Instagram story viewer> @_johnmcc> Posts

John McCowen

@_johnmcc

2.5K

followers

1127

following

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

MODELS OF DURATION: announcing my first solo contra record in almost 6 years. Couldn’t have done it without the help of @randallbdunn. And absolutely blessed to have this amazing cover by @vidarlogi Up for preorder now with a release on Sept 9th. On LP and digital. Link in bio and performances announcing soon! by @_johnmcc

406

23

4 years ago

John McCowen feat. Lucy Railton, Weston Olencki: Pressure Chords (LP)

Out now on Hallow Ground!

~

The praise from Boomkat:

»McCowen’s uncommon extended technique exercises take center stage; after years of practice, he’s able to make the contrabass clarinet, usually a monophonic instrument, belt out multiple pitches at the same time. So extending his tones over two long sides, he leans into the alluring peculiarity of xenharmonic tuning by exploring intervals that are just as rare as the technique itself. Railton’s a dab hand at this approach by now and adds restrained (but as always, very impressive) accents, allowing her cello to almost vanish into the woodwind. Olencki’s thick brass tones are harder to submerge, but give the composition the extra weight it needs.«

~

John McCowen: contrabass clarinet
Lucy Railton: cello
Weston Olencki: trombone

Recorded by Adam Asnan @adam_asnan
Mixed by Albert Finnbogason @albrtfnnbgsn
Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi @senufoeditions
Live photo by Weslee Kate
Layout by John McCowen, Laurin Huber

The trio is available for booking through @swampbooking by @_johnmcc

560

11

16 days ago

“The long ear” was Cold War slang for the parabolic microphone. A dish that could lift a conversation out of the air from hundreds of feet away.

On Noh Age’s debut, Charmaine Lee has turned it around and run it through four vintage tube amps, hunting its own resonances until feedback catches — enmeshed with John McCowen, who plays contrabass clarinet like an acoustic synthesizer after years alongside Roscoe Mitchell, and Taiwanese sheng soloist Li-Chin Li, formerly of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Produced by Randall Dunn, with additional synths.

Spectral music at its most physical.

KOU013. The Long Ear. Out November 6.

The cover art and the artist portrait are a special commission from 2026 Eisner winner Shintaro Kago, one of the defining figures of ero guro and the artist behind Flying Lotus’s You’re Dead!

Three editions: standard black, the gunmetal grey cohort edition, and a limited artist edition on clear pink vinyl in a deluxe holographic jacket, with a double-sided silk scarf, 70 × 70cm, carrying Kago’s cover art and additional designs by Jordan Rundle. Digital, Dolby Atmos, and retail distro through @secretlydistribution via @ideologicorgan

Noh Age is @charmainelee @_johnmcc and @lilichin1111
Produced and Mixed by @randallbdunn
Recorded by @greenbergaudio and @randallbdunn in March 2026
Additional synths and sound design by @randallbdunn
Mastering and Dolby Atmos mixes by @greenbergaudio
Lacquer Cut by Paul Gold at @saltmastering
Executive Produced by Charmaine Lee

Front Album Artwork and Back Cover Portrait by @shintarokago1969
Layout and design by @jordanrundle & @una_blue
Images by @kaydecay  #nohage #kourecords #shintarokago by @_johnmcc

1k

27

23 days ago

This is Kou Fall 2026. Six records. More than 20 artists across them.

REONA. Noh Age. Rizan Said. Oren Ambarchi. Randall Dunn. Eric Wubbels.

The heaviest piece ever written for three bassoons, a debut record of tap dance and metal percussion, solo guitar on tape, a new trio of parabolic mics, sheng, and contrabass clarinet, the deepest Syrian dabke keyboards, and a spectral fusion record by Randall.

No holds barred on any of it, the sound or the artwork.

Presales and more starting next week.

Graphics by @jordanrundle
#kourecords #ericwubbels #Rizansaid #orenambarchi #randalldunn taken in New York, New York by @_johnmcc

384

11

a month ago

Thrilled to announce our first duo recording - Marja Ahti & John McCowen ’Errands’ - out September 25 on Black Truffle. The idea to collaborate was born sharing a bill at the 2024 iteration of Stockholm’s Edition Festival, realizing our approach to sound had something essential in common. Co-composed and recorded both in Reykjavik and on a distance, this music is the result of a slow process of proposing each other sounds, associating across different means of sound making and discovering new territories. Comes in cover art by the brilliant @herttakiiski ⚡️ by @_johnmcc

212

9

a month ago

Three visionary artists join forces on »Pressure Chords« – John McCowen (composer, contrabass clarinet), Lucy Railton (cello), and Weston Olencki (trombone)!

Based on the spectral analysis of contrabass clarinet multiphonics, the album presents itself as an exercise in both patience and intensity, slowly building towards an expressive finale. Across its 34-minute runtime, restrained minimalism slowly gives way to maximally affective sonic force.

