Avant-Garde

Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American free jazz pianist. Shipp has been very active in the 1990s, appearing on dozens of albums as a leader, sideman or producer. His dense, percussive style was often compared to Cecil Taylor's, though in recent years Taylor's influence is less pronounced. Shipp was raised in Washington, DC and began playing piano at six years old. He was strongly attracted to jazz, but also played in rock music groups while in high school. Shipp attended the University of Delaware for one year, then the New England Conservatory of Music.

Luca Nasciuti is a London based composer trained in electroacoustic composition, classical music, visual and performing arts. His work spans from installation, to video and performance art, focusing on the legacy between acoustic and electroacoustic sound, and the interplay of sonic and visual practices within site-specific contexts.

Arrington de Dionyso (b. January 4th, 1975) of Olympia, Washington uses performance as a vehicle for driving through the nameless territories held between surrealist automatism, shamanic seance, and the folk imagery of rock and roll. After living in Chicago, Arkansas, and Spokane, Arrington moved to Olympia in 1992 to attend the Evergreen State College, where he studied Ethnomusicology, Music Therapy, and Butoh dance theater.

There are four different bands named Altered States, listed in order of popularity: a Japanese free/noise jazz / avant-prog group from the 90s, an 80s gothic rock band, a Bass music production trio from Manchester and a psychedelic rock band from Dallas. 1. If pure musicianship is the guiding criterion, Altered States are arguably one of the greatest guitar/bass/drums trios in the history of rock, which may strike some as an overstatement but the evidence is there for anyone willing to seek out the band's Japanese label releases.