kid’s Clubhouse KTEH TV. He is also featured in “Pele Voodoo Live!: A Rockumentary”, the Annie Steinhardt book based on life on the road with popular Santa Cruz…

    Read more: Bob Burnett
  • Give In – aka George Cochrane

    Give In – aka George Cochrane

    Writing music live is quite a magic trick, and one that George Cochrane (AKA Give In) is always evolving. After years of meticulous studio work, Give In was tired of spending 40+ hours on a song. As a long-term “live PA” artist in the Bay Area electronic music scene, his eyes soon turned to that…

    Read more: Give In – aka George Cochrane
  • John Lester aka Bass Bureaucracy

    John Lester aka Bass Bureaucracy

    Bassist/vocalist John Lester has been utilizing live looping since the late ‘90’s when he won his first “Song of the Year” award from West Coast Songwriters for “The Ways of a Woman”. That song was performed on fretless 6-string bass using a Line 6 DL-4 for looping. Over 20 years later John’s live looping project…

    Read more: John Lester aka Bass Bureaucracy
  • Third Wave

    Third Wave

    Rick Walker – Gary Regina – Bill Walker Rick Walker (who coined the term ‘Live Looping’), founded the group that had the first monthly live looping gig in world history in 1995 for a year long monthly tenure at Mobo Sushi in Santa Cruz, California. The festival celebrates it’s first official 25 year celebration next…

    Read more: Third Wave
  • Chatt3r aka John Connell – USA

    Chatt3r aka John Connell – USA

    Chatt3r aka John Connell  is an electronic/experimental/live looping musician from Santa Cruz, CA. John infuses his modular synth & iOS sound design with many influences, including the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, early industrial music, and UK Bass. John has performed at the Y2K International Live Looping Festival in Santa Cruz since 2008, and has has been…

    Read more: Chatt3r aka John Connell – USA
  • David Leikam – USA

    David Leikam – USA

    David Leikam, SFBA-based improv composer-performer and sonic architect. Being born with cerebral palsy has affected his body and speech, giving him a distinct view into his creative arts/music process and being largely a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Studied music composition-improv at CalArts primarily with Wadada Leo Smith (BFA 2001, MFA 2006). https://linktr.ee/davidleikam /

    Read more: David Leikam – USA
  • Alison Hughey

    Alison Hughey

    Interactive live looping influenced by music therapy, world music, and classical music featuring flute, strings, voice, and percussion Raised on Pink Floyd and old Baptist hymns, Alison Hughey has been surrounded by music all her life. Learning to play flute in middle school ‘hooked’ her into music, leading her to study flute performance at Converse…

    Read more: Alison Hughey
  • Eliud Ernandes – Mexico

    Eliud Ernandes – Mexico

    Festival Headliner. Eliud Ernandes began his artistic training at the young age of four years old. He has received awards and recognition from institutions such as Yamaha in Mexico and Japan, the Consulate of Mexico in Houston, Texas, the office of Master Leo Brouwer in Havana, Cuba, and the Mayor’s Office of Santa Cruz, California.…

    Read more: Eliud Ernandes – Mexico
  • Mikko Biffle – USA

    Mikko Biffle – USA

    The nine-year-old son of a rabble rousing, ukelele playing Mother, I had begged for a drum set for months, having fallen in love with Sandy Nelson’s song, “Let There Be Drums”. That very same year, I joyously discovered a set of drums on Christmas day and proceeded to drIve my Mother absolutely mad the following…

    Read more: Mikko Biffle – USA
  • David Tristram – Visuals

    David Tristram – Visuals

    David Tristram is an experimental musician and visualist.  David has provided visuals for the Y2K International Live Looping Festival for many years using custom software and instruments of his own design.  His live improvisational electronic ambient music ensemble Autumnal Rune performs regularly, and he releases music as Ancient Sponge.  David has worked internationally and with…

    Read more: David Tristram – Visuals
  • Ryan Price – USA

    Ryan Price – USA

    Ryan Price is a multi-instrumentalist out of Santa Cruz, CA who has melded an array of genres spanning from Funk, to R&B, to Jazz and on into a unique style of his own. He is known for looping bass, guitar, vocals, and percussion all on the spot in front of a live audience. www.facebook.com/RyanPriceGrooves Ryan…

    Read more: Ryan Price – USA