Biography
Since the late '80s Tim Perkis has been linked to recordings of avant-garde improvisation that incorporate live electronics, yet his multifaceted contributions to society extend well beyond knob-twiddling. He has characterized his path as a "checkered career as a researcher and engineer," during which he created science and music museum displays for venues in San Francisco, Toronto, and Seattle, engineered robotic mechanisms for running auctions, advised the San Francisco Art Commission and the San Francisco airport on multimedia art projects, and developed novel equipment for video and sound production along with assorted devices grouped under the expanded rubric of "scientific experimental apparati."
Though the last of these endeavors might suggest an engaging occupation, the achievements enumerated above remain conceptually related yet distinctly separate from Perkis's work as a performer. He ranks among the most compelling live electronic and computer sound artists whose pieces have appeared across the preceding two decades in the leading experimental centers of North America, Europe, and Japan. Perkis himself supplied a description that, if one accepts that a non-tedious performance can be said to "have life," avoids the customary inflated grant language: "His (Perkis') work has largely been concerned with exploring the emergence of lifelike properties in complex systems of interaction."
Performers interested in both complexity and interaction have therefore sought his collaboration. He has appeared and recorded with pianist Chris Brown, saxophonist John Butcher, guitarist Fred Frith, percussionist Gino Robair, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and numerous additional musicians. He has also founded or co-founded groups including the League of Automatic Music Composers, the Hub, Rotodoti, the Natto Trio, and the ensemble Fuzzybunny. In addition to his laboratory activities, Perkis has written about the field for The Computer Music Journal, Leonardo, and Electronic Musician. He has served as composer-in-residence at Mills College in Oakland, CA, where he makes his home.
Though the last of these endeavors might suggest an engaging occupation, the achievements enumerated above remain conceptually related yet distinctly separate from Perkis's work as a performer. He ranks among the most compelling live electronic and computer sound artists whose pieces have appeared across the preceding two decades in the leading experimental centers of North America, Europe, and Japan. Perkis himself supplied a description that, if one accepts that a non-tedious performance can be said to "have life," avoids the customary inflated grant language: "His (Perkis') work has largely been concerned with exploring the emergence of lifelike properties in complex systems of interaction."
Performers interested in both complexity and interaction have therefore sought his collaboration. He has appeared and recorded with pianist Chris Brown, saxophonist John Butcher, guitarist Fred Frith, percussionist Gino Robair, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and numerous additional musicians. He has also founded or co-founded groups including the League of Automatic Music Composers, the Hub, Rotodoti, the Natto Trio, and the ensemble Fuzzybunny. In addition to his laboratory activities, Perkis has written about the field for The Computer Music Journal, Leonardo, and Electronic Musician. He has served as composer-in-residence at Mills College in Oakland, CA, where he makes his home.
Albums