Hailing from Manchester in the UK, acoustic-electronica trio GoGo Penguin are pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka and drummer Rob Turner. Drawing on a heady brew of influences from Brian Eno, John Cage, Massive Attack and Aphex Twin to Manchester’s grey rain-streaked urban streets, they create a brave new sound that is wholly their own.

Defined by skittering break-beats, powerful sub-bass, telepathic interplay and a penchant for anthemic melody they create an emotionally rich palate for the listener that has seen them hailed as the most exciting new band to emerge from the UK in years.

Jack Langdon (b. 1994, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) is an experimental composer, filmmaker, and writer. His work investigates incompleteness, indifference, mimesis, stagnation, and material brevity. He is currently devising systematic approaches to non-harmony.

As a performer, his mediums are the pipe organ and the Ojibwe wooden flute (bibigwan). The subjects of his films are the landscape, the built environment, memory, and the transmission of these things through people. His writings investigate philosophy of music and political economy of contemporary cultural production.

Jack has written works for ensembles Yarn/Wire, Schallfeld Ensemble, Fonema Consort, Ensemble Dal Niente, Talea Ensemble, Prague Quiet Music Collective, Southland Ensemble, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and Trio SÆITENWIND. His orchestral works have been performed by the Minnesota Sinfonia and St. Olaf Orchestra. He has created work together with musicians Jeff Kimmel, Olivia Shortt, Anthony Vine, Webb Crawford, Taylor Ho Bynum, Kelley Sheehan, and Weston Olencki. His work has been supported and presented by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, the Fromm Foundation, The Awesome Foundation, and the Prague City Gallery.

His recordings have been released by IMPREC, Sawyer Editions, Dinzu Artefacts, and Lobby Art Records. His written work has been published by Sound American, Cacophony, and Shred Magazine. He runs an independent record label and music journal called Empty Stage and runs a blog called Challenging Music.

He is a PhD student in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College and Saint Olaf College. He was a Graduate Fellow at the Alice Kaplan Center for the Public Humanities in 2024 and 2025. 

Jack grew up in the unincorporated community of Keyeser, Wisconsin. He is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Doug Perkins’s “Simple Songs” on New Focus represents his solo debut recording, and is a wonderful document of the dynamism that exists in the constantly growing percussion repertoire. Praised as a “percussion virtuoso” by the New York Times, Doug has assembled a kaleidoscopic collection of works for solo percussion, focusing on the extremes of virtuosity on one hand and percussion’s music penchant for the art of tinkering on the other. From the haunting meditation of vibraphone and one-bit music in Tristan Perich’s Momentary Expanse to the quirky noises of David Lang’s Unchained Melody, and ending with Michael Gordon’s monolithic XY, the range of the record is reflective of the vast scope of interests captivating the contemporary percussionist.
Beau Sievers’ Spatial Network for Percussion extends his experimentation to the compositional process itself. Beau’s computerized score “knows” Doug’s setup but gives him an entirely unique realization within those parameters for each performance. is recording represents just one realization of an infinite number of possibilities. At the heart of this record both conceptually and personally is Simple Songs of Birth and Return by critically acclaimed composer, percussionist, and New Focus labelmate Nathan Davis (FCR120). Nathan and Doug’s friendship extends back for over 15 years, having gone to the same school, lived in the same apartments, and shared personal milestones (Doug was Nathan’s best man; “A Tale Begun” was written so Doug could practice as his newborn slept). It is all at once a sonic exploration worthy of an indie venue and an intimate gi to a good friend. In the brotherly spirit of the transaction, the recording session for Davis’ work took place over two nights in Doug’s sauna in his New England home, temporarily retrofitted in true contemporary percussion DIY style as a recording studio for the occasion.
Capturing the personal nature of the project, Doug commissioned a comic book in lieu of program notes from music writer, composer, and comic book artist, Matthew Guerrierri. e percussion world is a club of sorts, and knowing about the inordinate and unique logistic hurdles that practitioners face is the barrier to entry. It seems fitting for a recording by a young veteran of this world to describe the works through a veneer of humor, undoubtedly the same veneer that comes in handy when packing up one’s gear alone aer yet another show.
“...percussion virtuoso...” New York Times
“...terrific, wide-awake and strikingly entertaining...” Boston Globe
Doug Perkins is active as a chamber musician, soloist, producer, and conductor. He founded So Percussion, the Meehan/ Perkins Duo and performs regularly with groups such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Signal, Camerata Pacifica, and eighth blackbird. Doug's productions of large-scale percussion works have been named Top Ten Performances in 2010 and 2011 by the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and Time Out NY. As an educator, Doug is Director of the Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar, Artist- in-Residence with eighth blackbird at the University of Chicago and served on the music faculty at Dartmouth College.

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