John McCowen (US/IS) is a musician obsessed with discovering a polyphonic language on a historically monophonic instrument – the clarinet. This has led him to a unique acoustic vocabulary that is similar to the shifting soundscape of electronic feedback. His multiphonic approach is based in drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics to showcase the compositional potential within a single, acoustic sound source. He has collaborated extensively with the composer and instrumentalist Roscoe Mitchell, arranging his work for orchestras and other ensembles and performing as a duo. McCowen remains stubbornly dedicated to acoustic phenomena, deliberately not using amplifier feedback or electronically generated sounds unless specified.