Minneapolis-based drummer/composer Emma Garau earned a BFA in jazz and contemporary music from UNC Asheville while studying independently with Dave King of The Bad Plus, and touring extensively with Fortezza, which she co-founded in 2016. Emma currently tours and records with art punk duo, ¿WATCHES?, and as a solo artist. She has also performed and/or recorded with Powderhorns, Grace Christian X, Ghosting Merit, Ice Climber, Davina and the Vagabonds, Brandon Wozniak, Erik Fratzke, Brian Nichols, Chris Bates, and Geologist (of Animal Collective). She endorses 651 Drums. Emma’s solo performances stem from her first solo record, Birds Don’t Perch Here, reimagined as a live, improvised performance. Built around an exploration of rhythmic and tonal textures on drum set, they combine elements of soundscape, free jazz, and electronic music into a performance that oscillates between deceptively delicate and unapologetically dissonant.

Aaron Otheim is a keyboardist and composer from Bremerton, WA, now based near Los Angeles. After studying classical and jazz piano at University of Washington, Aaron dove headlong into Seattle’s verdant experimental community, co-founding the Racer Sessions and cultivating his voice as a versatile improviser and imaginative arranger with projects like ((speak)), Heatwarmer, and Burn List. Aaron’s collaborators seek him out for both his spontaneity and openness, particularly his knack for finding throughlines that cut across genre or discipline. More recently, Aaron has worked with Mega Bog, Karl Blau, Molly Lewis, Jodie Landau, and Fleet Foxes. Fans of PNW avant-pop groups Heatwarmer and Mega Bog will recognize pianist Aaron Otheim’s playful, Fabergé-like style in his latest original works, where classical and folk-inspired forms intertwine with electronic textures evoking the music of Mort Garson, Wendy Carlos, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Curated for Nonsequitur‘s NonSeq series by Christopher Icasiano.