Despite being approximately 30-45 minutes late, I still managed to catch the ending of the first half in time for the impressive audio-visual experience Kynan Tan had in store! Using a blend of synthesized sounds created in Max MSP, along with electronically altered acoustic sounds (including a  jazz drum kit), Tan created an ever changing sonic landscape marked with occasional silences and accentuated by Max MSP controlled visuals. These visuals were abstract in nature, ranging from bars or pixels of colour to kaleidoscope images; what was not abstract was the way they perfectly synced to the music- very satisfying for an audience conditioned to associating sound with the image immediately onscreen. To add to the audience’s gratification, recurring themes within the apparent confusion of sound became clearer when watching the visuals-similar colours or designs were associated with certain sounds. This really seemed to encourage people to listen actively rather than passively to the music, engaging the audience’s attention very effectively.  The only grievance I truly had with this performance was the overuse of Max MSP effects and sounds. After hearing not only Tan’s other pieces, but also several  performances by laptop artists and WAAPA music technology students alike, even the most fascinating Max MSP effects and sounds become dull. The composer is limited by the constraints and confines of the software; as a result I found that Tan’s piece was reminiscent of a third year UWA student’s performance at the Composers Symposium, all because of the similar treatment of a jazz drum kit in surround sound. The performance of Tan’s piece was therefore fascinating and new to me, but as a composition I felt it was too constricted by Max MSP.

After the interval, Chris de Groot and filmmaker Mat de Koning presented their beautiful film collaboration, which was projected not only on three walls of the performance space, but on the ceiling too. Different scenes were projected at different times, and sometimes one was doubled a few seconds after the beginning of the first; footage which included time lapse photography of the night sky and parts of Perth, scenes from the Swan River, and the faces of different people evolved almost seamlessly with the music. The music itself, with its delicate variations and repetitions, showed how great de Groot’s attention to detail was in this composition; his use of  percussion, ‘backwards’ sounds (reversed sound wave) disjointed voices, and ambient electronic music would have formed a unified whole…except for the sudden introduction of piano in the later stages! Despitethe piano’s beauty and suitability for the particular blend of different scenes (most projectors depicting the Swan River at the time), I felt that this sudden burst of live piano music really did not suit the music which had gone before-even if it did add interest. It only became integrated after de Groot edited and looped it, making it smoother and less ‘chunky’ upon the ear. Another issue I had with this performance was the projection onto the ceiling. It was hard to see, firstly because the sheet the film was projected onto was crinkled, while the other projection sheets were not; secondly because the audience were seated in a fixed position, in chairs- they developed cricks in their neck from trying to view what was on the ceiling! Putting aside these criticisms, I still found Chris de Groot’s  performance thoroughly enjoyable and highly unique-if a bit similar in style to the music he has written before (e.g. music for the silent film Menilmontant).

Altogether, Breaking Out: Young Composers Night was an interesting event to go to-not just to see what is new in music or be inspired, but also to see the new conventions, constraints or parameters composers place upon their music.

For more information, visit http://tura.com.au/events/totallyhuge/20…

Each tune began from a single player, then slowly developed into a whole group improvisation, with a time feel usually initiated by drummer Peter Evans.  He was supported well by bassist Phil Waldron, who played mostly pedal-like groves once the drummer had established the time.

The first piece began with dark tones from the trumpet, starting out with identical attacks and similar lengths.  He developed this idea throughout the mid to low range of the instrument, slowly increasing the rate of notes, as well as mixing the tone colours from dark and powerful to uncentred and fuzzy.  Pianist Tal Cohen joined the trumpet with repetitive notes, allowing them all to resonate.   Evans then joined with various wooden clicks made by hitting the edge of different drums.  Guitarist Brett Thompson filled out the sound by using different effects to create atmospheric wind-like sounds, creating a dark palette for the trumpet to continue developing his tone colours.

After the trumpet allowed the guitarist to take over the colours, a rhythmic pattern was set up by Evans, and the piano immediately jumped upon having a pulse to bounce ideas off.  The ever-constant hi-hat click initiated a trance-like feeling to the piece.  The interaction between drummer and pianist was one of the many recurring textures the group would create through the performance.

The piece built to a climax when the trumpet re-entered after allowing the guitar effects to come to the fore.  Still developing the single note tone colour idea, the trumpet lead the group to many harmonic places, with tension built through piano, bass and guitar each playing their own harmonic ideas.  The drums drove the section with a combination of fusion, latin and open eighths ideas, all to the constant hi-hat click.

This structure of beginning with one player, slowly adding more players then releasing into a time feel was a constant between all pieces performed.  This became a little predictable towards the end of the second set, and perhaps the group should actively avoid this structure in some of their improvisations.

