Fast Forward is a New York based english composer and performer who makes music with almost anything. He is probably best known for his in depth musical explorations of the Trinidadian steel pan and his music-theatre works for diverse instrumentation. Feeding Frenzy, a culinary concert for 5 musicians, 5 cooks, 5 waiters and the audience has been performed in many countries, for many occasions, including the 15 year celebration of Freunde Guter Musik at The Museum for Contemporary Art in Berlin and the Time of Music Festival in Finland. It ran for three seasons at the Kitchen Center in New York. Typhoon Shelter for sextet recently premiered in Hong Kong for soundpocket.
In his solo concerts, he adopts a sculptural approach to creating sound. He examines the sensual, tactile qualities of the objects, then ties the sound of the objects to the physical gesture that creates the sound. The result is a stage presence that integrates the visual element of the performance with the music.
"Forward is the first musician to combine the sweet repetitions of Reich, the raw decibel power of Branca, the randomness of Cage and Wolff, and even the stochastic textures of Xenakis. It's a potent combination,carried out with irresistible momentum." - Kyle Gann, the Village Voice.
Past concerts have included the use of "explosif-hammers" in Berlin, the metal walls of a ferry-boat in the sea of Japan and the cooking of a twelve-course dinner for an audience in New York.
He attended art college in England during the early seventies, focusing on media and performance under the guidance of Stuart Marshall in Newcastle. In 1976 he emigrated to the United States to study electronic music with Robert Ashley and David Behrman at Mills College in Oakland, California. Shortly after that, he and his partner Robert Gonsalves established Pink Noise Studios, a resource and production facility for electronic music and the recording media. He made New York his home in 1981 and has lived there until now.
In addition to his own music, he has produced music and musical events for various artists and organisations. He toured extensively as a guest composer and musician for The Merce Cunningham Dance Company since 1994. In November of 2011 he directed and performed in composer Robert Ashley’s legendary opera That Morning Thing as Part of Performa 11 in New York with performances at The Kitchen. In conjunction with The Wooster Group, he curated "The Accident" nine evenings of performance music at The Performing Garage in New York City. He also regularly composes for modern dance companies and choreographers. As a teacher, he teaches master classes in composition, improvisation, and music/theater at various institutions including: Time of Music Festival (Viitassari, Finland), Bergen and Trondheim Art Academies (Norway), STEIM (Amsterdam, Holland), Wien University (Vienna), CNDO, (Amsterdam), Theatre pour Danse Contemporain (Paris), Podewil (Berlin) and New York University.
His work has been honoured with several awards, including residencies from the Asian Cultural Council in Japan and the Kunstlerprogram des D.A.A.D. in Berlin. Music commissions have been offered by the Tenjin Barca festival in Osaka, Inventionen in Berlin, The Time of Music Festival in Finland, The Swiss Institute in South Africa, The Whitney Museum in New York, the Interpretations series in New York, Nouvelles Scènes in Dijon, Alexeij Sagerer/ProT (Munich Theater Festival) and Tigertail Productions in Miami, to name a few. In New York, his work has been supported by New York State Council on the Arts, Meet the Composer, New York Foundation for the Arts, Thomas Buckner, Experimental Intermedia, Roulette, the Kitchen, Harvestworks and more.
Noted musicians who have performed Fast Forward's music include : David Behrman, Yuval Gabay, Anthony Coleman, Guy Klucevsek, Takehisa Kosugi, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins, David Moss, John King, Ben Neill, Vicki Bodner, David Shea, William Parker, Chris Cochrane and Min Xiao Fen. He has collaborated and performed live with Fred Frith, Takehisa Kosugi, David Moss, Christian Marclay, Rhys Chatham, Samm Bennett, Ikue Mori, Jon Gibson, Pauline Oliveros, Masahiko Kono, Yasunao Tone, Kazue Sawai, Gerry Hemingway, Michael Evans, Ron Kuivala and beyond.
Recordings of his music are available on the RZ (D), Apollohuis (NL), XI (US), Lovely Music (US), New World Records, Nova Era (SP), God Mountain (J), Obsolete (US), Touch (UK), Musicworks (C), Tellus (US), Bring your own walkman (NL) Fever Pitch (US) and Ear-Rational (D) recording labels.
