San Francisco-based Thomas Dimuzio is one of those unsung artistic figures whose influence and abilities have substantially outstripped his visibility. Composer, collaborator, experimental electronic musician, multi-instrumentalist, improvisor, sound designer and mastering engineer - Dimuzio has been busy doing his thing(s) since the late 1980's, but is still only known to a small circle of electronic music enthusiasts. A true sonic alchemist who can seemingly create music events out of almost anything, Dimuzio's listed sound sources on his various releases include everything from "modified 10 speed bicycle" and "resonating water pipe" to short-wave radios, field recordings, loops, samplers and even normal instruments such as clarinet and trumpet. And while his wide range of musical interests make it impossible to pin a label on him, Dimuzio clearly has an insider's knowledge of older experimental musical forms such as musique concrete and electroacoustic, as well as more current dark ambient, noise and post-techno styles.
Dimuzio’s pioneering and innovative use of live sampling, synthesis, signal processing, custom crossfade looping and algorithmic mixing fuels a synergy of man and machine in his live performances. Intercepted signal feeds from his collaborators, as well as wild sources of MIDI-controlled feedback, modular synthesizers, circuit-bent toys, ambient microphones on the streets, et al become integrated as sound sources within Dimuzio’s system of live interactive electronics. His music has been released internationally on labels including RéR Megacorp, RRRecords, Asphodel, No Fun Productions, Seeland, Isounderscore, Gench, Record Label Records, Odd Size Records, Sonoris and Melon Expander. Dimuzio’s studio-based releases include his critically acclaimed (All Music Guide Pick) debut LP HEADLOCK, his double CD masterwork Sonicism, potent early cassette works detailed on Louden, and Slew, his compilation of compilation tracks spanning 14 years. His live releases Mono::Poly, Markoff Process, and Gench Concert Archives document a large number of his solo concerts.
As a collaborator, Dimuzio works with numerous artists and ensembles such as Dimmer (with Joseph Hammer), Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Dan Burke/Illusion of Safety, Nick Didkovsky, ISIS, Negativland, David Lee Myers, Matmos, Wobbly, Poptastic, Due Process, 5uu's, Tom Cora, Mickey Hart, and Paul Haslinger. Among his numerous live collaborative releases are Golden State with Chris Cutler and Fred Frith, Quake and Dust with Chris Cutler, Hz and Upcoming Events with Dan Burke, Ice Cream Time with Nick Didkovsky and Arte Saxophone Quartett, and the double LP Remissions from Dimmer. Collaborative studio-based works include The Unveiling of Darkness with Voice of Eye, Ascent and The Shining Path from Dimmer, Uncertain Symmetry with David Lee Myers, Thigmotactic with Negativland, Poptastic: The Teen-Pop-Noise Virus with Chris Fitzpatrick, Combine I - XVIII and Combine XXIII - XXXV with Due Process, Hunger’s Teeth and Crisis In Clay with 5uu’s, and Dimuzio’s epic remix of ‘Holy Tears’ featured on Temporal and Not In Rivers But In Drops from ISIS.
Dimuzio has toured North America and Europe featuring performances at New Music Actuelle, Festival International de Music Actuelle de Victoriaville, Ultraschall, Knitting Factory, Tonic, Roulette, The Great American Music Hall, Issue Project Room, The Walker Center for the Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, NorCal NoiseFest, Spring Reverb Festival, Podewil, Kyma International Sound Symposium, High Zero Festival, Ende Tymes Festival of Liberation and Noise, The Garden of Memory, Outsound New Music Summit, Schindler House, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Eventworks, Obscure, The Western Front, Big Sur Experimental Music Festival, Activating the Medium, Mellon Institute, MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Exploratorium, and Whitney Museum of American Art.
As a mastering engineer, Dimuzio has worked with independent artists and labels through his own Gench Studios since the early 1990’s. Among his numerous clients are Matmos, Negativland, ISIS, AMM, Captain Ahab, Doctor Nerve, Psychic TV3, Xiu Xiu, Devin Hoff, GG Allin, KK Null, Joey P, Fred Frith, Scott Amendola, and many others. In his work as a sound designer, Dimuzio has worked with a number of synthesizer and processor manufacturers such as Kurzweil, Lexicon, and OSC to create custom presets and sample libraries, and he has collaborated with Fred Frith and Tom Cora, and the Rova Saxophone Quartet to create sound libraries for Rarefaction and Big Fish Audio. Dimuzio also continues to play a key role in the development of Avid’s industry standard Pro Tools HD recording and mixing system, as he has for the past 20 years.
Recent projects include participation in The $100 Guitar Project (Bridge Records, 2013) which finds Dimuzio among guitar luminaries Mike Keneally, Nels Cline, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, Keith Rowe and many others. The future also holds many new and exciting projects including the release of a guitar-intensive double LP for Drone Records Substantia Innominata series. A recent spate of east coast concerts found Dimuzio performing Ice Cream Time with Nick Didkovsky and the Prism Saxophone Quartet. Also look for new recordings with Dan Burke of Illusion of Safety, as well as a studio collaboration from afar with Anla Courtis. Remixes and new tracks are also in the works for Sikhara, and Kreamy ‘Lectric Santa, and Zephabet, among others.
Contact Thomas Dimuzio: dimuzio at gench.com
portions of the above text by William Tilland, All Music Guide