Overall, the two sets demonstrated a great level of musicianship within the group, especially the ability to interact and add subtleties to the compete sound of each piece.

   “Handmade Book” was the first of Rafael’s tunes and one which he was inspired to write through his own love of reading and absorbing literature. The chart was a slow, straight-eighth number which began with a syncopated ostinato which recurred throughout. Trombonist Tilman Robinson took the melody before it was split neatly and shared around the band in a polyphonic section which intertwined melodies and countermelodies effortlessly. Robinson then took the reigns again with a melodic solo, however more background material within the horns seemed necessary. When the backings did eventuate, it was too much, too suddenly. Karlen then lead the band into another colourful, polyphonic exploration of his melody and to end the tune, the syncopated ostinato repeated. 

   His second tune, “A Few Colours, Spread Thinly, Lingering” was inspired by an American artist who painted with a minimal amount of paint. Likewise, Karlen used sparse melodies over bars of eleven beat length to create the same effect. Even with the small amount of melodic material he gave himself to work with, Karlen created a chart which didn’t feel “underdone”. Dan Thorne’s tenor saxophone solo was complimented by some of the simplest and yet most effective backings, with the trombones and saxes interjecting with two beat chords every bar. The sparse, haunting melody returned to conclude the tune. Karlen’s study of this technique proved to be a source of some most enjoyable music.

   To conclude the set, WAYJO’s Composer’s Ensemble presented “Red Hill,” Rafael Karlen’s tribute to his home town in Queensland. The tune featured Marc Osborne on alto, Gareth Hughes on bass and Kerry Mitchell on guitar. On each side of the solos, Karlen presented his three part melody, beginning with an unsettled, canonic section, followed by a bridge which built irresistably towards the release in the form of a fanfare-like melody accompanied by a catchy vamp.

   Karlen’s music displayed a mastery of melody and orchestration, not to mention an unabashed attitude towards new techniques. It could be said that the three tunes were too similar in their dark, brooding nature, to represent an exploration of three different moods, but they were none-the-less, thoroughly enjoyable. He is no doubt one of Australia’s finest young contemporary composers.

Always representing Hip-Hop culture and keeping music true to life, when The Community represents they never cease to impress. Featured some of the best prog-hop and Dubstep Perth has to offer with Diger-Rokwell, yLEM, Maxabillion, L.S.D and Arms in Motion the night showed us what live music should always be about.

Unfortunately the Flying Scotsman had on at the same time Eskimo Jo so many people had to line up to get into the Velvet Lounge which was hardly full. This had no bearing though on the people who were already inside.

Diger-Rokwell set off the night with some original and funky Prog-hop to get the evening started. Classic Prog-hop at its best, Diger exhibits style and control over what he’s playing effortlessly. His originals keep you on your feet with odd vocal acapellas sampled over the top of real low down funky breaks. Everytime I hear what all of these guys have to play its great that they each have their own style of constructing sets. Its never just a matter of finding enough music to play for an hour. Each set you hear played by the artists at the community gigs is constructed in such away that your never given a chance to zone out of the listening.

L.S.D got up after Diger. This was the first time i had seen L.S.D live after listening to his tracks a couple of months ago. Its great listening to local Hip-Hop especially in Perth as much of the lyrics ring true. L.S.D’s rhymes focus alot on current social and political situations, his flow really suites what he talks about in his tracks yet his emotion never goes over the top which works perfectly with his beats.  We were lucky enough to experience L.S.D’s girlfriend also get up and back him up with some awesome soul singing along with Smiley MC. Often at these  gigs spontaneous things happen that exhibit exactly what the Community is all about representing local acts. Having artists come together like they do at The Community’s gigs is hard to find elsewhere.

yLEM was up next to roll out some deep dubstep. As per usual, his set contained many of his well known songs as well as some new tracks exhibiting some classic samples. All original, yLEM’s tracks deliver your mind to another place with their ambience and emphasis on sub bass. I think having yLEM play in the middle of the evening allowed everyone to relax. yLEM, much like Diger, shows much control in his choice of music to play, although all original, his sets are well planned out and brings forth a range of emotions in his audience.

To bring the beats back, next on the decks was Maxabillion with his usual assortment of classic old school hip-hop. Maxabillion presents at the majority of the Community gigs and always surprises with virtually unheard of tracks. Tonight he was playing some of his own original tracks. Laid back to say the least, his sets, like yLEM’s, show his complete control over the choice of track.

