spoken word, percussion, electronics - duende entendre's first recording.

duende entendre is the sound art duo formed in 2008 by composer/percussionist/sound artist, Ron Coulter and poet/singer/bassist, Sam West. The duo works in the continuum of free improvisation and composition, creating manifold real-time events of encapsulating soundscapes, provocative vignettes, and spontaneous statements in sound. Acoustic instruments and found-instruments are combined with both analog and digital electronics, and the expanded possibilities of the human voice and linguistics. West’s written and improvised poetry is exploded into sound-language by the voices of West and Coulter and virtuosically extrapolated by their instruments and electronic tools.

Their debut recording, duende entendre, was released in August 2011 on the Kreating SounD label. The same month, they recorded their second album, The Next Step, which was issued in September 2012 by Kreating SounD. Their release of live performances titled, Phrases Like Mazes, was released in 2016 in conjunction with their performance tour of the southwestern United States. Their third studio album, Unfound Doors, was released in December 2017 and fourth studio album, frame within a frame, was released in December 2021.

Sam West is a bass player, poet, composer, lyricist, and vocalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He is currently completing a degree in Commercial Songwriting at Middle Tennessee State University, and previously attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a B.A. in Jazz Performance, studying under Reggie Thomas, Rick Hayden, and attending clinics by Stanley Clark, John Scofield, Bill Stewart, and Pat Martino. He has traveled internationally as a bandleader and sideman in numerous musically diverse ensembles.

As a poet, Sam West evokes a stream of consciousness style tied to a rhythmic pulse. His works have been published in the poetry journals: “River Bluff Review” (2011), “Expressions” (2008, 2009), and “Radio Free Boskeydell” (2006). His Interest in spoken word has led to collaboration with percussionist Ron Coulter, mixing live media, electronics, and acoustic instruments with spontaneous and composed pieces to create a unique platform for auditory expression. The duo has recorded two full-length albums.

As a bass player, Sam has performed internationally and throughout the United States including, New York, Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, as well as touring Alaska with folk artist Kevin Worrell and Ireland with the bluegrass group County Line. At present, Sam can be found backing some of Nashville's finest talent including Greg Garing, Andy Gibson, Chris Scruggs, and Kenny Vaughn. Since 2006, he has manned the vocals and fretless jazz bass in the fusion group The Sam West Trio releasing their first E.P. “Steady” in 2010. Additional projects include the New Roots (country), Ivas John Band (blues), Brothers on the Sly (funk), Adam Dalton & the B-Sides (blues), and Greg Garing's Music City Circus (Americana). West also performs solo acoustic material on guitar, blending elements of jazz, blues, folk, and country.

Owner of Sam West Publishing, Sam holds the rights to more than 200 original works. His first album “Demonstrations” was released in 2010, and his most recent album “Skeleton” will be released in Fall 2012.

Ron Coulter is a percussionist, composer, and improviser. He has presented at 100+ universities and toured internationally appearing in 49 U.S. states, Europe, Canada, and Japan with artists such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Vinny Golia, David Murray, Sam Newsome, Matthew Shipp, Sean Jones, Linux Laptop Orchestra, Al Martino, Bolokada Condé, Gino Robair, Chris Corsano, Music from China, Youngstown Symphony, Wyoming Symphony, and Tone Road Ramblers, among others. Ron has presented at numerous conferences including: ISIM, PASIC, NIME, LiWoLi, BMC3, a.pe.ri.od.ic, Futurisms, Soundlines, RadiaLx, VU Symposium, JVC and Montreal Jazz Festivals. He co-founded the Percussion Art Ensemble, Drm&Gtr, duende entendre, and founded SeFaLoCo, the SiiS, and WyExSs. Additional interests include noise, intermedia, interdisciplinary collaboration, and organizing Fluxconcerts. Ron has created 400+ compositions for various media.