Coyote Oldman

Michael Graham Allen and Barry Stramp, operating as Coyote Oldman, weave technology together with music and cultural traditions to produce an ageless yet singular sound. Drawing on worldwide flute heritage, the pair applies a forward-looking perspective and studio craftsmanship that adds inventive resonance to each release. The project takes its title from the trickster figure of Native American mythology and from Allen’s personal flute-making venture. The two first connected in 1981 at an Oklahoma City crafts fair, where Allen displayed his hand-crafted instruments. Their mutual fascination with what was then an under-explored corner of musical history soon grew into lasting friendship and artistic collaboration. Allen’s long immersion in flute research, construction, and performance balances Stramp’s conservatory schooling on concert flute and his command of recording techniques. Within Coyote Oldman’s work, Japanese and Indian flutes, Incan pan-pipes, ocarinas, and Native American pipes converge inside fresh electronic environments. Allen supplies the compositions and flute performances while Stramp contributes production mastery, allowing virtual ensembles of traditional and hybrid flutes to merge with keyboards and guitar in contemporary pieces distinguished by their lingering, luminous quality.