The rest of the show was given up to true hip-hop talent with L.S.D, smiley MC and Mathas, one of the popular community MCs, coming and sharing freestyles. Accompanied by two more soul singers, what started off with some of the top prog-hop and Hip-hop in Perth, ended as a presentation of true musicianship, something that is most sortafter in todays music scene.

On June 9^th, musicians from opposite sides of Australia came together to perform – while each remained in their respective state. In a pioneering live internet performance, music students from the Aletheia composers’ ensemble at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and Brisbane’s Griffith University traded and altered each others’ sonic contributions in real-time. Also featured on the night were acousmatic works for headphones by WAAPA 1^st year composition and music tech students, and live electronic music performances by WAAPA students.

The Perth end of things was held at Spectrum Project Space in Northbridge. Upon entering the space, one first notices the concrete floors and plain white walls – a setting appropriate to a project space and to the noise performances to come. A couch with four sets of headphones playing the acousmatic works – about twenty in total – on loop was in the corner, available for interested (or bored!) audience members to listen to as they liked. These works, created from any number of found sounds the composer recorded and edited, aim to move the focus of listening from each sound’s source to the nature of the sound itself. A projection slideshow of several industrial photographs onto the couch set the visual scene for many of the works.

The room used for the performance of the live electronic works was lower than street level, giving the venue a fitting underground feel. A comparatively casual atmosphere to traditional concerts was welcome, with people free to roam around and drink the free provided beer. The performers were on the same level as the audience, and equipment was placed on two or three ordinary tables. Not the greatest presentation ever seen – but the audio produced more than made up for that. In each of the four corners of the room was placed a speaker, which made for a quadraphonic setup. In Aletheia, the audience was told that the back two speakers were Griffith Uni and the front two were WAAPA, but it was left unexplained as to whether ‘Griffith’ meant the raw sound Griffith made that was edited by WAAPA, or the other way round. Nonetheless, it was an interesting and well executed performance.

The second half of the live performances were individual or small ensemble works by various music technology and composition students from WAAPA. A large variety was heard, with some performances making use of the quadraphonic setup specifically, which was a treat, and some not. Nevertheless, each performance was unique and interesting – from pieces of metal being thrown on the ground to transfigured clarinet and guitar, to a no input mixing desk, to two purely computer based works, to experiments with delay effects, to the crowd favourite of David Boring – at least in the entertainment sense – whose performance included the transforming of pop songs.

One thing that could have been vastly improved was the level of excitement from some of the performers. Many simply sat at the computer, and it looked as they may as well have be hitting play on iTunes for all the audience knew. Performance is not simply creating sound, and in some parts it looked as though the performer didn’t actually want to be there at all.

The music itself, needless to say, did not suffer.

The event on facebook (including artist names)

    I had heard a lot of hush-whispered hype about Ben Martin’s Pianoforte finesse in the week leading to the show and I was really disappointed that I just couldn’t hear him playing. This was a real shame as he looked like he was performing with enthusiasm, and being relatively familiar with the work I was expecting a fair amount of intricate melodic progression through the piano, given that the pianist was featured as the ‘solo’ performer. The unfortunate effect of this, of course, was that the work itself felt hollow and lacking, despite the generally very high standard of performance. It saddens me to think that this issue could have been fixed were the venue appropriately acoustically altered or the piano just not jammed front-and-centre on a circular stage space, directed toward the exit and only half-open. Despite the inaudible soloist the general performance standard was really pleasing and the music was still enjoyable despite its intrinsic losses, though I was admittedly sitting in what can only be described as ‘crap seats’.

    Bearing this in mind I did enjoy the second half of the night a great deal more. The performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, which fortunately did not feature a piano soloist, just felt more… complete. It was an energetic performance that was well-executed and sounded massive – the textural and dynamic control of the group was extremely tight. As an added bonus Peter Tanfield is just fun to watch – he always looks like he’s enjoying the performance and seems to subvert the usual pomposity or frivolity that other conductors exude – the orchestra actually paid attention to his directions and the resulting sound evidenced that.

All in all it was a pretty good show, and likely better executed than I can attest to – it was just unfortunate that the venue isn’t particularly appropriate to a group, or audience, of that scale. I’m sure that the Rachmaninov would have been infinitely more enjoyable had my allegedly nice seats been in the direction in which the piano projected, but I suspect that due to the ridiculous proximity of the piano to the audience it may have just been unlistenable for its shear ‘boom factor’ (that’s the proximity effect for you science types), but even the Rachmaninov was enjoyable enough. Their performance of the Tchaikovsky, while certainly making up for the lackluster sound of their Rachmaninov rendition, also demonstrated their value as a high-quality small orchestra. Well worth a night!

