Ambient Matyk: Outdoor soundscaping in Iowa City by Mark Rushton and Jon Harnish

Laptop looper Mark Rushton and bass player Jon Harnish will present an evening of amplified and improvised ambient, electronica, field recordings, and downtempo music in the Mini Stage area of the Ped Mall in downtown Iowa City on Saturday, September 24, 2005. The music will start around 6pm and last until 9pm, weather-permitting. The Mini Stage area is near the corner of Washington and Dubuque St.

"We've been wanting to do something outside for a while," says Rushton, of Cedar Rapids. "This is a great way to get our music heard and to have fun working in the open air of downtown Iowa City."

Harnish creates complex sounds using his bass, bass amp, and effects box. Rushton regularly works with arranged loops of keyboards, rhythms, guitars, and field recordings. Some of their live recordings, as part of the loose-knit collective in Cedar Rapids called Ambient Matyk, have been included in Rushton's popular podcasts over the past year. The collective meets monthly to work on improvised ambient, downtempo, and avant-garde recordings in the historic New Bohemia section of downtown Cedar Rapids.

Rushton doesn't consider the event a "performance" in any way. "We'll be providing a soundtrack to the evening and for all the people walking around. We'll help create the ambience of the location, but the two of us won't be all that interesting to look at. Jon will be getting sounds out of his bass and I'll be buried in my laptop, but we'll have fun enjoying the end result. We hope others feel the same way."