Ciciliani (b.1970) is a composer, music theorist and musician (electronics). As a performer, he specialises in the no-input mixing board. Originally from Zagreb in Croatia, Ciciliani trained in New York, Hamburg and The Hague, both studying for formal academic qualifications in composition, and performing in improv and pop contexts. Ciciliani has lived in Amsterdam since 1996.
Ciciliani's primary performance medium is the mixing board sans instruments, using only feedback from the machine itself. The abstruse practice of playing a no-input mixer has, in recent years, become something of a staple of the improv scene. But unlike that other well known minimalist master of no-input, Toshimaru Nakamura, Ciciliani gives very textured performances, allowing the cross-interference of feedback from the circuits grow into complex patterns. He juggles conflicting waves of sound; the knob twiddling is often projected onto a screen, allowing the audience to see Ciciliani’s delicate manipulations close-up. He’s performed on the no-input mixer with Fred Frith, Gordon Mumma, Jaap Blonk, Axel Dörner and Sachiko M, amongst others.
In 2006 Ciciliani founded the group
Bakin Zub, an ensemble of musicians assembled to play Ciciliani’s compositions. The group consists of, usually, five musicians from varied backgrounds:
Ulrich Krieger – sax and didgeridoo;
Barbara Lüneburg – violin, viola and electric violin;
Michael Blank – electric guitar;
Pascal Plantinga – voice, electric bass;
Arnold Marinissen – percussion and singing and Ciciliani himself on no-input mixer and electronics. In April 2007 Bakin Zub premiered and toured the multimedia work
My Ultradeep I, a concert performance instrumental music with live electronic processing, light as a compositional element and textile sculptures developed by the Japanese artist Kyoko Inatome.
As a composer, Ciciliani has written for orchestra, ensembles, solo works and sound installations, often including live-electronics and multi-media elements such as light, video or cartoons. He has written for ensembles such as ASKO, ensemble Intégrales, Zeitkratzer, Orkest de Volharding, Interzone Perceptible, MAE and others. As a theorist, Ciciliani regularly gives
lectures and seminars at universities in the USA, Australia and Europe, and is currently working on a PhD at London’s Brunel University.
Ciciliani's music has been played all over Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia and has been presented at festivals such as Wien Modern, Huddersfield, Bregenzer Festspiele, Zagreb Biennale, ISCM World Music Days, Gaudeamus, Forum Neuer Musik Deutschlandfunk, Novembermusic, Open Systems, Roaring Hooves Mongolia, Das Neue Werk NDR Hamburg, Música a Metrňnom/Barcelona.
> Website Marko Ciciliani
> Marko Ciciliani on Myspace
Appearances:
> CTM.08 > ANTICIPATING UNPREDICTABILITY
