About
Mark Schlipper

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The long version ...

I spent my youth in the obligatory bands of standard high school and early college quality, doing mostly originals, all variations on the rock theme. Playing bass primarily, but still playing a little guitar at home. All the while discovering more and more of the avant garde and jazz composers/players that would influence me most. Having a culturally aware, librarian, music major mom got me started young, from my early findings of Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis in her record collection, to seeing live performances of the Kronos Quartet, PDQ Bach, and even Miles himself. And somehow in the middle of this I read about John Cage. Thats when mom sent me to the library. She didnt want me to waste my money on the chance I found him as unlistenable as most. I didnt, and he became my biggest influence. I had a picture of him on my dorm room door because I was just that much of a geek. Cage taught me that there was no right or wrong in music, among other things. This led to more and more time in the library looking up the likes of Harry Partch, Terry Riley, Witold Lutoslawski, Shoenberg, Stockhausen, and others.

When I got to college I was studying audio engineering and falling more in love with the studio than I already had. And more out of love with conventional music theory, which spurred my dropping out after 2 1/2 years. My music at this point had strayed greatly from standard songwriting and had started to incorporate a great deal of signal processing and improvisation. My solo material had drifted away from standard instrumentation and toward the voices of broken electronics and obsolete technology. In parallel I had started experimenting with customization of instruments as well as building my own primitive ones, and I got my first (and still primary) drum set. During this time there were more bands as well as my solo endeavors. A sort of industrial/prog/death metal band, a cacophonous yet rhythmic improv duo, less extreme brands of improv and rock, and some etherial/world beat pop.

The most recent evolution of my solo self finds me with a guitar in hand, a looper at foot, and occasionally a table with a few antiques atop it. I've been gathering influences for years now and try and bring 'em all together. Creating a blend of ambient electronics, american roots, free improv, middle eastern folk, and 20th century avant garde.

-Mark