KA BAIRD
Ka Baird is a performer, composer, and sound designer based in New York City. Using extended voice and microphone techniques along with electronics, electro- acoustics and movement, they explore the outer dimensions of sound through performance. They create a present tense sound with a vigorous delivery that seeks extreme release through physical exertion and psychic extension.
EDUCATION
Millikin University (Decatur, IL) B.F.A. Studio Art (2004) Sculpture
University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) M.A. Library & Information Studies
EXPERIENCE
Self-Employed Artist/Musician (Brooklyn, NY) Dates: 2015-present
Performer/ Recording Artist/ Sound Designer/ Composer/ Producer
SELECTED LIVE PERFORMANCES (2017-present)
“Sapropelicisms”
presented at Roulette Intermedium (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer/ Performer: Ka Baird
Date: January 18, 2017
https://roulette.org/event/ka-baird-sapropelicisms/
"ESPYLACOPA: A Reversal In Three Acts"
presented at Issue Project Room (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: May 11, 2017
https://issueprojectroom.org/video/ka-baird-espylacopa-reversal-three-acts
“Ka Baird”
presented by Heavy Trip for Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair (MOMA PS1)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: September 22, 2017
https://nyabf2018.printedmatterartbookfairs.org/Programs
“Ka Baird: Sapropelic Pycnic”
presented by Drag City at The Hideout (Chicago, IL) Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: October 4, 2017
https://chicagoreader.com/music/ka-baird-of-spires-wrangles-sonic-spirit-shapes- on-her-new-solo-album/
“Ambient Church: Ka Baird”
presented by Ambient Church at Bushwick United Methodist (Brooklyn, NY) Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: December 16, 2017
https://ecmreviews.com/2017/12/17/bill-laswell-and-laraaji-in-concert/
“Moriah Evans: Figuring”
Sound design for choreographer Moriah Evans
presented at Sculpture Center (Queens, NY)
Sound Design: Ka Baird
Date: January 9-14 2018
https://www.sculpture-center.org/events/952/moriah-evans-figuring
“Ka Baird”
presented by Galeria Zé Dos Bois ZDB (Lisbon, Portugal)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: February 14, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-brZc5Z2og
“Ka Baird”
presented at KRAAK Festival (Brussels, Belgium)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: March 3, 2018
https://www.beursschouwburg.be/en/events/kraak/
“centers: 4 channels”
presented at Roulette (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: May 13, 2018
https://roulette.org/event/residency-ka-baird-centers-4-channels/
"Ka Baird"
presented at Meakusma Festival (Eupen, Belgium)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: September 3, 2018
https://meakusma-festival.be/artist/ka-baird/
"Ka Baird"
presented at Fridman Gallery’s 5th Anniversary Festival (NYC)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: September 20, 2018
"FRKWYS:Ka Baird & Pekka Airaksinen"
presented at Le Guess Who Festival (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird & Pekka Airaksinen
Date: November 11, 2018
https://www.leguesswho.nl/lineup/frkwys-ka-baird-pekka-airaksinen https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Sd-M2ZaV4
“Moriah Evans: Configure”
Sound design/performance with choreographer Moriah Evans presented at The Kitchen (NYC)
Sound Design/Performer: Ka Baird Dates: December 5-8, 2018
https://thekitchen.org/event/moriah-evans-configure
"Free For All: Ka Baird"
presented at The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia, PA)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: May 1, 2019
https://icaphila.org/events/free-for-all-6/
“Gaze: Ka Baird“
presented at Unsound Festival (Krakow, Poland)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: October 8, 2019
https://www.unsound.pl/en/archive/en/solidarity/artists/ka-baird.html
"Ka Baird: Respires”
presented at TUSK Festival (Newcastle, UK)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: October 12, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKVVHYfv8O0
“Ka Baird w Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Sarathy Korwar”
presented by Café Oto (London, UK)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird, Robert AA Lowe, Sarathy Korwar
Date: October 30, 2019
https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/ka-baird-sarathy-kowar-hieroglyphic-being/
“Ka Baird: Respires 40 channels” Record Release Show at Future Space (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: November 7, 2019
https://igetrvng.com/2019/10/10/ka-baird-respires-release-show/
"Ka Baird w Max Eilbacher: The Brooding Exercises"
presented by The Kitchen (NYC)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: October 18, 2020
https://onscreen.thekitchen.org/ka-baird-with-max-eilbacher
"Ka Baird w Camilla Padgitt-Coles: Ictum Exercises”
presented by Experimental Intermedia (NYC)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: December 15, 2020
http://experimentalintermedia.org/concerts/20/12.20.virtual/baird.shtml
"Ka Baird: Proximity Exercises"
resented by Roulette (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird Date: June 21, 2021
