electronic breakbeat jazz
Revolution Void combines electronic music with live improvisation, resulting in a style of music described variously as nu-jazz, electro-jazz or electronic breakbeat jazz.
Revolution Void is the moniker of 23-year-old producer and jazz pianist Jonah Dempcy. Revolution Void recordings also feature a number of guest musicians including Seamus Blake (Mingus Big Band), Matthew Garrison (Herbie Hancock) and Lucas Pickford (Brian Blade).
Taking cues from electro-acoustic pioneers DJ Shadow, Medeski Martin & Wood and DJ Cam, Revolution Void presents the listener with a unique combination of electronic music and modern jazz.
The sound of Revolution Void has progressed over the years. Originally, it was "pure" electronic music - breaks, downtempo, atmospheric and so on. But, over the years, Jonah began to incorporate live jazz and funk improvisation. Jonah considers his main jazz influences to be John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, as well as contemporary artists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel and Brad Mehldau.
In 2000, Jonah began working with Michael Shrieve (Santana) as an engineer and producer. Jonah worked as an engineer on Shrieve's album with Bill Frisell, Dave Holland and Elvin Jones. He also produced music for Michael Carabello (Santana) and Theodore "Lolo" Beaubrun jr. (The Boukman Eksperyanz). Michael Shrieve laid down drum tracks on the Revolution Void album Increase the Dosage.
Jonah also began collaborating with drummer/producer Dave Hill jr. and James "Roto" Rotondi at this time (the duo make up NYC electro-acoustic outfit Jettatura). Jonah worked with both of them extensively, collaborating with Dave Hill on Revolution Void material and on their own side projects, while Roto laid down tracks on Increase the Dosage. Roto is perhaps best known for his work with the seminal electro-acoustic group The Grassy Knoll. He has also toured with the French band Air.
From 1996-2001, Revolution Void performed live over 100 times. Live performances consist of synthesizers, samplers and drum machines, all playing loops, mixed and matched on the fly. This ensures a unique performances every time. On top of this, Jonah improvises with turntables and keyboards as well, and has featured guest performers including Michael Shrieve, Dave Hill jr. and many others.
In 2001, Jonah began focusing more on music production, though he still performs live on rare occasions. At this time, Jonah began actively seeking out musicians to collaborate with. These collaborations can be heard on recent releases such as Increase the Dosage, Effects of Elevation and Thread Soul.
In 2005, Jonah began releasing music online through the Creative Commons, beginning with the album Increase the Dosage. Since then, Revolution Void has been an active member of the online music-sharing renaissance, regularly releasing albums and singles in their entirety for free online.
In the future, Jonah intends to continue releasing high-quality music both online and in CD and vinyl form, to collaborate with top-notch electronic and jazz musicians, and to continue exploring the boundary where electronic composition and jazz improvisation meet.
