Biography
Miguel Fierro operates Single Cell Orchestra within the dynamic experimental electronic scene of the San Francisco Bay Area, a circle that earlier yielded Spacetime Continuum, Heavenly Music Corporation, Ambient Temple of Imagination, Jon Williams, and Charles Uzzell-Edwards. Across electronica’s spectrum he moves from the direct club tracks associated with his Zoe Magick output through the expansive ambient-electro of his Reflective material to the mid-tempo atmospheric pieces on his 1996 Asphodel debut, always centering rhythm, texture, and atmosphere.
The son of a jazz drummer, Fierro absorbed post-bop and 1970s recordings by Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis before beginning production on a friend’s inexpensive keyboard. After brief involvement with several bands, both electronic and otherwise, he chose an independent route, prompted by his brother, a working DJ, to explore freestyle and house.
His earliest material surfaced on the established West Coast dance imprint Zoe Magick; the cut “Transmit Liberation,” taken from the Liberated EP, became an underground staple and foreshadowed the laid-back instrumental trip-hop later linked with Mo’Wax, Wall of Sound, and Cup of Tea. He next aligned with Jonah Sharp’s Reflective label, which issued the Angelic Science EP in 1994 and the full-length sci-fi electro opera Dead Vent 7 the following year.
The self-titled Asphodel long-player of 1996 returned to the warm breakbeat flavor of “Transmit Liberation,” featured on the album, while adding house and a leaner strain of environmental ambient. Most recently Fierro joined Daum Bentley of Freaky Chakra for a high-energy electro project captured after a run of live improvisational shows staged in a “Vs.” format.
The son of a jazz drummer, Fierro absorbed post-bop and 1970s recordings by Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis before beginning production on a friend’s inexpensive keyboard. After brief involvement with several bands, both electronic and otherwise, he chose an independent route, prompted by his brother, a working DJ, to explore freestyle and house.
His earliest material surfaced on the established West Coast dance imprint Zoe Magick; the cut “Transmit Liberation,” taken from the Liberated EP, became an underground staple and foreshadowed the laid-back instrumental trip-hop later linked with Mo’Wax, Wall of Sound, and Cup of Tea. He next aligned with Jonah Sharp’s Reflective label, which issued the Angelic Science EP in 1994 and the full-length sci-fi electro opera Dead Vent 7 the following year.
The self-titled Asphodel long-player of 1996 returned to the warm breakbeat flavor of “Transmit Liberation,” featured on the album, while adding house and a leaner strain of environmental ambient. Most recently Fierro joined Daum Bentley of Freaky Chakra for a high-energy electro project captured after a run of live improvisational shows staged in a “Vs.” format.
Albums