He is also reflected in the powerful high-end operations. On one occasion he auction house to see things very wow gold cheap, small bad to have borrowed 400 gold, on the night also had a hand-guided, 400 deposit into a 900 gold.

This matter a great source of inspiration to me, when I became green day learning objectives, the result is what I mentioned earlier that warehouse full of gold.

Following the outstanding question

Characters:

Area 6 small bad the blessings of the tribal chairman of the Statue of Liberty Master

Vested with a 6-ray tribal areas do not know what he will be the Master

DASSIGTT 6 District tribal wow gold blessing Knight Statue of Liberty

6 days, the main Green Restaurant tribal areas in which to forget he is the Master will

Acknowledgment:

Area 6 Knight the blessings of the Statue of Liberty Paine

After long journey has finally set foot on Hillsbrad hills, the first came to the neutral map, everything is so new, wow gold there are silver and not the same as on city, not the same as the castle, not the same farms, as well as The blood of a dark wizard. He has long ears, the eyes are deep, also distributed around the magic of life, magic is only part of our atmosphere, as hot as Kwangyang and his magic on the same quiet atmosphere, like the unfathomable night.

The first piece on the program was Gioacchino Rossini’s Domine Deus from Petite messe Solennelle. What was a rather weak opening was soon redeemed by a sincere performance of five songs from Schumann’s Dichterliebe. Jun was beautifully sensitive in his treatment of these. He created great contrast exhuding confidence in portraying both the tender and tormented sides of the protagonist. His childlike enthusiasm and joy had the audience in raptures in the third song, but undoubtedly the standout was the fifth. His powerful resonance filled the hall, violent consonants accompanying turbulent phrases to illustrate the irony of the title “I Bear No Grudge”. This was juxtaposed with soft melancholic lines which illuminated the subtext of Heines poetry.

The most convincing performance of the evenings so far quality entertainment were two Chinese songs. The first bearing the title “I Cannot Help Missing My Country” was rendered with such dignity and passion that it left the audience quite breathless. The second, “Motherland”, was extremely honest and free, with swooping phrases that begged the audience to follow him on his journey through a now war-torn, once beautiful China.

The evening ended with an aria from Bizet’s Carmen. Clipped phrases paired with an almost wheedling tone of the softer lines made for a charming, yet cheeky performance. Greeted with numerous encores, Jun Zhang was humble and appreciative, an invaluable trait for one with such a powerful talent.

Read more about Jun at www.haveagonews.com.au/entertainment.html

Review by Elizabeth Bonny

On a Wednesday night at eight o’clock I headed on down to one of my favourite cafes in Perth- the Moon Cafe – for a little bit of Australian folk and country style music performed by three different soloists. Seated comfortably under a lamp with chocolate cheesecake and ice cream on one side and my notebook on the other, I found that the whole setup was surprisingly good to review for two reasons. Firstly, the very similar solo performances enabled me to closely observe  the performers song writing capabilities-comparing ‘apples with apples’ instead of apples to oranges. Secondly, the fact that the performers were playing background music to patrons primarily concerned with the consumption of dinner, meant that the audience’s appreciation of the music was more genuine – they weren’t required to clap politely at the end of a piece they didn’t enjoy!

Divcraft

The first item was a local man titled Divcraft (from the band Lazy Railway). The country ballads for bass voice which he sung were faithful to the style and uniform in musical quality. Tension and resolution in the music was simple and sweet,  achieved through chord patterns such as I -V⁷-I which were played in a variety of interesting keys such as B flat major and A flat minor. The main problems with this performance were Divcraft’s vocal clarity and his initial nervousness during the first 3 or 4 songs, betrayed by the volume and even occasionally the pitch of his voice-the audience picked up upon this, and responded thinly to his music. However he managed to gain some confidence by the end of the set, really using the rich vibrato and power of his bass voice to add just that little bit more to the music.

Justin Walshe

The next performer was a man called Justin Walshe from an experienced Folk/Country band named the Justin Walshe Folk Machine. Despite some boring advertising interruptions for the Folk Machine’s  upcoming gigs, Walshe’s  performance was highly polished and professional; with clear vocals, the addition of a harmonica, beautiful fast vibrato perfectly suited to the style performed, and a quality acoustic guitar. However, most of Walshe’s songs as musical compositions dissatisfied me with their  mediocrity and length. For example, most of the lyrics were unimaginative and did not relate to the musical keys and chord progressions used. (There was only one exception – a piece called ‘Miss Whiskey’ in which Walshe personified a bottle of alcohol  as a woman.) As for the music itself, it remained within the conventions of  country/folk music in its simplicity, but became too dull when it went on and on without greater variation. As a result the entire item ended up boring  the audience witless, despite Walshe’s excellent presentation and professional manner.

