Sound is as malleable as silly putty. Bend it, twist it, or hit it, audio frequencies have the superpower to make you shake that ass or run screaming for your hanky.
The setting is Dreamland. The theme evokes the kind of ambient, experimental content that the venue has become so beloved for amongst those that appreciate the avant-garde.
This particular exposition takes full advantage of the spatial environment, and how sound reacts within it. Bouncing and reverberating off walls, straight into your inner ear.
Proxemia is the brainchild of multimedia artist Jose Rivera. Taking full advantage of his background in architecture and music, he composes layered soundscapes by way of samples and field recordings. Be transported away to places not of this earthly realm, but inherently grounded within it. The environments that only exist in the concentrated thought patterns of Rivera and his utilities. Rivera also recorded a song with Ian Be of Bourbon and Coffee. The track has undergone multiple changes since, and Rivera says that “..this version is more representative of my interests in working with field recordings, memory, and environment. There are recordings of river water from Asheville, waves from St Pete beach, drips from Boston. In many ways it speaks to the formal mobility, location, and presence of water.”
The marriage of music and poetry is one that is not likely to soon get divorced. Word patterns meet with an eccentric cacophony of instrumentation, and even buy them dinner before consummating the relationship. Bourbon and Coffee is a group that has been cultivating such a relationship for years. They pack a ukulele, trumpet, electric bass, drone box, violin, and of course, the organic tones of human vocal cords. Always a mind opening experience.
Ethereal strains carry the feather weight sounds of Helen. Acoustic instruments and distant vocals echo like Gregorian chants, but are far easier on the ear. This is definitely a group that could post up under a large bridge or in a medieval chamber and sound as beautiful as a Vermeer painting looks.
Kevin Cain creates long form sound sculptures focused on the decay and evolution of tones within a given time frame. He has a goldfish he gives a different name each day. For this performance, he will be using 15 minutes and the key of A minor.
Stop by Dreamland to open your ears and mind, and don’t bother to wake your wallet. It only costs five bones. Everything begins at 9pm sharp. All ages are welcome.