The Subtropics Experimental Music & Sound Arts Festival turns 18 this year
and continues its mission to open our ears to new sounds. Headquartered
again at Dorsch Gallery in Miami’s Wynwood District and hosted for a night
by ArtCenter/South Florida and Miami Beach Cinematheque in Miami Beach,
Subtropics will offer a daily dose of new and experimental music and sound
works from an international collection of composers and performers.
Subtropics is the largest and oldest festival of its kind in the region and
one of South Florida’s true Cultural treasures.

ST-18, presented by SFCA’s interdisciplinary Sound Arts Workshop in
partnership once again with the Miami Performing Arts Center, concentrates a
wide array of events into a ten-day period, from February 23rd to March 3rd,
2005. At once a world-class exposition of new music and sound art and a
venue for an exchange of ideas between local, national, and international
artists, Subtropics creates a public dialogue along with engaging
entertainment unique to Miami and most parts of the world.

Can bio-acoustician David Dunn talk to the animals? Not exactly, but after
experiencing his performance on opening night of the Subtropics Festival,
the possibility may seem closer than you think. Come listen for this and
other near-superpowers as Dunn engages the audience and the environment with
simultaneous performances of In Air, In Water, In Earth, In Trees and Three
Strange Attractors. Just before that, experience an opening performance of
Alvin Lucier’s sound installation Music on a Long Thin Wire and get ready to
dodge hypersonic sound beams in Gustavo Matamoros and Charles Recher’s
Hypersonic Test: Florida I.

Can Gino Robair play a concert on anything, anywhere, in any situation? This
amazing percussionist, who has recorded with Tom Waits and Derek Bailey and
performed with the likes of John Zorn and Japanese turntablist Otomo
Yoshihide, attempts to do just that as he appears in residency during the
Subtropics Festival. He will make appearances in street theatre
improvisations on Lincoln Road and as part of the Zoo Band, which also
features the ingenious digital drawings of Portugal’s Jorge Gonçalves.
Robair’s residency will culminate with the Miami premiere of his
experimental real-time opera I, Norton, as he conducts a performance by
members of the FIU New Music Ensemble.

Subtropics’ reach extends to the airwaves this year with Eugenia Vargas and
Odalis Valdivieso’s Talking Head Transmitters, a low frequency AM radio
station broadcasting to cars and passersby in Miami Beach. In other festival
highlights, New Zealand’s David Watson makes us reconsider the bagpipes,
guitar virtuoso Seth Josel presents an evening of art music for acoustic and
electric guitar, Ben Manley explores the acoustics of everyday objects, and
NODUS treats us to solo and chamber music for the 21st century, plus, Miami
mavericks Edward Bobb, Phoenecia and Dino Felipe. Sound and image come
together in screenings of Visual Music and We Jam Econo: The Story of the
Minutemen. Everything draws to a conclusion on March 4 with a celebration of
the Subtropics Marathon’s 18th birthday, featuring a variety of performers
from Miami and around the world.

To satisfy your belly along with your ears, Subtropics Barbecue is available
for purchase at all Dorsch Gallery events. Miami artist Alex Steneck will be
donning his alternate “Playa-Personality” to bring gourmet BBQ to festival
attendees. Bring your appetite! Drinks and refreshments will top off this
aural and culinary experience that’s not to be missed.

Subtropics 18 will be held from February 23 - March 4, 2005. The
experimental music & sound arts festival will be held at Dorsch Gallery
located at 151 NW 24 St in Miami’s Wynwood
Arts District. Miami Beach events will be hosted by the Miami Beach
Cinematheque on Española Way and at
ArtCenter/South Florida on Lincoln Road. Admission to
events at Dorsch Gallery ranges from $5 - $15. Subtropics on the Beach
events are free. The ST-18 Pass admits one to all Subtropics events and is
available for $75. ST-18 events are free for members. Individual memberships
can be obtained for $50 for one year; students and seniors $40. For more
information, call 305.981.0600 or email info@subtropics.org.