John McCowen is a composer and clarinetist focused on extending the possibilities of the contrabass clarinet and other instruments. His work has been described by The New Yorker as "the sonic equivalent of microscopic life viewed on a slide". John's multiphonic approach embraces drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics as a means to squeeze out the compositional potential within a single, acoustic sound source. John remains stubbornly dedicated to acoustic phenomena. His works do not utilise amplifier feedback or electronically generated sounds unless specified. He currently resides in Reykjavik in Iceland where he teaches improvisation at the Iceland University of the Arts.
Photo: Bergrun Snæbjornsdottir