MUSC 1210 Concert Report Jonathan Adam On December 5, 2013 I attended Bevin Blectums dissertation per ormance at the

!rano "enter# It $as an opportunit% or me to see a per ormance o $hat a inal, polished per ormance o e&perimental electronic music ' a (enre I )no$ mostl% b% listenin( to recordin(s ' eels li)e in a live settin(# *he per ormance had a noticeable visual component, $hich re+en orced a sense o the alien and other$orld% to the sho$# Blectum $as dressed in a ,uilted (o$n o some sort, and had painted a blue mas) around her e%es# -articularl% upon her irst entrance, $hile per ormin( a piece called .-reservation,/ the e&trava(ance o this costume $as urther hei(htened b% the controllers she $as usin( ' some sort o arm prosthetics ' addin( to the impression that she $as a some$hat m%sterious individual brin(in( orth this art# I elt this dissociation rom realit% $as ,uite e ective in that it separated the inner $orld o per ormance rom the outside, ever%da% $orld, thus (ivin( lee$a% to the variet% o sounds $hich seemed orei(n, e&treme and out o the ordinar%# 0er per ormance aura also compensated or the act that her $or) on sta(e primaril% seemed to be tri((erin( events ' usuall%, a sin(le button touch $ould set somethin( o and Blectum $ould subse,uentl% stand there, starin( ri(ht ahead# 0ad less attention (one into her appearance, this $ould have probabl% become a barrier or me to en(a(e in the per ormance, but as she stood there no$, $ith her sli(htl% intimidatin( ma,uilla(e, the e ect $as almost sphin&li)e# *he per ormance also eatured )aleidoscopic, color ul, visuall% rh%thmic pro1ections above her2 $hile not controlled b% the music, the% did seem to complement and provide a visual counterpoint to the universe o sounds she $as creatin(# 3onicall%, I ound the sho$ a little over$helmin(# 4no$in( electronic music primaril% rom listenin( to recordin(s, I am used to re+listenin( to devised pieces several times, to amiliari5e m%sel $ith the sounds and obtain an appreciation or them, and onl% later on ta)e note o ho$ the music .$or)s/ structurall%# 6In concerts such as the midterm per ormance, I ind m%sel able to combine these t$o observations as usuall%, an% (iven piece $ould ocus more on one o the t$o elements ' sound ,ualit% or piece structure ' (ivin( me a brea) on the other element o the t$o#7 In this concert, ho$ever, I ound m%sel ,uic)l% losin( trac) o a pieces lo(ic and structure, simpl% because I (ot carried a$a% b% listenin( to the sound# A (reat deal o the palette o the irst and last pieces elt ver% s%nthetic, computeri5ed and uturistic in an interestin( $a%2 there seemed to be tensions and rictions bet$een the di erent bleeps, parameteri5ed arpe((ios, and beats# *here $as also a ver% intri(uin( interpla% bet$een sound and perceived location# 8ot 6%et7 a sound desi(n bu m%sel , I could onl% sort o raise m% e%ebro$s in impression at the ne$s that there $ere 10 channels bein( used, and $hile I $ould not have an%thin( relevant to sa% about this, I do ima(ine it contributed to that sense o bein( immersed in this place ull o sounds comin( rom ever% direction in a diverse, e&citin( $a% 6rather than 1ust havin( a master set o spea)ers rom $hich all the music is pla%ed7# On the level o pure sound, I ound m%sel almost over+tri((ered b% the lar(e variet% o orei(n sounds, and I elt shortchan(ed in tr%in( to i(ure out ho$ this music $as actuall%

$or)in( ' a s)ill I $ill have to develop b% attendin( more per ormances in the uture# A piece that I thorou(hl% en1o%ed $as the second one, .*erms o Addition/ in $hich Blectum $as 1oined on sta(e b% t$o strin( pla%ers 6also in elaborate ma)eup7 and a tin% blue p%ramidal puppet controlled b% a puppeteer hidden rom vie$# A musical retellin( o a 9a% Bradbur% stor%, this section appealed to me or its narrative lo$, $here acoustic instruments and voice parts drove the stor%, and electronics $ere used at irst or some mood+settin( sound e ects, and occasionall% to broaden the sonic scope o the musical accompaniment# At one particularl% e ective point, $hen the t$o parents choose to move to another dimension, the usion bet$een the classical and electronic reaches its ape&, per ectl% mirrorin( the act that this point o the stor% is both emotionall% char(ed and completel% surreal# *he interaction bet$een prerecorded, disembodied voices and the live actors $as a ver% e ective $a% to sta(e the odd dissociation bet$een the science iction aspects o the stor% and the human characters $ithin it# *he mi& bet$een neoclassical violin:viola duets and more modern, electronic sounds $as not orced2 rather, it (ave the piece an almost ilmic ,ualit%# Includin( the puppet in the per ormance $as a small move, but e ective in (roundin( the piece in its o$n realit%# Overall, I $as inspired b% the sense o per ormativit% and theatricalit% in this piece, $hich (ave the music an easier to ollo$ sense o lo$# I $as also touched b% the human in luence in this piece, and the marria(e bet$een the classical $ritin( or strin( instruments and the uturistic electronics# *his concert established or me once a(ain that I primaril% en1o% per ormances $ith a distinctive human element# ;hile I can still en1o% pieces o a hi(hl% automated nature, theres somethin( about the live settin( that ma)es me more inclined to connect $ith stories about people# *his ocus on the human, even $ithin an electronic medium, is probabl% somethin( I $ill $ant to retain in m% uture pieces# 8evertheless, I en1o%ed Blectums .non+human/ pieces or their alien theatricalit%# *he per ormance seemed to be thou(ht+out and had ta)en time, throu(h visual and audio cues, to create a $orld o its o$n# *his attention to immersion also serves as an inspiration or $or)s that I $ould li)e to create in the uture#