Andrei

The third item, Andrei from the band Khankoband, was an improvement on the last with an honest performance of some beautiful original material. His singing and playing was rich in emotion; his stage presence confident yet humble at the same time – adding to the appeal of his performance.  Musically speaking there was enough variety in the chord patterns used to keep a listener interested; the many different keys the songs were played in added greater colour to the set. Only a few things let down the overall presentation; the lyrics were unintelligible 95% of the time (I had to move the video camera nearer to the speaker for any sort of clarity), and he had less of a singing voice than the second or possibly even the first soloist’s. All the same, by the end of his time on stage he had managed to regain the audience’s attention-no mean feat for a soloist in a busy cafe.  A lot of people (including yours truly) were left in a catatonic state after the mediochre second item!

As a whole, the Solo Night at the Moon Cafe was pleasant enough. It is worth going to if you are interested in guitar-accompanied, ballad singing folk and country singers; so consider yourself warned if you’re a person who can’t stand the  simple things in life!

The night opened with a different duo; a free improvisation session between Anthony Pateras and Jamie Oehlers. The pair played together well, creating a tense atmosphere which was occasionally broken by brutally loud sections rich with rhythmic density. Although at some points it was obvious it was the first time they had played together, once they became more comfortable with each other’s style the performance itself became more enjoyable.

Next up was Pateras’ solo analogue electronic performance. While I had came to see Pivixki, on some level the electronic composition Pateras performed spoke to me the most. Every little part of it seemed so well thought out, and the sound itself was phenomenal. I’d particularly recommend people to listen out for the end of the track, when out of the brutal chaos comes an incredibly soft, ambient collection of sound which was no less than the perfect ending to an amazing performance.

After a short break Pateras returned to the piano, now joined by Kohane on drums, the wild fusion of Kohane’s flawless grindcore drumming and Pateras’ unique style began. The fusion worked immensely well, and as an avid appreciator of all things metal, the familiarity of grindcore style drumming gave backbone to the performance and helped me to sonically digest Pateras’ intense and amazing piano playing. However, Kohane’s drumming wasn’t exactly normal. His drumming alone was very complex and exploratory, and the pair achieved great leaps in dynamics; from soft textural murmurs to room-shaking blast beats and dense clusters. Pivixki gave an amazing performance; immensely exploratory, powerful music delivered with great precision. Now they just need to play at a venue with more room for headbanging.

They all entered wearing no shoes, which I thought was I nice idea; it helped the ensemble feel more comfortable with the environment. The fantastic thing about the way it was performed is how Michèal allowed the ensemble to freely walk around the room. The 4 parts of the canon were therefore heard from all directions. I was pleased with the fact that Michèal also allowed the students to introduce the pieces; the only downside being some of them forgot what they were meant to say. The following pieces after the introduction were commendable but not memorable. In other words they were good, and enjoyable, but not fantastic; not as interesting as the introductory piece. The quality however soon improved with the inclusion of a string octet. The strings were very gratifying and gave the performance much greater depth. Yet I question their worth in only playing one piece considering the amount of time it took them to set up and pack away. My favourite piece they sang was one of their last. It was a very catchy tune that obviously had the audience smiling and interested. My only problem with the piece is it was very repetitive and could have benefited from some contrast. My wish was soon answered, to a certain extent, with a typical ‘pop’ key change, raising a tone. With the new key brought new energy, grabbing the audience’s attention again. The piece soon changed key again but was this time met with uncertainty as the ensemble wasn’t quite sure about what they were doing. However, they soon recovered with the help of Michèal, to finish off the piece. Despite the slip up towards the end, the performance was received very readily. The ensemble then concluded similar to the way they began. They sang a 4-part canon as they walked up the stairs, exiting through the main entrance of the music auditorium.

Overall it was a warmly received performance especially considering the ensemble predominantly consisted of students new to the academy. I commend the ensemble on their efforts and especially Michèal for his development of the group; I continue to be a big fan of his work and teachings.

Paul Tanner

The evening began with  “Ougon Badagris” (1976) by Chris Rouse, an intense performance of Haitian drumming depicting a scene one of the most horrific voodoo rituals, human sacrifice. Despite its connotations, the audience was transfixed by the strength of these players, pounding at some of the larger and louder instruments in the percussion section. As the piece drew to its conclusion, the performers were required to shriek “reler” (meaning ‘Amen’) to the audience, above their drumming.  It was a great start to the evening and the ensemble to be commended for their execution of the piece.

