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escape response Escape response, escape reaction, or escape behavior is a mechanism by which animals avoid potential predation. It consists of a rapid sequence of movements, or lack of movement, that position the animal in such a way that allows it to hide, freeze ...

Escape Mechanism is the title of a

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throug ...

project instigated by

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

based artist Jonathan Nelson. Using fragments of audio from a variety of previously recorded sound sources, the project is an experiment in recycled media. Escape Mechanism has taken many forms, since 1997. From solo studio releases and theatrical sound design, to a live ensemble and sound installation, the project is defined by its re-use of sounds found in the broadcast media. Although essentially a studio project, Escape Mechanism experimented briefly (1999 – 2001) with live improvisation. Performing under the name Cast of Thousands with Escape Mechanism, the rotating ensemble also worked exclusively with bits and pieces of the media environment, performing at art venues and performances spaces such as

The Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

, the Soap Factory and The First Avenue Main Room. Escape Mechanism has collaborated with artists such as Steev Hise,

The Tape-beatles The Tape-beatles (also known as Public Works) are a multi-media group that formed in Iowa City in December 1986. Its members have included Lloyd Dunn, John Heck, Ralph Johnson, Paul Neff, and Linda Morgan Brown. Beginning with analog tape reco ...

and Wobbly, and mounted sound installations at art galleries such as The Blue Theater, Rosalux Gallery and The Rochester Art Center. Escape Mechanism proudly presents itself as 100% recycled, as every sound found in an Escape Mechanism composition is recycled from a previously recorded source. No original sounds are incorporated; only original juxtapositions.

Some Assembly Required

Nelson is perhaps best known for his role as host and producer of the nationally syndicated radio program, Some Assembly Required. The show is a weekly exploration of works of appropriation, by artists who use samplers and other audio playback equipment to create original

compositions. The program brings together artists from multiple genres, and has featured interviews with sound collage artists such as

The Bran Flakes The Bran Flakes are a Canadian-American indie pop group formed in Seattle in 1992. The group, whose line-up comprises Otis Fodder from Montreal, Quebec, and Mildred Pitt from Seattle, Washington, specializes in creating sound collages from pre-ex ...

, Emergency Broadcast Network,

The Evolution Control Committee The Evolution Control Committee (The ECC) is an experimental music band based in Columbus, Ohio. The ECC was founded by Mark Gunderson (a.k.a. TradeMark G.) in Columbus, in 1986. They create music that falls within the borders of the sound collag ...

, Omer Fast, DJ Food,

The Freelance Hellraiser Roy Kerr, aka the Freelance Hellraiser, is one of the creators of the UK bootleg ( mashup) scene. Career Under the Freelance Hellraiser name, Kerr gained fame with a mashup in 2001 called "A Stroke of Genius", which combined an instrumental edit ...

, Girl Talk, Go Home Productions, Christian Marclay, Negativland, John Oswald, People Like Us, DJ Qbert,

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...

Steinski Double Dee and Steinski is a duo of hip hop producers, composed of Doug "Double Dee" DiFranco and Steven "Steinski" Stein. They achieved notoriety in the early 1980s for a series of underground hip-hop sample-based collages known as the "Less ...

and many more, since 1999. A record label (Recombinations) and recurring art exhibition (Festival of Appropriation) are among Nelson's other projects. His visual work has shown at galleries such as The Rogue Buddha, Outsiders and Others and Rosalux Gallery.

Album Discography

*''Box of Blue Paperclips'' (1997, out of print) *''Escape Mechanism'' (1998, Recombinations, REC004) *''Minneapolis Summit'' (2002, Staalplaat, with Steev Hise, The Tape-beatles and Wobbly) *''Cast of Thousands with Escape Mechanism'' (2004, Recombinations, REC003) *''(Emphasis Added)'' (2008, Recombinations, REC006)

External links

Escape Mechanism websiteJonathan Nelson at mnartists.orgSome Assembly Required website

Interviews

Radio Feature
Interview with Escape Mechanism's Jonathan Nelson on National Public Radio (2009).
Video Feature
Jonathan Nelson profiled in a Minnesota Stories video at mnartists.org (2006). Collage Sound collages