BIOGRAPHY: Francis KuipersAnglo/Dutch guitarist, master of - TopicsExpress

BIOGRAPHY: Francis KuipersAnglo/Dutch guitarist, master of flat-picking and composer Francis “Superguitar” Kuipers currently lives mainly in Italy and The Netherlands. He has collaborated with Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass on the films Anima Mundi, Evidence and Naqoyqatsi and has composed the original music scores for Mary, Napoli Napoli Napoli, Go Go Tales, with the voice of Grace Jones, and 4:44 The Last Day on Earth directed by Abel Ferrara. For a number of years Francis Kuipers performed and recorded in duo with Beat Generation poet Gregory Corso. From 1992-96 he directed the Music & Sound Department at Fabrica, the school of Multimedia Communications founded by Luciano Benetton and Oliviero Toscani near Treviso. Benetton international radio spots, created by him (with script by Fabrizio Andreella) won the European Grand Prix best radio publicity 1995- 96. On his travels, Francis Kuipers collected and studied ethnic and experimental music. This activity developed into ongoing research into sound and music, and its numerous functions, and the sound environment, as well as the creation of a unique and extensive archive of sounds. A multi-lingual professional musician, musicologist and radio broadcaster, Francis Kuipers works internationally, often collaborating with major artists. Important travels include: Australasia and Polynesia 61-65; East Africa and the Seychelles Islands 67-69; Nepal 69-70; India 74-75; The Philippines, 87-88 and frequent sojourns in the USA, South America and other parts of the world. Francis Kuipers has conducted numerous radio series on music, principally for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation and for the Italian RAI networks. Vedette, Red Records, Durium, Fonit-Cetra, Fabbri Editori, Folkstudio Records, Gypsy Records and Milan Records have published his recorded work. Francis Kuipers has travelled the world for over thirty years, engaged in ethno-musical research, broadcasting, working as a composer and sound designer for film and, above all, performing. Although its roots are in blues and folk, Francis Kuipers music is extraordinary, apart from his technique, in that it has evolved in a highly original manner, drawing inspiration from all of the music he has been immersed in. It is extraordinary too because, through his music, despite its being so unusual and its unfamiliarity, he is capable of communicating with, and generating great emotion, in a wide variety of audiences, irrespective of their culture and background. When he performs his improvisational pieces for solo guitar especially, his music defies any kind of label, an ever-evolving mixture of many different styles which form a oneness, harmonious and passionate, that is, at times, intensely moving. Contemporary music, Sardinian folk music, Flamenco or Oriental classical music, the music of Oceania, rocknroll, bluegrass, Indian melodies, all the music forms he has assimilated from various periods of time and geographical areas, mingle together to create a very personal, yet uniquely global language. From a presentation by Thomas Dahlberg.