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Simon Barker

Simon Barker

Simon Barker studied in Australia with Jon Collins, and in New York with John Riley, Keith Copeland, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Kim Plainfield and Mike Clarke. Since returning home in 1990 he has performed throughout Australia, Europe, Asia and the US. In 2001, he studied with Kang Sun il. In 2005 Simon set up Kimnara Records, a little independent record label presenting new music by Australian improvisers. He is currently working as a lecturer at The University of Sydney/Conservatorium of Music. Simon has produced a collection of solo drumming recordings, including the recently released Urgency! series, and over the past 20 years has been involved in several ongoing collaborative projects including Band of Five Names (with Phil Slater and Matt McMahon), Showa 44 (duo with Carl Dewhurst), Lost Thoughts (duo with Scott Tinkler), and Chiri (trio with Bae il Dong and Scott Tinkler).  Recently, he has collaborated with numerous local and international artists including Jen Shyu, Gian Slater, Kim Hyelim, Chris Hale, Tony Malaby and Kris Davis, Jo Jonghun and Lim Mijeong (Byeolsinak), as well as with Henry Kaiser, Bill Laswell, and Rudresh Mahanthappa (on the 2018 recording Mudang Rock).