Dominant Patterns is an electrifying snapshot of the improvisational, hybrid audiovisual practice of Merlin Ettore, recorded in the artist’s Berlin studio over three days back in February. Layering acoustic percussion, live electronics and custom-made GAN animations, Ettore has developed a richly textured and hyperkinetic mode of performance, transforming improvisational sessions into multidisciplinary sessions with his distinct aesthetic sense. “This musical work is essentially a snapshot of my exploration process towards the interplay and dialogue of live drums and electronics, he explains. “Everything is improvised and spontaneously manoeuvred. The base concept of my setup is that it should sound like one single sonic source. I am constantly trying to find ways to ‘glue’ the sound together.”

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MERLIN ETTORE
is a creative freak: a virtuoso drummer, masterful producer, and coveted visual artist. With a long-established artistic persona proving as polymorphic as his skillset, his message cuts as striking and uncompromising, defined by a bold aesthetique-noire he can call his own.  While the intense, polyrhythmic powerplay that underpins his live performances leaves a compelling mark, his compositions reveal a mastery of both the acoustic instruments and analog equipment that define his sound.  

Ettore cuts a unique presence in electronic music’s experimental underground. A passion for the interaction between acoustic and electronic instruments has led to the creation of intricate, mind-bending, and challenging compositions. There's an unrelenting and visceral impulse to his work, defined by a life-long and far-reaching passion for the rhythmic qualities of music. It’s a compelling, abrasive alchemy, defined by a belief in pursuing the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’.  This is 'total' music production: composition, collaboration, performance, and recording -  of which Ettore is a proven master in all four disciplines.

Merlin has been seen and heard through various collaborations with an array of forward-thinking artists such as, Don Preston (Frank Zappa), Pussy Riot, Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson), Huun Huur tu, Kangding Ray, Barry Burns (Mogwai) Belief Defect, Kyoka, Samuel Kerridge, Cirk La Putyka & dance company rootless roots. Music festivals appearances include Dismaland, Atonal, Unsound, Rewire, WOMAD, and Diaghilev Festival.