“One of those holding the torch of progression of drumming” (Adam Arritola/Miami Psych Fest), Sean Hamilton is a percussionist, composer, improviser, and audio engineer whosecreative practice focuses on moments, juxtapositions, and sonic opportunities. Primarily working in hybrids of the improvised and the composed, his work is rooted in avant-garde and experimental music, free jazz/improvisation, electronic and electroacoustic music, noise, punk and metal, design and photography, and sound art. His work often exists through performance, composition, multimedia projects, and the meshing of analog and digital mediums.
Touring extensively since 2015, Sean has performed in over thirty-five states and six countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Austria. Notable performances include the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Interference Series, Skronk Sessions, Pool Improvised Music Series, the Racer Sessions, MOXSonic, and the SEAMUS National Conference. He is a frequent collaborator with other artists from disciplines both in and out of music, with notable collaborative projects including two weeks of creative research at the Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Choreographers and Composers Lab in Leeds, UK, ongoing duo collaboration with Nathan Corder under the moniker Mechanical Bull, and extensive collaboration with Tory Tepp for Earthtones, a project which combines land art, urban agriculture, and improvisational music making. Other various collaborations include work with Tatsuya Nakatani, Anne Malin, Klimchak, Damon Smith, Alex Cunningham, Eric Hall, Dave Stone, Lindsey Kelley Dance, Jacqui Dugal, Rogue Dance, Ron Coulter, Jonas van den Bossche, and Thomas Milovac.
Lately, Sean’s practice has expanded to include 35mm photography and bookmaking practices. In 2024, he and graphic designer Stephen Parks created Superposition, a collaborative book project featuring digitally-manipulated 35mm photographs-turned-collages, printed on risograph and bound by Parks. An accompanying generative electronic composition was distributed via flash drive integrated into the book’s architecture. Sean’s album Days of Impermanence, released in 2024 on Gotta Let It Out, is available with a limited edition handbound 35mm photobook designed to be a visual accompaniment to the musical album. Other book projects include “Artifacts for Another Time” and “This Instrument A Place”, both numbered editions of 35mm images, printed on risograph.
Sean holds a Master of Music degree in percussion performance and music composition from the University of South Florida and a BM in Music Education from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.
In addition to his current creative practice, he also works as an audio engineer specializing in live sound production and teaches university courses in technology, improvisation, and popular music at Colorado Mesa University. He has presented guest lectures at over 25 colleges and universities in the US and UK.
Since 2019, Sean has been based in western Colorado, where much of his time is spent traveling in his converted campervan for creative and recreational activities. In that time, he has covered over 100,000 miles, touching corners of the United States ranging from Seattle to San Diego and New England to Key West, with significant time in the high deserts and mountains of Colorado.
Sean is proud to perform exclusively with Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets and Grover Pro Percussion instruments and accessories.
press:
Review: Concurrent Sentience, Percussive Notes (April 2023)
Review: Mechanical Bull, Reach Out and Touch It, Tabs Out Cassette Podcast
Review: Coulter Hamilton; Vital Weekly
Interview, Khyber Pass Podcast
St. Pete Catalyst: The Hustle Profile
Review, solo performance, The Bakery, Atlanta, GA 8/19/18, ArtsATL
LOCI Interview, Creative Loafing Tampa
Drums and Electricity Review, 9/2/17, Eyedrum, Atlanta, GA, ArtsATL
Interview, LOCI at the Orlando Fringe Festival, Freeline Media Orlando
Review, LOCI at the Orlando Fringe Festival, Orlando Sentinel
LOCI Album Review, Positively Underground
LOCI Album Review, Percussive Arts Society's Percussive Notes, May 2017
Hyperbolic Chamber Music Premiere Writeup, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Copyright Sean Hamilton 2023