Emily Beisel and Lisa Cameron have been performing together for several years in Chicago at Elastic Arts, in Houston for Nameless Sound’s “They Who Sound Series, and Denton Tx’s – Molten Plains Festival, among other venues. They are currently working on a new recording to be released this year on Rural Isolation Project.
Lisa Cameron is a drummer, percussionist, and sound artist whose work has enriched Austin’s experimental music landscape for decades. Through amplified and acoustic percussion, she unearths frequencies already present in rooms and coaxes them into oscillating overtones,
transforming these resonances into raw material for improvisation. Her practice continually evolves, recently turning toward building instruments from scratch and discovering what they
can do.
Cameron balances focused listening with unrestrained exploration. She experiments with vibrational surfaces and extended percussion techniques, creating immersive sonic environments that channel an ancient spirit, fusing it with a contemporary approach. Her performances generate unexpected harmonics and complex overtonal relationships, whether working solo as Venison Whirled or collaborating with improvisers drawn to her singular
methodology. The music can feel ritualistic one moment, fiercely immediate the next.
In 2023, she received the Austin Chronicle Award for Best Drummer and Percussionist, recognition for decades of boundary-dissolving work. A tireless collaborator, Cameron has performed and
recorded with Roky Erikson, Daniel Johnston, Jandek, Claire Rousay, Eugene Chadbourne, Mike Watt, Thor Harris, Faust, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, and many others. Her current collaborations with Carl Finch, Jad Fair, Sandy Ewen, Alex Cunningham, Emily Beisel, Sleeping
Beast, and THC Trio continue pushing her practice into new territory.
Emily Rach Beisel is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, educator, curator and woodwind specialist. Beisel is known for visceral performances blending extended vocal and instrumental
techniques with analogue electronics. Their work is described as “heavy stuff, sounds retrieved from the deeper places… Beisel pokes around in the sonic depths and brings leviathans out to
play. (A Jazz Noise)”
As a curator, Beisel seeks to increase the visibility and involvement of femme, trans and nonbinary artists in the creative performance community. They founded the Pleiades Series at Elastic Arts, presenting monthly performances, community-based free
improvisation sessions and a biennial PleiadesFest. Beisel holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 10-208 and is honored to be a 2024 3Arts Awardee in Music.