SIKHARA

Sikhara exists in a constant state of motion,
claiming no land as home. This rotating members
project, lead by Scott Nydegger was co-founded by
drummer Sam Lohman and synth player Paul Beauchamp in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1999. Since then,
Sikhara have gone on to perform over 300 concerts in
The US, Europe and Japan.
Utilizing both machinery and acoustic elements,
Sikhara creates a disturbed enviroment of ritualistic
sound. Manipulated sources of primitive voices are
collaged into a hypnotic new language, which melds
instinctively with animalistic tribal percussion.
Numerous Sikhara releases are available on cd and
vinyl, but from conception, it is foremost a live
band. On stage, Sikhara manifests itself in a trance
induced mayhem, blurring the lines between the music
and the audience.
Having given concerts in a variety of
conventional venues such as clubs theaters and
galleries, a constant theme of Sikhara is to seek out
somehow extraordinary locales. Amongst the examples of
these events are: Directly next door to the police
station in the bustling Taxim district of Istanbul,
Turkey, deep within the tunnels of a Polish coal mine,
an abandoned metro passage underneath the city of
Linz, Austria, and within the 1400 year old Zenjouki
Temple near Kobe, Japan. For this session, they were
joined by the master monk of the temple, who was born
55 years earlier in the same room.
Sikhara's growing work with non-profit and
cultural organizations has opened the opportunity to
gain an audience outside the realm of night-life
concert goers. Sikhara have appeared on multiple
events of Slovenia's DMRK collective, Portland's 2
Gyrlz Performative Arts and in city funded venues such
as Lisbon, Portugal's Fiera do Livro, Bratislava,
Slovakia's Dubravka an the Palais de Tokyo inside the
Paris Museum of Modern Art.
At the beginning of 2004, Sikhara relocated to Europe
for a period of about 2 years, establishing an
international line-up as an American, French and
Portuguese trio with Gustavo Costa and Yann
Geoffriaud. In the duration of this stay, Sikhara
performed nearly 100 times in 16 countries, as well as
recording the material featured in the concerts, for
the cd "Bardos State".
In the coming months, Sikhara will expand the scope
of their travel, to include yet unvisited countries and regions.

Scott Nydegger

In addition to his work with Sikhara, Scott Nydegger
occupies himself with a wide variety of activity,
having toured with such acts as Steve Mackay's Radon
Ensemble (a rotating band for which Nydegger serves as
a musical director) Damo Suzuki's Network,
Mecanosphere, Master Musicians of Hop-Frog and Temple
of Bon Matin. These numerous collaborations have been
documented by such labels as Bar La Muerte (Italy)
Chrome Peeler (New York) Samboat (France) and Bulb
(USA).
In the studio, he has worked as an engineer, producer
and guest musician including projects such as Steve
Mackay's Michigan and Arcturus, the USA is a Monster
cdr Weedblood, and co-producing a series of
releases in co-operation with the Fonoteca Municpal
Lisboa.

Yann Geofriaud

A permanent member for the past 2 years, Geoffriaud
earned a reputation as one of Europe's fastest drummers
during his time with fast core unit George Bitch Jr. Before
their implosion, the group became one of the most recognized
bands in the genre, giving memorable performances on
some of central Europe's most important festivals.
For his infusion into the sound of Sikhara, he has adapted
techniques including double kick bass drum into an
un-categorizable style that has shaped the very nature of
Sikhara's current sound.