Daniel Wyche is a Chicago-based guitarist, composer and improviser. Working with a wide range of physical preparations, extended techniques, and pedal instruments, his solo recorded work and live performances are characterized by long-form structured improvisations. Recently, this approach has become increasingly integrated with the exploration of multi-channel performance and the spatialization of sound, including new compositions for quad- and 16-channel guitar. Daniel’s 2016 record “Our Severed Sleep” (with Ryan Packard) was called “a blowout to wake the dead” by the Wire, “reverent music,” by Decoder, and “an infinite swansong of bliss” by Tiny Mix Tapes. The 2017 self-titled release by the trio of Wyche, Ben Baker Billington (Tiger Hatchery, ONO, ADT), and Mark Shippy (US Maple, Invisible Things) on Astral Spirits was referred to as “flat-out exhilarating improvised mania” by Marc Masters. Both the trio’s Astral Spirits debut and followup on No Index were praised by Byron Coley in the Wire. Along with his solo work and Billington/Shippy/Wyche trio, Daniel is involved in regular collaborations with artists like Julian Lynch (Real Estate) and Ricardo Lagamosino (Many Arms, Lucy Dacus), and is highly active in the improvised and experimental communities in Chicago and beyond. A new trio release with LA-based saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi and percussionist Ted Byrnes is forthcoming in April 2020. Daniel’s work as curator and producer with the Elastic Arts Foundation in Chicago since 2013 has been described as “crucial” by Dusted and “vital” by the Chicago Reader. He is part-time faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.
