Synth-pop duo, DUO METRIX, comprising Tom Chiu on violin and Dan Joseph on synthesizer/laptop, specializes in recontexualizing riffs and hooks from a variety of genres, spanning the popular to the experimental. From Kraftwerk to Deee-Lite, Thelonious Monk to Michael Jackson, TRIX will create energetic mashups and weave extended jams that promise to be trippy and surprising fun.
Photo Kurt Gottschalk
A noted champion of new music, violinist and composer Tom Chiu has performed over 200 premieres worldwide by influential composers such as Virko Baley, Julio Estrada, Oliver Lake, Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Somei Satoh, and Henry Threadgill, among many others. He has also worked closely with free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman, with whom he appeared at the Walker Arts Center in 2005. His extensive discography includes recordings for the Chesky, Innova, Koch, Mode, Sombient, and Tzadik labels. His extensive film credits further showcase his creative versatility: as composer, fiddler, voice-over artist, and actor (The Man With One Red Shoe, with Tom Hanks). Chiu holds degrees in chemistry and music from Yale and Juilliard, and has presented concerts and workshops at numerous universities, including Williams, Dartmouth, Wesleyan, and William and Mary. He appears frequently as a commentator on contemporary music and culture, and has served as a consultant in a variety of artistic contexts, most recently as a panelist for the NEA.
Dan Joseph is a composer, curator and writer based in New York City. He began his career in the early ‘80s as a drummer in the vibrant punk scene of his native Washington, DC. Soon after, he became active in the experimental tape music underground, producing ambient-industrial works for various independent labels. He spent the ‘90s in California where he studied at CalArts and Mills College. His principal teachers include Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran and Mel Powell. Equally influential were his studies with Terry Riley during several workshops in California and Colorado. Dan’s work has been presented at Merkin Concert Hall, Diapason Gallery for Sound, Harvestworks, Roulette, Issue Project Room, Experimental Intermedia, Human Resources, Harrison House, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, New Langton Arts and other venues. He has received commissions from the Harvestworks, Music for Contemplation, Gamelan Son of Lion, sfSoundGroup, baritone Thomas Buckner, and others.