Adam Goodwin (b. 1986) is a composer, double bassist, multi-instrumentalist, multimedia artist and independent researcher based in Berlin, Germany.

After completing studies in classical and contemporary double bass performance at the University of North Texas and the University of California San Diego, his creative work has expanded across a variety of musical and aesthetic dimensions.

His compositional output is closely connected to and influenced by the natural world. He regularly embarks on tours and excursions in which he composes, improvises, films, records, and explores in wilderness areas and nature parks. In addition to composing instrumental pieces on these trips, he also creates multimedia “audiovisual poems”, as well as visual art, photography and writings.

One of his main conceptual interests is the sociological function of music in various cultures, and he engages in active research, writing, and performance production related this subject. Additionally, his work explores the idea of place and how specific environments and ecosystems influences culture, belief systems and behavior.

Sonically, his compositions explore microtonality, resonance, repetition and psychoacoustic phenomena, often incorporating graphic notation, textual instructions, and conceptual ideas intertwined with traditional musical notation.

As a performer, Goodwin is active as a soloist as well as a member of numerous bands and ensembles, primarily within the fields of contemporary and experimental music, but also in genres including various forms of rock, pop, folk music and blues. In addition, he studies and performs the traditional modal music of the Eastern Mediterranean, primarily focusing on Greek, Turkish, and Arabic music, and also works as an arranger and interpreter of ancient Byzantine music.

He is a member of ensembles including the Havoc Quartet, Elmer Kussiac, Ensemble New Babylon, Twin Flames Ensemble, Circuit Training and Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. He also performs regularly with groups including ensemble unitedberlin, Ensemble KNM, Zafraan Ensemble, BulCanto, and AsianArt Ensemble.

His compositions have received awards from the International Society of Bassists, Mushamukas Ensambles de Contrebajos Composition Competition and Oberhausen Film Festival, and he was Artist-in-Residence at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, USA, in 2019. He has received commissions from several solo artists and ensembles, including the Chargan Persian String Quartet and Fatih Ermete.

Goodwin has released multiple solo albums, most recently “Nemesis Trilogy”, “Banishing Ritual” and “Ghost Buzzard”, and has been featured on many different albums by bands and ensembles across a wide range of genres, including Elmer Kussiac, ANIQO, The Moon is No Door, Palimpsest Ensemble, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Morphine Ridges, Elmer Kussiac, Squid Lux, and others.

CONTACT

zopharthe@gmail.com