Bio
Jake Landau is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound engineer and field recordist who runs Crossroads Studio , both a recording studio out of his home in New Paltz , NY and a field recording studio that travels to capture professional studio quality recordings in rugged and off the grid environments. As a musician who primarily plays drums/percussion, piano and guitar, Landau has a fluid musicality that blurs the line between his instruments and musical genres. Landau creates compositions that come from the inside out and invite listeners in to a reflective and meditative space. He also brings this aesthetic to his recording, mixing, and field recording work, capturing a clear and warm sound that has been noted to ‘sound just like it sounds in the room.’ He is most known for his work with composer/percussionist and sound artist Susie Ibarra. As well as being a member of her Fragility Etudes Ensemble (piano, guitar, keyboards, extended percussion) he has performed with Ibarra at the 2016 Rio Olympics, appears on her modular architecture and music mobile iOS app in collaboration with TEDFellow and architect Aziza Chaouni, 'Music and Water Routes of Fez,' and is a field recordist and sound engineer on her large scale work in collaboration with fellow TEDFellow and Glaciologist Michelle Koppes, ‘Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change.' His most recent work with Ibarra includes performing at Zamane Festival in M'Hamid El Ghizlane, South Sahara, Draa Valley, Morocco with Fragility Etudes Ensemble comprised of 30 musicians from Morocco, Ghana, Mali, and NY, as well as recording ensembles from Ghana and Mali during their time at the festival. The ensembles were led by master musicians Mohammed Alidu and Mahamadou Diabaté and will be released as upcoming Splice Soundpacks. Landau can be heard with Ibarra on her albums ‘Perception’ (2017) and ‘Walking on Water’ (2021) as well as iOS app 'Music and Water Routes of Fez.' Landau’s most recent releases as a composer/performer include 'Dreambook 2: Breathing and Dreaming' (2022) , ‘One Spring Morning’ (2021) , ‘Dreambook 1 : Breaking the Silence’ (2021) , and ‘Lullaby For a Suffering World’ (2021)
Field Recording Work -
M'Hamid El Ghizlane, South Sahara, Draa Valley, Morocco - Record ensemble from Bizung School of Music and Dance from Tamala, Ghana led by Master Talking Drummer Mohammed Alidu for upcoming Splice Soundpack (2022)
M'Hamid El Ghizlane, South Sahara, Draa Valley, Morocco - Record ensemble from Ecole de Musique de Kirina, Mali led by Master Calabash Player Mahamadou Diabaté for upcoming Splice Soundpack (2022)
Beacon, NY - Recording water , waterfalls , and environmental sounds for Water: Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change Installation at Fridman Gallery (2021)
M'Hamid El Ghizlane, South Sahara, Draa Valley, Morocco - Recording over 50 traditional and contemporary musicians for Sounds of Drâa Valley, Morocco Splice Sound Pack (2021)
Varanasi, India - Recording water and environmental sounds for climate piece Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change (2018)
Easton Glacier, Washington State, USA - Recording water , ice , and environmental sounds for climate piece Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change (2017)
Engineer Work -
Mix live sound for 30 piece Fragility Ensemble led by Susie Ibarra at Zamane Festival in M'Hamid El Ghizlane, South Sahara, Morocco (2022)
Engineer stereo mix and composition and for Susie Ibarra and Michelle Koppes - Water Rhythms sound installation and exhibition at the San Francisco Exploratorium (2022)
Engineer stereo mix and composition for Susie Ibarra and Michelle Koppes - Water Rhythms Archive Room - a sonic installation at the Arko Art Center in Seoul , South Korea (2021)
Engineer stereo mix and composition for Susie Ibarra and Michelle Koppes - Water Rhythms Listening Room - a sound installation and meditation space at TED Climate Conference in Edinburgh , Scotland (2021)
Engineer stereo mix and composition for Susie Ibarra and Michelle Koppes - Water Rhythms 14 channel sonic installation at Fridman Gallery in Beacon , NY (2021)
Mix 'Listening at Himalayan Waterfalls' and 'Floating Along Banares' for Susie Ibarra Walking on Water album (2021)
Engineer for Digital Sanctuaries Harvard sound walk app created by sound artist Susie Ibarra and commissioned by Harvard Professor Claire Chase for her Fall 2020 and 2021 First Year Seminars at Harvard University (2020 & 2021)
Engineer stereo mix and composition for Susie Ibarra and Michelle Koppes - Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change - a sonic waterfall installation of 2 separate pieces at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver , BC and Innisfree Garden in Milbrook , NY commissioned by the Fine Acts Foundation for TED Climate Countdown (2020)
Splice Sound Packs
Memories: Melancholy Pop by Jake Landau - composer/performer, engineer (2022)
Heart and Breath: Ambient Hypnotic - recording, engineer (2022)
Sounds of Drâa Valley, Morocco - field recording, engineer (2022)
Water Rhythms by Susie Ibarra - field recording, engineer (2021)
The Himalayas by Susie Ibarra - engineer (2020)
Recording Work
Heart and Breath: Rhythm and Tone Fields - Album composed and performed by Susie Ibarra and Richard Reed Parry - Record Susie Ibarra's drum and percussion sounds (2022)
This American Life Podcast Episode 775 The Possum Experiment - Record vocals for Kiese Laymon (2022)
Dreambook 2 : Breathing and Dreaming - Album by Jake Landau - recorded, mixed (2022)
Luminous Forests film by Susie Ibarra for Detroit Institute of the Arts TATM Concert - Record Susie Ibarra (drums and percussion), Alex Peh (piano) , and Yuka C. Honda (electronics) (2022)
Susie Ibarra and Makoto Fujimura live performance - Record drumset/percussion and live painting at High Line Nine Gallery in NYC (2021)
Susie Ibarra - 'Metal, Wood and Skin' solo drumset and kulintang piece for Chaiken Records compilation NYC LIMINAL SERIES, vol 3: Drums (2021)
Susie Ibarra - RITWAL solo drumset recording and video for Suoni Per Il Popolo UnDrum Festival (2021)
Susie Ibarra - Talking Gong album release live recording and video featuring Claire Chase and Alex Peh (2021)
One Spring Morning - E.P. by Jake Landau - recorded , mixed , mastered (2021)
Dreambook 1 : Breaking the Silence - Album by Jake Landau - recorded , mixed , mastered (2021)
Lullaby For A Suffering World - Single by Jake Landau - recorded , mixed , mastered (2021)