Jamin Casciato is an itinerant musician and ethnomusicologist who has studied and recorded music in various countries for over a decade.

 

He has lived in Spain, China, Argentina, Belgium, Mexico, South Korea, and Iraq, and has spent time among nomadic communities in India, Egypt, and Mongolia. He works with a variety of stringed instruments, including the Spanish flamenco guitar, Kurdish lute (baglama), Egyptian oud, Appalachian dulcimer, Chinese mandolin (liuqin), and Chinese zither (guzheng).

 

On certain recordings, he employs invented percussion instruments, such as his water drum and cylinder rattle. His recordings range from studio productions to tape and field recordings, and are often characterized by atypical arrangements and uncommon syntheses of traditional instruments.

 

From 2011 to 2012, Casciato took one year to travel across the world from east to west, immersing himself in the music and culture of the various countries he visited. The undertaking was characterized by unconventional itineraries, such as spending nights alone in the Sinai Desert, hitchhiking through southern Spain, and trekking for days in order to access remote communities in the Himalayas.

 

Throughout his travels, he has collected field recordings of traditional music from numerous cultures, and has collaborated with musicians from several different countries.