Shayna Dunkelman is a Tokyo-born, New York-based musician, producer, and percussionist known for dissolving the boundaries between acoustic tradition and electronic innovation.
Dunkelman’s career defies categorization. She is a member of the acclaimed Puerto Rican electro-acoustic band Balún and co-founder of the percussion duo NOMON with her sister Nava Dunkelman, where she explores rhythm as a choreography of lyrical gestures. Her production sensibilities are also a key component of her work with global artist Ali Sethi; she designs the hybrid rhythmic architecture for his recent projects, blending electronic beats with live drums on stages worldwide and on recordings.
With a unique sonic palette that bridges intricate percussion with analog synthesis and digital processing, Dunkelman’s work explores the intersection of rhythm, texture, and technology. A multi-instrumentalist with a background in mathematics and music from Mills College, she possesses the unique ability to anchor a band one night and perform as an orchestral soloist the next.
Equally at home in the classical sphere, Dunkelman has performed with the LA Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and the Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet. She maintains a close creative partnership with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun, frequently premiering works that demand a complex fusion of theatricality and technical precision.
Her career is grounded in a deep history of experimental performance, anchored by a six-year tenure with the seminal band Xiu Xiu. A prolific collaborator, she has worked with iconoclasts such as Yoko Ono, John Zorn, Thurston Moore, and Emily Wells, while sharing stages with Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV), St. Vincent, Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails), Blonde Redhead, Deerhoof, and the Sun Ra Arkestra. She has performed at the world’s most prestigious venues, ranging from Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the LA Opera to The MET, MoMA, and The Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Dunkelman continues to expand her practice into new media, applying her expertise in sound synthesis and rhythmic theory to immersive environments and interactive audio.
Shayna Dunkelman is a musician and percussionist based in New York. Dunkelman is known for her versatile and unique techniques, and use of electronics to access a sonic palette not found in acoustic percussion.
