Erik Spangler biographical sketch

Erik Spangler (a.k.a. DJ Dubble8) is a composer working within a wide range of listening environments. His compositions have been performed across the United States and internationally from Canada to China, by ensembles including the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and International Contemporary Ensemble. As a turntablist DJ, Spangler performs live remixes of his own electro-acoustic compositions from nightclubs to universities, through solo performances or in a chamber music context.

Collaborations with individual instrumentalists document a musical dialogue-in-progress with the recording and sampling of developing phrases and improvised gestures, followed by the incorporation of these samples into the finished composition. Using a digital interface with a standard DJ setup, Spangler explores the manual manipulation of sounds both newly created and selected from history.

Spangler received a Ph.D. in music composition in 2004 from Harvard University. He has taught composition and theory as a teaching fellow at Harvard and as a lecturer at Ithaca College School of Music.

Hybrid Groove Project

A unique non-traditional chamber ensemble, Hybrid Groove Project is a collaborative composition and performance venture, featuring saxophonist Brian Sacawa and composer/turntablist DJ Dubble8. Synthesizing elements from traditions as diverse as modern classical music, free jazz, funk, and break-beat electronica, the project emphasizes affinities between these various influences in a union of groove and sonic experimentation.

Sacawa and Dubble8 (a.k.a. Dr. Erik Spangler) first came together in 2004 for a multimedia concert at the University of Michigan in collaboration with internationally acclaimed video artist Johnny DeKam. Since then, Hybrid Groove Project has evolved to become a cutting-edge performance model for new music, embracing the idea of live remix in the presentation of both original and borrowed compositions.