Wobbly

A legend within the plunderphonics scene, Jon Leidecker (better known as Wobbly) is a San Francisco-based composer, sound collage artist, and improviser. Long before he officially joined <a href="spotify:artist:6m6fw8IM7yDdkdgjBTTisW">Negativland</a> in 2011, he had been exploring found-sound manipulation and musical appropriation on his own and through collaborations with artists like <a href="spotify:artist:0FpfuyMD09EjZ77b0rksQp">People Like Us</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0xBkYJzwFzcIYev4fOkvk0">Matmos</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2nJyBrUH58mejo9oDvNTV6">Lesser</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5Dgt9RQigawYBOkyhRNG5m">Thomas Dimuzio</a>. Active as a radio DJ throughout the '90s, he first received wider attention for releases like Wild Why (2002), which transformed commercial radio airchecks into hyperactive glitch collages. His later work is less sample-heavy, with albums like 2019's Monitress and 2021's Popular Monitress focusing on improvisations for mobile devices, and 2023's Additional Kids being a kaleidoscopic glitch-pop song cycle featuring numerous guests.

Actively experimenting with sound and guesting on <a href="spotify:artist:6m6fw8IM7yDdkdgjBTTisW">Negativland</a>'s Over the Edge radio program since the mid-'80s, Leidecker adopted the pseudonym Wobbly in 1990. His debut album, Greetings, appeared in 1999, and Radio, a triple CD-R of live radio improvisations from throughout the previous decade, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ovenguard+Music%22">Ovenguard Music</a> in 1999. Leidecker appeared on several plunderphonics compilations (sometimes under the name Brindle Spork) and released a mini-CD-R titled Regards in 2001. Several of Wobbly's most well-known releases appeared in 2002, including Playlist (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Illegal+Art%22">Illegal Art</a>), Wild Why (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tigerbeat6%22">Tigerbeat6</a>), Live 99>00 (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Phthalo%22">Phthalo</a>), and There Goes Nothing, a self-issued collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:0FpfuyMD09EjZ77b0rksQp">People Like Us</a> taken from a radio broadcast on KFJC. The two artists were joined by <a href="spotify:artist:0xBkYJzwFzcIYev4fOkvk0">Matmos</a> for a country & western-themed performance at the San Francisco Art Institute, issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tigerbeat6%22">Tigerbeat6</a> as Wide Open Spaces in 2003. Remix-heavy 12" EP Multiple Peady was issued in 2004. Also appearing the same year was Unseen Forces, the debut by <a href="spotify:artist:2zoFoFBXueesDjMGOvbI8v">Sagan</a>, a collaborative project featuring Leidecker as well as <a href="spotify:artist:1rDcNidVqmbYisZ7oUDRu0">Blevin Blectum</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2nJyBrUH58mejo9oDvNTV6">Lesser</a>, and video artist Ryan Junell. Their single "Resting Pleasures" appeared on 333 Recordings in 2006.

In 2008, Wobbly released a split single with <a href="spotify:artist:3XW2ZpRFZDBBFwz17dweXH">Bulbs</a> (on Canadian label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ache%22">Ache</a>) as well as a collaborative CD-R with <a href="spotify:artist:5Dgt9RQigawYBOkyhRNG5m">Thomas Dimuzio</a>. Radio Web MACBA, an online radio project of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, commissioned him to host Variations, a podcast series about the history of sampling and collage music, which premiered in 2009. Two more collaborations were released in 2010: Music for the Fire (with <a href="spotify:artist:0FpfuyMD09EjZ77b0rksQp">People Like Us</a>) and Simultaneous Quodlibet (with <a href="spotify:artist:2nJyBrUH58mejo9oDvNTV6">Lesser</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0xBkYJzwFzcIYev4fOkvk0">Matmos</a>). Having worked with members of culture jamming pioneers <a href="spotify:artist:6m6fw8IM7yDdkdgjBTTisW">Negativland</a> for several years, Leidecker officially joined the group in 2011. He additionally collaborated with Dieter Moebius and <a href="spotify:artist:6S7EbdcNj5pWjBdeNU0FWc">Tim Story</a>, resulting in 2014's Snowghost Pieces (followed three years later by Familiar).

After <a href="spotify:artist:6m6fw8IM7yDdkdgjBTTisW">Negativland</a> founder Don Joyce passed away in 2015, Leidecker took over the program. He also collaborated with improvisational group Animals & Giraffes (appearing on the 2018 release Landlocked Beach), as well as pianist Tania Chen, <a href="spotify:artist:5UqTO8smerMvxHYA5xsXb6">Sonic Youth</a> co-founder <a href="spotify:artist:1J4ACYB6yMqd79q3rjskqs">Thurston Moore</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3jFTMxWP6at3FioQqFGmjC">David Toop</a>, performing the music of <a href="spotify:artist:1Z3fF5lZdCM0ZHugkGoH8s">John Cage</a> on the release Electronic Music for Piano. In addition, Leidecker joined <a href="spotify:artist:1J4ACYB6yMqd79q3rjskqs">the Thurston Moore Group</a>, appearing on their 2019 release Spirit Counsel. That same year, Triplicates, a collaboration between <a href="spotify:artist:3KI6JsmaN8xyYUq8Tf9Lle">Zeena Parkins</a> and Wobbly, was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Relative+Pitch+Records%22">Relative Pitch Records</a>, and Monitress, the first Wobbly solo album since 2002, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hausu+Mountain%22">Hausu Mountain</a>. The release was based on Leidecker's live improvisational performances for multiple mobile devices running pitch-tracking apps and synthesizers. Popular Monitress, a more prepared exploration of the same processes, followed in 2021. The vocal-heavy Additional Kids appeared in 2023, with guest contributors including <a href="spotify:artist:05cGsE3L2JX7Tc1auPVQZa">Pamela Z</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7lX7XpPF2roqIKTOqLVG4x">John Oswald</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2iDfyLGn8aPFWfY6v7yd40">Blectum from Blechdom</a>. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi