Kieran Welch
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Violist | Curator | DJ | Educator | Writer

News

Dots+Loops Nonstop 2021 this Sunday!

6/12/2021

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"An irl mixtape by your chaotic friend", Dots+Loops NONSTOP festival returns this Sunday! Get your tickets now at dotsandloops.com.au/calendar/nonstop-2021
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Transforming the cavernous upstairs Barrel Hall of Newstead Brewing Co. Milton into a festival wonderland with two stages, an art gallery,  an indoor beer garden and music more, Dots+Loops Nonstop returns for a 6-hour celebration of Australia's most exciting and adventurous post-genre artists.

Shannon Ruska opens the festival with a Welcome To Country, and our First Nations partner Cre8tive Nations takes over the stage to feature some of their incredible artists. Shoeb Ahmad weaves a patchwork of sampladelic soundscapes of vocals, guitar and electronics. Madeleine Cocolas shares expansive lush soundworlds in the first of two sets collaborating with artists from our Performance Fellowship program, and cellist K Mak continues the energetic momentum with a riotous set featuring a new work from our inaugural Composition Fellow Oliver Brown. Erik Griswold and Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra present the highly-anticipated Brisbane premiere of Hollows out of Time, a kaleidoscopic journey through percussive prepared piano to blues, film noir and Renaissance counterpoint. Cameron Bower delivers an uncanny experience lingering somewhere between an “ambient tapestry” and a “volcanic eruption” (Chris Cobcroft, 4ZZZ), followed by an explosion of a different variety in the toe-tapping raucousness of Cigány Weaver. Expo 88 is joined by our Performance Fellows to keep the genre mashup going with infectious jazz-infused electronica, before DJ AVAXA sends the party off into the night.

Alongside this musical smorgasbord, the festival features a gallery of visual art curated by our community fo artists, including a multidisciplinary installation from local artists Tim Tate and Zenobia Frost commissioned by Dots+Loops, and a special exhibition of photography in memory of Cre8tive Nations’ co-founder, LaVonne Bobongie.
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In between it all, grab a bite to eat, sample some of the beers brewed just downstairs, or just relax and catch up with your fellow festival-goers. There’s something for all adventurous ears and eyes at Nonstop.
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Cutting Edge: Remixing, conversing and belonging

22/11/2021

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In the lead-up to the 2021 Dots+Loops Nonstop Festival this December 12, Kieran penned December's Cutting Edge column for Limelight Magazine.
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Read the article here, and make sure to book your tickets for Nonstop at dotsandloops.com.au/calendar/nonstop-2021
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A Missing Moon livestream concert 7 October

28/8/2020

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Kieran will perform his debut album project A Missing Moon this October 7 at midday, as part of the University of Queensland's Virtual Concert Series.
Tune in for free via the University of Queensland's website: ​https://music.uq.edu.au/event/session/4102.
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"From the Concert Hall to the Dance Floor?" Kieran's 2013 honours thesis on the convergent evolution of minimal techno and American minimalist music

3/6/2020

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Download thesis
I graduated from a Bachelor of Music with first-class honours in 2013, with this thesis "From the Concert Hall to the Dance Floor?: the convergent evolution of minimal techno and American minimalist music". Despite many music critics drawing a line of influence from American minimalism to minimal techno, there has been very little scholarly literature concerning techno and minimal techno in the past, and as such no way to prove or disprove this assumption. However, this paper finds the evidence is strongly in favour of these shared features being a result of convergent evolution—that is, that the two fields developed similar traits independently of each other.

This paper began as a way for me to trace lines of influence from American minimalism to minimal techno in a scholarly way. However, that ended up not being possible. I found that there is no hard evidence to support this often perpetuated "line of influence". Furthermore, I found a large amount of evidence to support that minimal techno creators came up with any similar techniques (and many new and groundbreaking ones) of their own accord.

In many ways, writing this ended up kickstarting my whole musical career as it currently is. It opened my eyes to the false dichotomy of "high" and "low" art in a very visceral way, which is a theme I have since made a career on deconstructing and transcending.
Robert and Lyric Hood
However, it was written seven years ago now. There is no explicit mention of race throughout the paper, which was written largely through the prism of genre, musical techniques and classical musicology. I have since learned that race is a very important part of the discussion. House was invented by queer black people in Chicago. Techno was predominantly invented by black people in Detroit. Jungle was invented by black British communities, which leads to drum’n’bass, dubstep and so much more. Though it is not explicitly mentioned in this paper, by reading between the lines with this information in mind, this paper is a clear example not only of a false dichotomy between "high" and "low" art, but also of racism inherent in the western art music world, and the music industry at large. It's a rebuttal to a frequently perpetuated myth that black people couldn't come up with the same level of musical ingenuity that privileged white men did. Because they did. And it's the reason we have electronic dance music in any form—or jazz, or gospel, or funk...

I sign off in solidarity with black lives, black musicians, and oppressed people of colour around the world, and here in Australia.