In every Defying Gravity concert there is at least one quirky piece in which the percussionists can showcase their showmanship skills, and the fourth piece of the evening Manfred Menke’s “Eine kleine Tischmusik” (1991) did not disappoint. Four members of the ensemble wildly ran down the aisles of the Music Auditorium to the stage with a wooden spoon in each hand, much to the surprise of the audience. The piece depicted a scene of ill-mannered dinner guests impatiently waiting for “Dinnertime!” and required the quartet to strike the tables provided with the wooden spoons, bringing out the rhythmic and timbral qualities of the two mundane, and quite ordinary objects. Their synchronicity was not perfect, but it was still highly entertaining to watch, as the spoons splintered across the stage.

The highlight of the evening was the performance of Tanner’s original compositions in which Tanner lead the ensemble. One of the pieces“Back in 1516” (1993) did not refer to a year but rather to rhythmic puzzles that were being explored. Tanner writes that in “Back in 1516… the tune appears over’s a funk accompaniment with one shortened beat at the end of the bar, creating a little hiccup”.  “Back in 1516″ created a challenge for the ensemble as the performers would not be playing in unison for the majority of the piece. The piece called for great musicianship, in which Defying Gravity excelled.

The concert was highly enjoyable and highly entertaining and is a credit to the musical director, Tim White. It is a pleasure to see an ensemble perform to such a high standard as well as enjoying themselves. I definitely recommend people to watch out for the next Defying Gravity concert.

Defying Gravity

There may be a friend would say, to brush him and brush him dead! But I do not like the habit of not feeling like he was uncomfortable even, and no need to let more people were injured in the eyes, ah, to support wow gold kaufen environmental protection screen ! below The following are the cheat I would like to say if G:

Buddies, first of all, I do not know G you cheat you want to meet in order to steal They dare not, or indeed for your poor G had to cheat to make your bag a little drums, or you’re the quality of their own there are problems used to other people’s money to meet their own consumption! If you are over 20 years old, then I send you the word “shameless”, if you are under 18 years of age, I also send you wow po two the word “naive”, do not do it ~

non-deceptive business! there is a lot of humble things, in particular, for the most liar. through your acts of cheating money, at least you will allow me to determine the absolute mental health, or your family of cheap wow gold your education is not good enough that you make is that “no home”!

If you are mixing in Sichuan, and I know who you are, I will definitely be good for your education in the education of your parents, the children are not their own the best things!

The role of small crook Name: Ma Lok piracy than their union: a crusade areas served: 8 Ling who wins

I hope comrades serving with the transaction when the Card very carefully, sincerely welcome the people of traders is very much ill persons nausea!

Our deception is careful next time and be fooled, the abuses unnecessary, because the moral will to condemn him … Thank you, Views ~ ~ Please forgive bad writing.

Tura New Music’s ongoing series continued in fine style with its 82nd show, an intriguing combination of improvisation, electronics and interactivity. Once again, Club Zho maintained an astonishing level of ingenuity and artistic exploration that it has provided throughout its long history. On this night, the event was situated at the prestigious and new Ellington Jazz Club, which provided a great stage and setting, close and intimate for performers and audience to jointly enjoy a night of new music.

Lindsay Vickery is a stalwart of the Perth electronic music scene, a world-renowned musician and an inspiring improviser. His brief set featured two pieces arranged for bass clarinet/soprano saxophone and laptop. Vickery’s works displayed a transient nature, his extended techniques on both clarinet and alto saxophone rapidly moving between extremes of pitch, while his laptop processing constantly shifted, providing a channel of interaction.

His improvisations focused on timbre and rhythm, generally sounding atonal but occasionally harmonised tonally with electronic playback. The electronic component consisted of delays, modulations, pitch shifting and looping at various tempi. Constantly changing, the electronics were used to great effect as an intelligent reactive machine and provided a constantly fresh and inventive backing for Vickery to control, and to interact with, as an improviser.

Vickery’s second piece was a version of Earle Brown’s December 1952 and included recordings of Brown speaking about his piece, as Vickery electronically manipulated both Brown’s voice and his own live saxophone parts – a strong interpretation of an open work. It struck resonances with Brown’s more modular works, with different musical ideas (held dissonant chords, fast delayed notes, slowed voice playback) being utilised, but ordered by random.

Colonel Mustard’s Famous Audio Visual Show is the solo work of Jonathan Mustard, incorporating audio and visuals as well as performance. Mustard plays a variety of instruments, generally utilising one per work to control and interact with computer-generated visuals.

