Analog Vs. Digital Computer Music
The Harold Golen Gallery, Miami
July 10, 2009
Better Than: Tried and tested techno musical arrangements.
Last Friday evening, the Harold Golen Gallery in Wynwood hosted another night of experimental music. Two talented electronic musicians, Margaret Schedel and Sarah O' Halloran, performed accompanied by the transfixing performance artist Dawn Weleski. All three were out to explore the connections between acoustic and digital sounds.
The concert started with Schedel and O' Halloran performing the piece "Florid Impass." Here Schedel played an electronic cello with a homemade bluetooth controller. Meanwhile O' Halloran read process lyrics against a digital backdrop produced by visual artist Chad Eby. The end result was a gripping blend of poetry with homebrewed computer-generated noises.
The most captivating movement of the evening came when Schedel, dressed in white Grecian robes, performed the stunning Eye of The Sibyl. This piece explored the poetry of the Middle Ages, complete with Gregorian-style chants, while a screen showed mesmerizing tarot card visuals by artist Nick Fox-Gieg. Accompanied by her laptop -- and using the sound-generating program MAC MSP -- Margaret Schedel whispered and chanted religious words representing the inner struggles of a 12th Century mystic. Her distorted vocals and digital feedback bridged the analog and digital soundscapes into one hypnotizing texture.
Visually and aurally exciting, the often-challenging recital managed to continually question the relation between the digital and the analog worlds. Even better, by creating something original, the team of Schede, O' Halloran, and Weleski gave the audience a unique glimpse into the future sound of electronic music.
Critics Notebook
Random Detail: The night's music was helped tremendously by the audiovisual graphics works by Chad Eby and Nick Fox-Gieg, their graphics added to the sense of mystery in each of the compositions.
By The Way: The concert was part of Powers of Ten, a new monthly series at Harold Golen Gallery focusing on experimental music and art.
