Sydney's cutting-edge improvising collective Microfiche will make 107 home for four Mondays during March and April! Known for their ethereal soundscapes that brim with strong rhythmic outbursts and melodic catharsis, they will be collaborating with some of Australia's greatest improvisers and feature support sets from our city’s most forward-thinking artists.

ARTIST BIOS

Microfiche

Six-piece collective Microfiche tie improvisation and composition into serpentine knots and unravel them live in unexpected and cathartic ways.
The band initially formed in 2015 as a student jazz ensemble at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where they met weekly under the direction of Phil Slater and Simon Barker to explore the compositional processes of John Cage and Morton Feldman. After a year of reconceptualising those ideas into a body of original material they decided to document the music in the studio; this became their eponymous debut album under the name Microfiche.
Four years on and the ensemble embarked on a European tour in 2019, culminating in a performance at Copenhagen Jazz Festival and in 2021 released their second studio album 'Everything and Other Infinities' on Portuguese label Creative Sources Recording

Sia Ahmad (guest artist)

Sia Ahmad offers a rich and extensive background in Australian music, creating idiosyncratic music over the last decade. Using guitar, keyboard, voice and computer, Sia works both as singer/composer and improviser when performing solo or as a member in a number of groups including Agency, Spartak and Tangents. Many of these projects also feature Sia’s talent as a producer and engineer, with a unique sensibility to sonic space coming to the fore.
Combining both acoustic and electronic approaches to music-making, Sia has released a diverse range of original music – including the critically acclaimed Watch/Illuminate on English label Mystery Plays Records – while also collaborating with numerous directors and choreographers to provide sound design and soundtrack material for live theatre and dance works. More recently, Sia has begun to explore installation pieces and composition for chamber ensembles, taking inspiration from 20th Century avant-classical works, Indian ragas and minimalist electronic music.
Since November 2016, Sia has been working on music for a new album titled “quiver”, exploring personal pasts and themes of identity (gender, race, religion) in an intimate noir-pop setting, inspired by the widescreen arrangements of The Go-Betweens, PJ Harvey, Tindersticks and The Temptations.
Sia has performed throughout Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the UK and the SE Asian region at venues such as City Recital Hall (Sydney), The Judith Wright Centre (Brisbane), The Street Theatre (Canberra), Cafe OTO (London), Rough Trade East (London) and Pit Inn (Tokyo) with Australian festival appearances for Womadelaide, Open Frame, Liquid Architecture, You Are Here and TheNowNow.

Adrian Lim-Klumpes & Nick Meredith (opening set)

Bio coming soon.