Eclectic composer-pianist Erik Griswold fuses experimental, jazz and world music traditions to create works of striking originality. Specializing in prepared piano, percussion and toy instruments, he has created a musical universe all his own that is "sincere" (neural.it), "playful" (igloo magazine), "colourful and refreshingly unpretentious" (Paris Transatlantic).
Since the late 1980s he has composed solo and chamber works for many adventurous performers in the U.S. and Australia, such as Margaret Leng Tan, Steven Schick, Either/Or Ensemble, Southern Cross Soloists, red fish blue fish, Speak Percussion, and many others. In 2012, new works include "Drifting cowboys in a mist" for Kurilpa String Quartet, "Bury the sound" for Decibel, and "Time Crystals" for Clocked Out Duo.
Griswold has received grants, commissions, and/or fellowships from the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland, Brisbane City Council, Melbourne City Council, Asialink Foundation, Queensland Music Festival, Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the InterArts Consortium of the University of California. His work can be heard on Mode Records, Room:40, Listen/Hear Collective, Einstein Records, Accretions/Circumvention, Move, Clocked Out, and Innova.
His music has been performed at major festivals and venues throughout Australia, the U.S., Asia, and Europe, including: Carnegie Hall, Asia Pacific Festival (Wellington), Bang on a Can Festival (New York), Big Sur Experimental Music Festival, Chengdu Arts Centre, El Cruce (Madrid), Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series (Los Angeles), London Jazz Festival, Queensland Music Festival (Brisbane), Shanghai International Festival, Sydney Opera House, Roulette and Tonic (New York).
Together with Vanessa Tomlinson, Griswold directs Clocked Out, which produces innovative concert series, events and tours. Clocked Out recently received the APRA-AMCOS "Award for Excellence by an Organisation" for their 2009-10 programs.
Griswold has lived in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Melbourne, Adelaide, and now calls Brisbane home. He is currently adjunct professor at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and holds a PhD from University of California, San Diego.
"No matter how dense the sonic layers became, the effect was one of epic grandeur rather than mayhem. The horn players' harmonies began to blur as though they were playing under water, calling across the stage in soulful waves before the entire ensemble merged into a subdued, satisfying unison." - The Age (on Ecstatic Music)
"Startlingly fresh imagery...intelligent, intuitive and original." - The Courier Mail, July 2005, Luke Beesley
"Rewarding and intense...the alchemical transformation of furious, minimal clusters into eerie harmonics and distant half-heard melodies, sudden evocations of gamelan and marimba." - RealTime (on Other Planes)
