About Me
Jan Pienkowski - U & I
01. Fryderyk and I
02. Old Skool
03. Hi Skool
04. Liu's Theme feat. Karin Coté
05. Pipe Dream
06. Film
07. Hacking The Human Hard Drive
08. Wandering Transmission
09. Oedipus Rex
10. Drive
11. Final Curtain
Purchasing info and song previews available at Ono Records in the Music section.
U & I features 11 songs spanning a mix of techno, electro and classical music.
The classical influences include Chopin, Puccini, Satie, Schubert and Stravinsky. Fryderyk and I is a play on Fryderyk Chopin's Nocturne in Bb min, Op.9 No.1. The song reflects a dream where a piano note is suspended in time. Liu's Theme, sung by soprano Karin Côté, explores the "Signore, Ascolta" aria from Giacomo Puccini's Turandot opera - where Liu attempts to dissuade the prince she loves from taking Turandot's three riddle challenge. Pipe Dream is very loosely based on Erik Satie's 1st Gnossienne, contrasting the original piece's subtlety and gentleness with machine-like sounds and rhythms. Wandering Transmission catches the lost waves carrying Franz Schubert's Der Wanderer, while Oedipus Rex explores the rise and fall of Sophocles' tragic character through a mix of snippets from Stravinsky's opera oratorio of the same name.
Next Event:
Bio
A composer, musician, sound designer, DJ, physicist, and owner of ONO Records, Jan Pienkowski writes and performs music reflecting his diverse background. From his Electroacoustic training and love of World Music comes a mixture of mechanical bleeps, acoustic spaces and ethnic themes. From his theatre (DIALOG) and dance (A.R.M. with choreographer Nikolas Dixon) experience comes a flair for the dramatic and a feel for intricate rhythms.
Jans performances span Canada, U.S., France and Hong Kong. His 2005 Shiva project with VJ Nokami has been shown at festivals in India, Thailand, Germany, UK, Austria, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, USA and Canada.
Jan has been also very active on the Montreal scene with shows at:
Festivals
2009 Montreal Nuit Blanche
2008 Toronto Nuit Blanche
2008 Fantasia Film Festival
2008 Quebec City's 400th Anniversary
2008 Montreal Nuit Blanche
2007 Festival du nouveau cinéma
2007 IDE
2007 Festival TransAmériques
2007 Elektra
2007 Design Montreal
2007 Les Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois
2006 Festival du nouveau cinéma
2006 Fantasia Film Festival
2006 Mutek
2006 Montreal Nuit Blanche - Elektra / SHARE evening
2006 Les Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois
2005 Festival du nouveau cinéma
2005 Montreal High Lights Festival - Nuit Blanche
2004 Black and Blue Festival
2004 Fantasia Film Festival
2004 Fringe/ Pop Festival
2004 Agora Festif
2004 Hot and Dry / Tangente
2003 Divers/Cité Festival
Clubs and Venues
SAT - Current Residency
Les Pas Sages - Current Monthly Residency
Place Des Arts
Just For Laughs Theatre
National Film Board
Tangente Theatre
Le Medley
Aria
Living
Exit
Nexxt
Parking Lounge
Saphir
Mile End
U Lounge
Luba Lounge
Main Hall
Green Room
Momentos
Utopia
Cafe Utopik
Casa Del Popolo
Le Sugar
Le Swimming
Jans Live and DJ mixes have landed him spots as featured artist on New Yorks Proton Radio, Chicagos Clubland Underground, Chicagos 92.5 FM and Montreals CKUT 90.3 FM.
Jan is constantly expanding on what it means to be an electronic musician by collaborating with soloists (saxophone, violin, voice), visual artists, painters and dancers. He organises evenings and performs often at SAT, with a range of shows including: the first Technopera (Turandot) with the singers from the Atelier lyrique de lOpéra de Monréal; Incidents improvisés, blending Schubert and Chopin with electronic structures.
His current projects include:
ONO Records ( onorecords.com ) - Jan's music label.
WE ARE ROBOTS ( wearerobots.ca ) - ONO Records events featuring some of the finest minimal-tech DJs and VJs.
SAT[MixSessions] - Jan's involved in organizing Thursday evenings at the SAT (Society for Arts and Technology) as a platform for live music - video performances and interactions.
A.R.M. - with choreographer Nikolas Dixon, Jan writes, produces and performs multidisciplinary works featuring dance, music, video and lighting for various large scale events.
Pink Rubber Lady - Pink Rubber Lady is a Montreal based film maker and VJ with whom Jan is currently collaborating - writing music for her short films and performing together live as a music/video duo.
