UEM was formed in June of 2006. The current line up of Harrington/Sykora/Orpilla continues to explore experimental music/noise using instruments, electronics, found objects, the human voice, gongs and miscellaneous percussion.
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Bios
William C. Harrington was born in Yonkers, New York. While he was a sophomore in high school, he was working as a professional musician playing parties, roller-skating rinks dances, and more. At Cal State U Dominguez Hills, he studied composition, performance, and electronic music with Richard B. Evans, author of the classic book on John Cage, "The Well Prepared Piano". He was also influenced by seminars with several composers including Nicholas Slominsky. After leaving college he worked in the wholesale record industry for two years before going on tour. He worked as a keyboard technician for several bands, including Gentle Giant, before beginning a three year working relationship with Frank Zappa. (This included three America tours, two European tours, spending several months in the studio working on the album "Baby Snakes" and making a brief, credited appearance in Zappa's movie, "Baby Snakes"). He was with Zappa in Paris when Pierre Boulez first visited.
Upon returning to LA, he attended the UCLA Extention Music Business course where he was awarded two NARAS scholarships. He studied record production with Nick Venet (producer of The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater and many others).
His first two CDs, Urban Electronic Music, and UEM Live have received good reviews and airplay on NPR, college and indie radio stations. In 2006 The American Composers Forum awarded him a SUBITO grant to help defer the cost of his third studio CD, Nuclear Menace which is currently getting airplay and was reviewed in the fall/2007 issue of Signal
to Noise Magazine. His fourth CD, noise noise - was released in 2008.
Andy Sykora (b.1967, Los Angeles) played drums in Los Angeles area rock bands from 1985-2000. He has created and distributed collage postcards since 1984 and did stencil graffiti while living in Berkley from 1990-92.
He then performed with multi-genre band Harm Farm for three U.S. tours in 1992. Returning to Los Angeles he hosted 'Strange Place For An Ear', a weekly two hour live audio collage radio program on KBLT 104.7 FM, a pirate station, from 1996-98. During this time he was also recording and performing in Los Angeles using electronics & voice as Blandysment. In 1997-98 he played percussion/drums with musician and playwright Stew & went on to tour the U.S. with Stew's band The Negro Problem in 1999. He spent Nov 1998-Feb 1999 as the in-house percussionist for recording label Disque Tricatel in Paris.
Returning to the U.S. he performed using cymbals, scrap metal, samplers or prepared guitar with free improvisational group Guitar Party in Los Angeles & San Diego from 1997-99 and went on to host & perform at an all non-electronic monthly new music concert series at Holly Matter Gallery in Los Angeles from 2000-01. He performs around Southern California on a piezo mic'd/delayed bicycle as part of various festivals, including Sunset Junction Street Fair, LA's Bike Summer in 2005, and Sound Walk 2005 & 06 in Long Beach, CA.
He now works as a sound artist and member of new music group UEM. Other current projects include creating a video for the band Perplexa.
Jasmine Orpilla is a Saudi and Salindeg-raised Filipina-American
multi-lingual vocal artist whose background in world theatre has sent
her all over the globe, performing with directors Ariane Mnouchkine
(Théâtre du Soleil, France) Master Pei Yanling (Hebei Bangzi/Peking
Opera), Master Akira Matsui (Noh Theatre, Kita School) and opera
director Peter Sellars. Prizewinner of 2004 Paris Jeunes Talents from
the Mayor and City of Paris, Jasmine Orpilla's vocal performances were
featured in festivals, broadcast on French radio and continue to be
internationally distributed (Festival Vues d'Ici, Cabaret Sauvage,
Edel Records, SACEM). Since her recent return to the USA, she has
completed a national theatrical tour of an 8-multi-ethnic character
piece on racism, recorded with Nels Cline, Joey Maramba, and won
numerous grants from the cities L.A. and Pasadena to create original
work. Jasmine Orpilla regularly performs throughout L.A. with the
multidisciplinary Ninja Academy, as the martial vocalist otherwise
known as "Ninjamamalickum."
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