"Michael Chocholak is a sound shaman. His music transforms you, carries you away to other realities, other dimensions and other states of consciousness. If you are looking for a Bardo preview, this is the soundtrack." - Misha Nogha.

Electronic and electroacoustic soundscapes. Abstract. Visceral and imagick. Structured improvisations. Surreal architectures. Alternate mythologies. Although initially a guitarist, any sound source is considered a potential instrument from skin drum to pc.

After moving across country to Oregon in the late 60's, Michael spent a year secluded in an abandoned 19th century house surrounded by cattle bones, plow discs, pieces of wood and glass and other sonic objects suspended from the ceiling, running 20 foot tape loops on multiple recorders, and circuit bending sound processors out of discarded electronics. He emerged to front a number of ensembles playing original and improvisational music and issued over 25 independent releases including collaborations with cyberpunk writer and rocker John Shirley, German electronic music pioneer Conrad Schnitzler, Canadian text/sound composer and performer Richard Truhlar, Australian sound artist Rik Rue, the Schreck electroacoustic Ensemble, poets David Memmott and Mel Buffington, the garage band Leather Smile, world fusion vocalist Pandia, surreal transformationalist Richard Dunlap, electronic composers Johan Meier and Ooy, and his wife, writer and poet Misha Nogha. His work has been featured by Peripheral Music, echOmusic, Howteck Industries, Underwhich Audiographics, Insane Music, Whole Earth, Camera Obscura, Generations Unlimited, Harvestworks and Realization Recordings. His current releases are Alveromancy on Triple Bath and Lucid Dreaming by Scarcity of Moments on Small Doses.

Michael Chocholak - Alveromancy at Triple Bath

"Originally a guitarist, these days (Michael is) using anything he can lay his hands on: from the guitar to the computer, from drums to glass - all of this is used to the extent of no longer being able to recognize what it is. Creating large pieces of vast and dense clouds of sound. Music that sounds very electronic, yet very organic too. You don't recognize the initial sources - it's only because they are mentioned in the press text. Music like this would be called ambient industrial: it's too noisy to be fully ambient and relaxing, and too ambient to pass on as real noise. This is sort of ambient (industrial, drone whatever) music that I really like. Referring to modern electronics (especially Roland Kayn), heavily processed electro-acoustic music and Germany's cosmic music (especially Conrad Schnitzler), this is music that hardly sees innovation, but in the capable hands of Chocholak it's still a great miracle." Franz de Waard/Vital Weekly

Lucid Dreaming by Scarcity of Moments

a collaborative project by Johann Meier and Michael. nearly an hour of guitar and bass ambience realizing a sonic version of the multiple view points, fractured geometry, and repetition found in the literary works of Alain Robbe-Grillet and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. edition of 72 copies packaged in three variations of manipulated images by Johann. available from Small Doses.


In addition to studio and live performance, he has composed for film, video, graphics, dance, theatre, literature, poetry, installations, and the internet. Believing in the celebration and free interchange of musics and sound, he surrounds his home with kinetic sound sculptures and has released over 100 free mp3 tracks to the planet.

Michael Chocholak/The Badger

Hey - thx to everyone for posting the great music.