Kevin Corcoran works with percussion, field recordings and electronics with an open interest in sound as medium as it moves through contexts of music, art, communication and place.
As a percussionist he is focused on techniques which extend the sonic possibilities of the instrument by emphasizing textural sound, friction, sympathetic vibration, sustained tones and the use of found objects with an interest in freely arranging events in duration rather than marking time by rhythm. Whether working in sparse sound with a single drum and cymbal or frenetic contexts on the drum kit, improvisation is crucial to his practice as generative method and non-hierarchical exchange of ideas.
Through field recordings he observes and interacts with sites and objects with specific interests in abandoned architecture, urban excess, toxicity, decay, and intersections of infrastructure and open space which entangle intentional and incidental changes. Electronic sound features in his work through the use of cassette tapes, computer software, feedback systems and various means of amplification.
Based in San Francisco, California, he collaborates across disciplines and borders performing in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan with musicians, dancers, filmmakers, writers and visual artists. In addition to making live and recorded sound and music, he has exhibited sound installations, text, and experimental video works.
Beyond his own work he is a co-organizer of the concert series Re:Sound which takes place in an abandoned munitions magazine on Mare Island and operates under 23Five, a long running nonprofit dedicated to the increased awareness of sound in the arts.