Ben Neill

Trumpeter Ben Neill forged connections between ambient textures and avant-garde experimentation by inventing the mutantrumpet, an electro-acoustic instrument that fuses conventional brass with synthesized elements. Originally from North Carolina and grounded in classical studies, he settled in New York City in the mid-1980s and entered the downtown experimental community. There he pursued minimalism under La Monte Young and, working with synthesizer innovator Robert Moog, constructed the initial version of the mutantrumpet, equipping it with three bells, six valves, a trombone slide, and analog processing that generated a wide array of open, muted, and electronic timbres.

In 1984 he finished Orbs, his first substantial score for mutantrumpet, percussion, and projected visuals; subsequent pieces such as Mainspring from 1985, Money Talk from 1987, and Abblasen House from 1988 preceded his pivotal ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion), realized in 1989 with visual artist David Wojnarowicz. The following year he visited Amsterdam’s Steim Studios to create a MIDI-equipped successor; the revised instrument added switches, knobs, and pressure-sensitive pads that enabled real-time control of sounds, sequences, lighting, and projections. After Haydn, a joint project with electronic composer Nicolas Collins, appeared in 1991.

Neill then spent six years directing programming at the downtown New York venue The Kitchen, an appointment that introduced him to the expanding electronic-music community. While presenting concerts by figures ranging from John Cage to Jim O’Rourke to Future Sound of London, he absorbed club-oriented influences and became especially drawn to the city’s “illbient” movement. Conceived initially as an installation and performance work, his 1995 album Green Machine developed instead into a dance-oriented release featuring 12-inch remixes by Single Cell Orchestra and DJ Spooky. Spooky reappeared on the 1996 album Triptycal, and throughout much of 1997 Neill performed alongside both Spooky and video-sampling artist Gardner Post on the “Sci-Fi Lounge” tour. Following the 1998 release Goldbug, Neill remained largely inactive until 2002, when Volkswagen commercial scores were compiled into the album Automotive. He subsequently wrote music for television, film, theater, and museum installations. A redesign of the mutantrumpet begun in 2004 reached completion in 2008; that same year he initiated a partnership with LEMUR (the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots), both developments culminating in Night Science, issued in September 2009. He also took up teaching and shared billing with Mimi Goese on the 2011 album Songs for Persephone.