Togishi

press release: On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 8pm, Togishi will perform all original music at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Tickets are $15 in advance, at https://togishi.brownpapertickets.com, and $20 at the door. Student tickets $5 off with a valid school ID. Advance ticket sales end 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:00pm.

Togishi is a Cleveland based trio consisting of Mike Sopko - guitar, Joe Tomino - drums & electronics, and Dan Wenninger - saxophones & hulusi. The trio performs entirely improvised music influenced by avant-garde jazz, experimental rock, contemporary classical and electronic noise. Their unique sound and creative approach is both visceral and contemplative.

In 2016 Sopko and Tomino started playing improv gigs around Cleveland and formed the stoner/doom band, Yellowstone Apocalypse. It was around this time that Wenninger approached the duo about playing an improvised gig at the 1Way (a longstanding experimental and new music showcase in Cleveland). The chemistry of that first show, and subsequent performances, was something unique and brought forth the formation of Togishi.

A recording session was scheduled for the group in early February 2017. The trio set up for two consecutive days of recording improvisations. With no discussion of musical intention, direction, or aesthetic, the trio just picked up their instruments and played. What was captured at that session would become their self-titled debut release (Togishi on AUASCA). Keeping the linear (realtime) performances intact, Tomino mixed the unedited audio of each instrument and augmented the sonic character of the music to give it a distinct color. The result is at times brazen and brash, and at others ethereal and stark. There’s even a piece that features Sopko on acoustic guitar and vocals with Tomino and Wenninger conjuring up timbres reminiscent of a wildlife preserve.