Find the pre-order on BandCamp. »Pressure Chords« will be out on Hallow Ground on September 18th, 2026.

The trio is available for booking through @swampbooking

Live photo by Weslee Kate by @_johnmcc

259

7

3 months ago

In the latest issue of @thewiremagazine - Roföldur at Borealis Festival last month:

“The sound of Ore is close to a work played live upstairs on the Saturday night - remarkable, given the work is created entirely with a contrabass clarinet, soprano recorder and a selection of antique wooden birdcalls. Roföldur, co-composed by Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir and John McCowen (performed by the latter with tape accompaniment), is a work of extraordinary intensity. Even in its quiet moments, it seethes with feverish potency. The birdcalls, recorded at the Ina-GRM studios in Paris, have been processed and stretched into a silvery fog, closer to the feel of grit and slate than the feathered things its sources are designed to imitate. The contra practically barks, every breath a congeries of fissile multiphonics.”

@seismografmag : “It was at Østre, however, that Borealis’ almost insistent niceness was truly challenged. In Saturday’s double bill, the ever-intriguing Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir, together with John McCowen, presented Roföldur. Here, the multiphonics of the contrabass clarinet grew into organic formations in the twilight of sound, until fragile bird-like tones – these small creatures with superpowers – forced their way into the dense sonic mass. Wow.”

@icareifyoulisten :
“In Bergrún and John’s Roföldur, contrabass clarinet multiphonics emerged from white noise, first at the faintest whisper, then growing into earth-shattering, spectral explosions that threatened to rattle our bones from our bodies. Sound became vibration; McCowen’s foghorn of overtones transformed music from a sonic experience to a somatic one.”

Thanks for having us @borealisfestival & @petermeanwell, @inagrm for the time and space and @reimagineeurope for the support ❤️ 📸 Miriam Levi by @_johnmcc

3

2

6 months ago

BÁRA GÍSLADÓTTIR & JOHN McCOWEN - LIVE AT MENGI, link in bio

#mengi
#experimentalmusic
#báragísladóttir
#johnmccowen
#contrabassclarinet taken in Mengi by @_johnmcc

126

0

7 months ago

@mads_green_stone (bass clarinet) & @_johnmcc (bass clarinet) 12/13/25 @roulette_intermedium

Album forthcoming, until then:

Hear more Madison 👉 https://madison-greenstone.bandcamp.com

Hear more John 👉 https://johnmccowen.bandcamp.com

#madisongreenstone #johnmccowen #bassclarinet #dronemusic #experimentalmusic #composedmusic #rouletteintermedium #brooklyn #newyork by @_johnmcc

333

5

10 months ago

@_johnmcc and I are bringing Roföldur to darling @borealisfestival next March, here are some photos from the rehearsal with the GRM acousmonium at Radio France - supported by @reimagineeurope 🤍 📸 Julien Bourgeois taken in Radio France by @_johnmcc

3

6

10 months ago

Fri 28.11.25
Charmaine Lee, Li-Chin Li, John McCowen
With sound design by Randall Dunn & live video by Mark Dorf
Noh Age, 2025
Voice, electronics, parabolic microphones, tube amplifiers, contrabass clarinet, sheng
New commission, first performance

Fruitmarket’s annual festival of new music, Deep Time, returns for its third edition this November, curated by Diné (Navajo) composer, performer and artist Raven Chacon and titled I See Red.

For the second night of Deep Time: I See Red, Fruitmarket presents the world premiere collaboration between Charmaine Lee (voice, electronics), Li-Chin Li (sheng) and John McCowen (contrabass clarinet). Noh Age entwines the breath-driven textures of clarinet and sheng with the volatile sonics of feedback and voice, creating a live dialogue of air, electricity, and resonance. Immersive sound design by Randall Dunn and live video by Mark Dorf expand the performance into an audiovisual space that is elemental and futuristic, woven live in sound and vision.

I See Red
Deep Time: A festival of new music
Curated by Raven Chacon
27.11.25 – 29.11.25

Book a festival pass/day tickets now on the Fruitmarket website, link in bio. £10/PWYC
Music: Charmaine Lee live at Pioneer Works for Ende Tymes 15, 2025
Images: 58kg, Dawid Laskowski

Deep Time has been supported by the Cockaigne Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland; Longrow Capital; the Marchus Trust; and Friends of Deep Time. Media Partner: The Wire.

@fruitmarketgallery
@ravenchcn
@charmainelee
@lilichin1111
@_johnmcc
@randallbdunn
@mrkdorf by @_johnmcc

51

0

10 months ago

'Roföldur' de @bergrun_______ & @_johnmcc

Voir le lien en bio pour l'interview complet

Dans le cadre de #newperspectivesforaction, un projet de @reimagineeurope, cofinancé par l'Union Européenne

Interview : @alexandrebazinmusic
Musique générique : @diegolosa6
Réalisation : @baps.garcia by @_johnmcc

249

3

a year ago