Signal to NoiseDecibel Festival
Sean Molnar
The Experimental Showcase was an oasis of minimalism. All four artists, Yann novak, Son of Rose, Richard Chartier and Taylor Deupree, opted to perform without visual displays, and the calm of the darkened theater forced the audience to focus completely on the sound emanating from the speakers on both sides of the stage. It brought to mind Stan Brakhage's approach to exhibiting his films. He said simply the he is a filmmaker. If you want narrative, read a book. If you want sound, listen to music. If you want to watch film, watch film. he forced audiences to appreciate his art for what it was, not what they wanted it to be.
Taylor Deupree's set was a hauntingly beautiful minimal soundscape that would have been equally at home at the Ambient Showcase.Yann Novak took a field recording of a machine noise and programed it into a long series of seamless permutations. Son of Rose's set stood out in that it was distinctly tactile amidst sea of computers. Using ebows on the strings of a grand piano, he manipulated the vibrations electronically or used them to trigger synth sounds that were in turn manipulated - a sort of electronically prepared piano performance that was truly experimental instead of impenetrably weird.
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