ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI & PAIN JERK – Tokyo Noise Tour – concert

Zbigniew Karkowski & Pain Jerk
Poland Tour 2008

Zbigniew Karkowski was born in 1958 in Krakow, Poland. He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg’s Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology. After completing his studies in Sweden, he studied sonology for a year at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Haag, Netherlands. Zbigniew Karkowski has studied with composers Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Boulez, Olivier Messiaen, and Georges Aperghis and has produced numerous works in the fields of both acoustic and electronic music including chamber works, pieces for large orchestra and opera. He is also a founding member of the electroacoustic music performance trio Sensorband and has worked with notable underground icons, Merzbow, Pita (Peter Rehberg), Kasper Toeplitz, Francisco Lopez, Daniel Menche and Hafler Trio.

Selected discography:

“Choice of Points of Application of Force” (2000), “It” (2000), “Voltage” Zbigniew Karkowski & Edwin Van Der Heide (2000), “Consciously Unconscious, Unconsciously Conscious” (2001), “MAZK [LIVE]” Zbigniew Karkowski & Masami Akita (2001), 2001 – “Function Generator” Zbigniew Karkowski & Xopher Davidson (2001), “Le Deupeupleur” Zbigniew Karkowski & Kasper T. Toeplitz (2002), “World as Will 2” Zbigniew Karkowski & Tetsuo Furudate (2002), “Electrostatics” (2003), “Attuning/Attending” (2004), “An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music. Third A-chronology. 1952-2004 / Vol. 3” (2004), “One and Many” – Sub Rosa (2005).

Pain Jerk is a noise music unit run by Japanese musician Kohei Gomi (1963). Gomi started home-recording in the 1980s as private works. PAIN JERK was one of the more prolific and influential noise artists of the 1990s, and is one of the leading figures in the “dynamic” style of Japanese noise. Gomi is also the owner of the noise label AMP, and a member, along with T. Mikawa and F. Kosakai of Incapacitants, of the noise supergroup Gomikawa Fumio. He recently headlined the opening night of No Fun Fest 2007 (USA) and did a Scandinavian tour (Fylkingen / Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo and Trondheim, Norway). PAIN JERK contributed to the Avanto Festival 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, and in 2008 toured Poland, Berlin, Geneva, and Spain. Gomi also contributed to All Ears Festival 2009 (Oslo / Norway) and did his first UK tour.(Glasgow – Edinburgh – Newcastle – London – Bristol – London) then Paris and Antwerp.