Kieran Welch
​03/06/2020
from_the_concert_hall_to_the_dance_floor_final.pdf
File Size: 1074 kb
File Type: pdf
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New Airport DJ mix "2020 Vision"

7/1/2020

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Kieran brings in 2020 with a new studio mix from his DJ alter-ego Airport. A journey through hypnotic vocals and deep synth riffs, the 2020 Vision mix features tracks from Jacques Greene, Eli & Fur, Christine and the Queens and more. Have a listen now at mixcloud.com/kieranwelch/airport-2020-vision-mix, and for any booking enquiries head to Kieran's dedicated DJ page.
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Last day to donate to A Missing Moon

26/5/2019

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Today is the last day of the A Missing Moon Fund. If you haven’t joined with us yet, it’s now or never!
Donate now!
Thanks to 38 generous donors, we’re almost half-way to the $5000 target. As it’s not all-or-nothing on ACF, every cent donated will still go directly to the composers, regardless of whether we hit this target. But not hitting the target will mean we won’t be able to pay all five beautiful artists what they deserve. Some of them have incredibly generously offered to go ahead regardless of financial return, which means we’re now at the point where the project will still progress as planned. But every dollar donated from now until the end of the day is another we can pay these incredibly deserving composers. Every little bit counts.

Please join with us now at australianculturalfund.org.au/projects/kieran-welch-a-missing-moon, and support exciting, inclusive post-genre music, and the livelihood of adventurous young music makers.
Kieran Welch A Missing Moon
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Chris Perren, Tilman Robinson, Ailie Robertson, Steph Lâlka and Kieran.
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A Missing Moon: Kieran's debut album and concert experience announced

24/4/2019

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A thrilling classical performance, an enthralling electronic album, a DJ set...
A Missing Moon is all of these and more.
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Exploring the spaces in between contemporary viola art music, experimental electronic music, and electronic dance music, A Missing Moon is a gripping and cohesive journey through musical genre and emotion, across new works by Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Chris Perren, Ailie Robertson, Tilman Robinson, and LÂLKA. A Missing Moon is a debut album and concert experience like no other: a unique, organic exploration of a post-genre approach to music at every step, combining compositional, production and performance aspects from a kaleidoscope of different musical worlds, then squeezing them through Kieran’s keen curatorial process. But we need your help to make it happen!

Funding the creation of adventurous new works is notoriously difficult in Australia. By donating to the A Missing Moon Australian Cultural Fund, not only will you be joining as an integral part of this unique artistic product, but you will be directly building a rich and diverse community of adventurous music creators. And every donation above $2 is tax deductible!
Donate now!

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Upcoming solo performances

27/3/2019

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Kieran's 2019 is already filling up with exciting performances. Make sure to catch him this April 13, when he takes to the brand new stage at Glasshouse, to present a set that showcases his uniquely powerful and emotive delivery of adventurous, genre-blurring music for viola. Debuting a world premiere written for Kieran by LALKA, plus music by Chris Perren and Missy Mazzoli, this is one to put in the diary!

Then on May 14, Kieran will be presenting Nico Muhly and ANOHNI's "Keep in Touch" for viola and electronics, ​as part of a concert amplifying queer voices to celebrate the International Day Against Homphobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia, and support local LGBTQI charities. Don't miss it, from 7pm at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Finally, he is closer to officially announcing a debut album and concert tour for the second half of 2019, to be premiered at the Montecito International Music Festival! Check his regularly updated Dates page for all the latest performances.
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Rave reviews for solo set at we are breathing

4/9/2018

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"Kieran [...] not only delivered a diverse and fascinating program, but throughout every piece demonstrated an artistic conviction that was a joy to witness. The highlight of Kieran’s playing was his expressive and engaging performance of Nico Muhly’s Keep in Touch for viola and electronics. He prefaced it with an explanation of what the work means to him through its celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community – and his interpretation was not only skilful, but beautifully vulnerable [...] Kieran's set was a pleasure to watch."

CutCommon's Lily Bryant was at Kieran's last solo show (supporting we are breathing on their debut Australian tour), and had only rave reviews for his performance. Read the full review at www.cutcommonmag.com/live-review-lily-goes-to-see-we-are-breathing/, and keep an eye on all his upcoming performances here!
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Dots+Loops goes national with Liminality—but we need your help!

3/8/2018

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Make Liminality happen — Donate now!
This October, Dots+Loops goes national for the first time with Liminality, a uniquely captivating two-day festival in both Melbourne and Brisbane.

​Cutting-edge international talent joins with some of Australia's most exciting performers, to present music by Kate Moore, Philip Glass, Brechtje and more. Elliott Hughes, Tilman Robinson, comp.artmental and Allison Wright combine to present the world premiere of "Augmented Trumpet", an immersive live multidisciplinary experience. There are numerous free community workshops curated by Megan Steller, and a unique performance fellowship program for Australia's next generation of adventurous performers.

However, we need your help to make this festival a reality!

Any donation above $2 is tax deductible in Australia, and you'll be ​be directly investing in making exciting and adventurous new music and art accessible for everyone.
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To donate, head over to our ACF Campaign Page, and after that head over to the Liminality website to read about the festival in full!
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