Kieran Monaghan (he/him) is a dedicated kit drummer and percussionist of found sounds, based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington. He began his musical journey in the late ’80s, drumming in southern punk rock bands. A move north in the ’90s opened doors to experimental theatre and the free-jazz scene emerging from venues like The Space. While continuing to play assertive, improvisational music, he also sustained a living through day-jobs and, for a while, working bands.

His latest project, vegetable.machine.animal (VMA), explores the intersections of spontaneous performance, electronic music, and science-informed inter-species collaboration. He co-runs skirted Records with partner-in-art-and-life Chrissie Butler. Together, they formed the core of the outsider punk band mr sterile Assembly—named by Nick Bollinger as one of Aotearoa’s ten great rhythm sections.

He has toured extensively, both locally and internationally, and has a discography of solo, band, and collaborative work spanning various styles and genres. A semi-regular DJ on Radioactive.FM, Monaghan is also a Visiting Scholar at NZSM. Happily married, he is the father of three daughters and one mokopuna.

vegetable.machine.animal (vma) is an interspecies improvisational trio from Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Led by drummer Kieran Monaghan [he/him], vma transforms the electrical signals of living plants and fungi into sound, fusing modular synths and live percussion in performances that are spontaneous, rhythmic, and unpredictable.

This is music as a living system — a real-time collaboration where non-human organisms shape the sonic outcome alongside human performers. No two sets are the same.

A Visiting Scholar at Te Kōkī / New Zealand School of Music, Monaghan brings decades of experience across punk, free jazz, and experimental scenes, with vma performing at festivals, residencies, and venues across Aotearoa and internationally.

Minimax - Luke Harrald - Adelaide Conservatorium of Music (electronics) + special guest (saxophone)

Les Voltiguers - is a live experimental band with no rules and a band that not afraid to push boundaries between music art and kaos! Never the same set has or will be ever played.

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