The opening piece set a definite trend for what the Colonel’s show (in the words of Tos Mahoney, director of Tura New Music: a ‘great, whimsical, entertaining and sometimes provocative event’) aims to provide. Polyoctagon no.1, a ‘vocal piece for keyboard’, was made up of samples of vocal phrases that each had a corresponding video section. Beginning with a single repeating sample and then adding more and more layers, Mustard controlled the audio and video with a MIDI keyboard controller. The performance was musically interesting due to the textures, harmonies and phasing created between voices. The video comprised of computer-generated heads that emotively sung each line, the ‘audience pleaser’ being the group of what appeared to be African men singing a particularly low choral sample.

The following pieces Pizzicato and Fragile Playground for flute, and Bully and Whistles and Bells each explored audio-visual relationships, with the particular sounds evoked from the wind instrument pushing the video along or manipulating pre-imagined video. The layers of sound and video for each of these pieces created a very enjoyable viewing experience, as the listener could try to wrap their brain around the specific relationships occurring, or simply enjoy the pieces for their auditory and image creativity.

The video comprised of computer-generated female and male forms, which were trapped somewhere between being synthetic and life-like – a grey area which I found to not have much weight. The movements in Pizzicato were very formulaic and structured, which was effective, overall however the continued use of these characters was not as impressive as in Mustard’s previous dance collaborations with Chrissie Parrot, where the figures served as a contrast to live dancers.

Later pieces included a hilarious work of samples, triggered by the MIDI keyboard, that would rapidly change the image projected on screen to an image of the Colonel playing that particular instrument. The barrage of winds, chimes, jaw harp and brass was rapid and frantic, but the images were lighthearted and amusing.

The strength of the Famous Audio Visual show is its ability to draw the viewer in with the interaction of sound and video. The attention to detail in the audio sculpting can be overlooked if too much attention is paid to the visuals. Mustard must be commended on his show that is entertaining, yet provides carefully constructed musical ideas, compelling relationships between audio and visual and a performance that is constantly amusing and thought-provoking.

As an extra treat, the ‘extraordinarily unplanned’ duo of Anthony Pateras and Lindsay Vickery took to the stage for an improvised set of piano and winds. Anthony Pateras is a beast of improvisation, creating layered textures of speedy piano notes and chord clusters, resonating the piano to produce clouds of sound. Vickery’s wind playing is equally inventive, extracting seemingly impossible sounds from his reeds, and utilising great dynamics to create an impassioned performance. The set was frenetic, with Pateras beginning with sheets of sound and clusters of notes, and Vickery following suit.

If improvisation is the ‘regurgitation of one’s old habits’, then these two musicians have some incredibly intriguing habits. The impromptu nature aided the performance. The dynamics shifted and swayed but overall there was an incredible interplay between the two, allowing for space at times but at other times simply creating massive, rapid fire sounds which filled the room and demanded attention.

Club Zho 82 delivered yet again with a night filled with NEW music, that being music that is improvised, creative and exploratory. Each act of the night found different ways to create these effects, but each featured fresh and exciting instances of improvisation, interaction and musicality. Kudos must be given to Tura New Music for consistently putting on shows that combine many elements of ‘new music’ yet are always a celebration for new creations and different sounds.

Event details

Club Zho 82 presented by Tura New Music Lindsay Vickery Colonel Mustard’s Famous Audio Visual Show Lindsay Vickery + Anthony Pateras The Ellington Jazz Club, Northbridge, Perth, WA

Further links

Jonathan Mustard – AMC

Anthony Pateras – AMC

Lindsay Vickery

Tura New Music’s Club Zho

Defying Gravity, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts student percussion ensemble with special guest Paul Tanner performed one of its trademark breathtaking concerts in the Music Auditorium at WAAPA on the 5^th of May. Featuring a wide variety of music ranging from Cuban, to Haitian Voodoo ceremonial music, to percussion masterwork Peaux by Iannis Xenakis, the ensemble provided an entertaining evenings viewing.

Rarely do you see, in classical circles, a group of musicians who are so enthusiastic about performing and making excellent music. This genuine enjoyment in performance takes the music and the audience to a higher level. Their enthusiasm was prevalent in all the works they performed, from the opening notes of ‘Ogoun Badagris’ by Chris Rouse, based on a Voodoo blood sacrifice, followed by ‘Stubernic’, by Mark Ford, a trio piece for marimba with cajon ‘box drum’ and congo. Up next was the first piece by guest artist Paul Tanner, ‘Home By 11’ for marimbas and unpitched percussion, exploring the use of multiple time signatures for different instruments at the same time in a very funky way. Now came one of the more entertaining pieces of the evening. ‘Eine Kleine Tischmusik’ or ‘A Little Dinner music; by Manfred Menke was a wonderful piece for four percussionist using wooden spoons, tables and the floor. Pounding rhythms, stomping feet, shattering spoons and dinnertime mischief kept the audience greatly entertained. Finishing up the first half was the second of Paul Tanner’s pieces ‘Guaguanco’, utilising the traditional rhythms of the Cuban Rumba with unpitched percussion and solo conga with the tuned instruments coming part way through with a rousing salsa chorus. To ecstatic applause the players left the auditorium and the stage was set for the second half…