https://roulette.org/event/ka-baird-proximity-exercises/
“Ka Baird/ John Saint-Pelyvn”
presented by The Lab (San Francisco)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: October 16, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa7uAgKISSw
“Ka Baird: Bearings”
presented by Lampo Foundation (Chicago, IL)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: March 11 and 12, 2022
https://lampo.org/archive/ka-baird-2022/
“Ka Baird/ C Spencer Yeh & Kwami Winfield/ Tashi Dorji & Alex Zhang Hungtai” presented by Issue Project Room Season Opener
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: January 26, 2023
https://issueprojectroom.org/video/ka-baird
“Ka Baird”
presented by Yale University’s Center For Collaborative Arts and Media
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: December 1, 2023
https://ccam.yale.edu/event/ccam-sound-art-series-ka-baird
“Ka Baird/ Brain Transplant”
presented by New Music Circle (St Louis, MO)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: February 17, 2024
https://newmusiccircle.org/2023/07/26/ka-baird-solo-brain-transplant-opening- duo/
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos”
presented by Big Ears Festival (Knoxville, TN)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: March 23, 2024 https://bigearsfestival.org/event/ka-baird/
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos”
presented by Roulette, Intermedium (Brooklyn, NY)
Composer: Ka Baird
Performers: Ka Baird, Henry Fraser, gabby fluke-mogul, Joanna Mattrey Date: April 4, 2024
https://roulette.org/event/ka-baird-bearings-release-show/
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos”
presented by Rewire Festival (The Hague, Netherlands)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: April 7, 2024
https://www.rewirefestival.nl/artist/ka-baird
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtrack for the Bardos”
presented by Intonal Festival (Malmo, Sweden)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: April 25, 2024
https://www.intonalfestival.com/artists-2024/ka-baird
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos”
Presented by Tectonics Glasgow (Creative Scotland and BBC)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: May 5, 2024
https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e24bc8
“Ka Baird: Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos”
Presented by Unsound Festival (Krakow, Poland)
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Performers: Henry Fraser, Artur Majewski, Paulina Was
Date: October 5, 2024
https://www.unsound.pl/en/archive/en/noise-2024/events/clatter.html
“Ka Baird: Yomp”
Presented by Lampo Foundation
Composer/Performer: Ka Baird
Date: December 7, 2024
https://lampo.org/archive/ka-baird-2024/
(For a full archive of performances visit: https://www.kabaird.com/live)
ARTIST TALKS/ WORKSHOPS
Creative Music Studio (NYC)
Vocal Workshop & Performance presented at iBeam (Brooklyn, NY)
Date: October 1, 2023
Bennington College (Bennington, VT)
Artist Talk & Vocal Workshop For: “Electroacoustic Workshop” and “Vocal Processing”
Classes Date: November 20, 2023
New School (NYC, NY) Artist Talk & Vocal Workshop For: “Contemporary Practices in Sound” Class
Date: November 26, 202
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Center of Collaborative Arts and Media Artist Talk presented by Yale University
Date: December 1, 2023
Washington University (St Louis, MO)
Artist Talk
For: “Conceptual Discourses : Art & Feminism” & “Synth Lab” Classes Date: February 17, 2024
RECORDINGS
Sapropelic Pycnic (LP, Cassette, Digital)
Released September 22, 2017 through Drag City Records (Chicago, IL) https://www.dragcity.com/products/sapropelic-pycnic
Respires (LP, Digital)
Released October 19, 2019 through RVNG, Intl (NYC) https://igetrvng.com/products/ka-baird-respires/
Vivification Exercises (Cassette, Digital)
Released January 8, 2021 through Commend THERE (RVNG, Intl) https://igetrvng.com/products/ka-baird-vivification-exercises-i/
Brooding Exercises (Digital)
Released February 15, 2021 through Longform Editions https://longformeditions.com/editions/brooding-exercises-i-second-movement
Ka Baird & Pekka Airaksinen: FRKWYS 17 Hungry Shells (LP, Digital)
Released November 26, 2021 through RVNG, Intl https://igetrvng.com/products/frkwys-vol-17-ka-baird-pekka-airaksinen-hungry- shells/
Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos (LP, CD, Digital)
Released March 22, 2024 through RVNG, Intl https://igetrvng.com/products/ka-baird-bearings-soundtracks-for-the-bardos/
(For a full list of recordings visit: https://www.kabaird.com/releases)
RESIDENCIES/GRANTS
Artist-in-Residence at Pioneer Works (Brooklyn, NY) 2018
Jerome Foundation Artist-in-Residence at Roulette (Brooklyn, NY) 2018 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant Recipient (NYC) 2020 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Covid Emergency Grant Recipient (NYC) 2020 Artist-in-Residence at Sonoscopia (Porto, Portugal) 2021
Artist-in-Residence at Inkonst (Malmö, Sweden) 2021
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Covid-19 Bridge Fund (NYC) 2021 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship (NY) 2023-25