Aron Portoleki, Tom Mudd

A sonic odyssey of extreme brilliance! Computer musician Tom Mudd and Hungarian percussionist/violist Áron Porteleki navigate the liminal space between the virtual and the corporeal with ferocious intelligence. Recorded live at NEXT Festival 2022 in Bratislava, this rambling and consistently surprising collaboration bridges divergent sonic landscapes with rare intensity.

Mudd's impossible virtual instruments - simulated guitar using the NESS physical modelling code - intertwine seamlessly with Porteleki's skittery percussive outbursts and kontra (three-stringed viola) explorations. The result is an elusive tapestry of rhythms, patterns, and textures that transcends boundaries. Think David Tudor's cybernetic experiments meeting Derek Bailey's fretboard abstractions, with echoes of Toshimaru Nakamura's no-input intensity.

Mudd's work sits in conversation with forward-thinking electronic pioneers - his previous releases Brass Cultures and Guitar Cultures have drawn comparisons to Autechre at their most abstract and Bill Orcutt's solo guitar deconstructions. His mastery of physical modelling synthesis creates sounds that blur the line between acoustic simulation and chaotic digital synthesis.