… ‘Sprint’, Rob Smith, a frenetic piece on the mallets, suggestive of a running race and including the panting and breathing of the athletes… percussionists. Next was Peaux , the 1^st movement of Pleiades and considered to be one of the masterworks for percussion, beautifully performed here. Xenakis’s own quote from the concert program beautifully sums up the idea of the piece.

“In ‘Pleiades’, “the primordial element is rhythm… the sole source of this polyrhythm is the idea of periodicity, repetition, duplication, recurrence, copy, faithfulness, pseudo-faithfulness, unfaithfulness… leading to notions of clouds, nebulae, galaxies of the fragmented dust of beats organised by the rhythm… sweeping the listener up into it’s whirlwind, carrying him as if towards an inevitable catastrophe or to a contorted universe.”

Not the easiest piece to listen to, but certainly the most rhythmically complex, this piece showcased the amazing talent of the Defying gravity percussionists.  Following this was another of Paul Tanner’s works ‘Back in 1516’. Then came the most unpercussion-like percussion piece in the concert “A Little Prayer’ by Dame Evelyn Glennie, a beautiful soft hymn played by mallet percussion and crotales. This piece showed the beautiful soft side of percussion with amazing swells and sustains, a complete contrast to the jarring polyrhythms of ‘Pleiades’. The finale of the concert was the last of the compositions by Paul Tanner, ‘Cuba’, based on the traditional Cuban Son or Salsa style. Starting with traditional clave patterns and building on with unpitched percussion followed by a surprising rendition of the songs montuno (melodic riff) on pitch pipes then launching into an all out salsa groove on all the instruments. Frequent solos on a variety of instruments moving onto a rousing finale led to a wild and sustained applause from an ecstatic and thrilled audience.

All in all, a fantastic display of musicianship and absolute enthusiasm and passion for percussion music.

Mark Bradstreet

WAAPA – 28/05/09

The concert ‘Russian Romantics’ was performed by the Faith Court Orchestra in the WAAPA music auditorium as a tribute to the works of Sergei Rachmaninov and Peter Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately as I arrived at the concert literally seconds after the usher had closed the doors for the beginning of the concert, I was refused access until after the intermission! Even though the performance was not to start for several more minutes! Never the less I had to strongly disregard my initial thoughts regarding the concert at that time and hit the second half of the concert with an untainted optimism. So as a result regrettably I am unable to ‘comment’ on the performance of concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninov as I did not view it! Sorry Ben Martin! (Soloist) – Though I’m sure you were great!

When I entered the concert room before the commencement of the ‘second’ part of the concert, there was a mixed sense of casualness and anticipation. The crowd entered and settled, and the performers entered the performance space to take their positions. It felt pleasing to see many of the first performers coming on stage enter in such a casual and relaxed fashion. The piece to be performed was Peter Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op.64. Conductor Peter Tanfield entered and was welcomed with a fairly generous applause.

The piece began and was a surreal experience of textual and dynamic excellence. The initial light relaxed tone that was produced early during the first movement by a select group of string players along with the clarinet soloist was a warm welcome to the second half of the concert. The controlled dynamics and instrumentation that was executed early in this performance was the perfect preparation for the enormous sound that the orchestra was still to produce. The entire orchestra though notably the entire string and brass sections as a combination packed an enormous punch once fully uncovered, which was very confronting and satisfying at the same time!

Conductor Peter Tanfield was hugely animated throughout the piece, it was impressive to watch! Though in some regard with his eyes closed and head down sometimes in expression he may have had slightly less control of the orchestra, though regardless was entertaining. To my amusement I also spotted several front row violinists smirking at the expense of their very own conductor, who looked at that point as if he had just run a small marathon and was attempting to regain composure before entering the next movement. Jokes aside..! – Notably the first clarinet and first trumpet sang there instruments beautifully, and executed there solo parts with style and quality sound. In summary the overall sound of the orchestra was great, and I look forward to hearing more Faith Court!

 The next Faith Court Orchestra performance is documented to be during August 2009, for more details visit http://waapa.ecu.edu.au/events/events_category.php?category_id=0000000001