Projects

(linked titles contain further information)

Parkins/Ostrowski duo

Parkins/Ostrowski at Spectrum, New York, 2015

MO and Berlin-based electronics and accordionist Andrea Parkins have been regularly playing together for almost a decade. Their first album, Elective Affinities, was released in November 2019 on Infrequent Seams.

KRK (with George Cremaschi)

KRK at Velak, Vienna, 2015

KRK, founded in 2005, has devoted itself to an integration of electronic and acoustic sonic worlds, incorporating technology from catgut and horsehair to infrared sensing and concatenative synthesis.  Their concise, spontaneous compositions unite formal tautness with a fierce yet controlled energy, melding real-time musique concrete with virtuosic extended technique to open up undiscovered spaces in electro-acoustic performance. Having  played  dozens of concerts from Bulgaria to Portugal, KRK continues to build on their experience. Their CDs Acouasm, (2009) and Red Square (2019) are available on Achulean Handaxe.

Fair Use

Fair Use at Galapagos, 2012

Comprised of MO with Luke DuBois and Zach Layton, Fair Use looks at our accelerating culture through remixing of cinema, presenting classic films through audio and visual manipulation. They use the picture and soundtrack of culturally significant films, drastically compressed in time, as the sole materials for an improvised set which interrogates our cinematic memories through audiovisual processing.

Flying Karamazov Brothers (2000-2002)

Ostrowski as Steve the Geek in L’Universe

Under the nom de guerre Count Martini Karamazov, MO was Technology Director for the world-renowned Flying Karamazov Brothers, masters of juggling, witty repartee, and cheap theatrics. He was responsible for design and maintenance on an interactive musical dance floor and location-based LED juggling pins, co-developed with MIT’s Media Lab. He also appeared onstage in the role of Steve the Geek with the Brothers in their show L’Universe.

Streb/Ringside (1992-2000)

Composer-in-residence for the MacArthur award-winning choreographer Elizabeth Streb. Using contact microphones, sensors, and live processing on sounds generated by the dancers themselves, he developed the direct, visceral sound for which the company has become known.

Krackhouse (1989-1993)

Krackhouse at the Knitting Factory, 1990 (photo by Macioce)

Led by 6-string bass player and vocalist Mike Sappol, and joined by Doug Henderson on doubleneck guitar, Ostrowski played tape loops, drum machine, and analog electronics for the groundbreaking post-No Wave band. Recordings on Shimmy-disk, Sordide Sentimentale, and Metamkine, but sadly all out of print. 2019 marks the release of the long-lost album Shutupstupidmonster (in the can since 1993!) on the Atypeek label.

Gallio/Ostrowski/Zimmerlin (1988-93)

This trio (saxophone, electronics, and ‘cello) recorded three CDs on the Percaso label, and toured Europe and the US with compositions and improvisations, working both purely as a musical group, and in collaborations with photographer Beat Streuli. He has also collaborated solo with Streuli on installations in Switzerland and New York.