Don't forget to tune into the live Electro Music 2008 theremin performances starting tonight! Our beloved Theremin World members Kevin, Kip, and John are each taking the stage over the next 3 days, and you can listen to their acts live over the Intertubes.
John Hoge kicks off the event tonight at 8pm. Kip Rosser performs Friday night at 7pm. Kevin Kissenger wraps up the theremin trinity on Saturday at 9pm (all times Eastern time zone).
When the audio stream is available, a button should appear on the electro-music radio page to start the stream, the players you can use are listed there and free to download if needed: http://electro-music.com/radio .
The Schedule for all performers is posted on the festival web site:
- Thursday, August 14 - http://electro-music.com/event2008/Thursday.html
- Friday, August 15 http://electro-music.com/event2008/Friday.html
- Saturday, August 16 http://electro-music.com/event2008/Saturday.html
I'd love to see your comments after each performance. Share your thoughts in our forums!
Feeds:
Showing 5 Comments
Not as many people as in previous years, though.
The wide range of technology and style was great to see. And the demonstrations were very informative.
Kip's concert was entertaining, he had the crowd laughing their heads off with one routine, and also musically satisfying. His jazz playing really is amazing, such nuance, accuracy and "feel/swing".
Of course mostly improvised. It's unlike any other player around right now.
The section of jazz versions of Disney songs was a real high point, simply lovely. I forget how well written they were and in a jazz setting Kip brings out whole new levels from them.
Kevin had his full surround sound system set up for his concert.
The effect is totally different than hearing the work in stereo recordings, I'm really glad I finally got hear it in the setting it was composed for.
More than just sounds flying around your head, he really incorporates it into his contrapuntal writing and the spatial assignments enhance the trading off of the voices.
The closest thing I can relate it to is the Venetian school of multiple vocal and instrumental ensemble writing where you have various voice of the counter point coming at you from different corners of a cathedral.
And of course both guys have mastered the theremin to such a high degree that the basic technical difficulty of playing is simply not apparent, they make it look effortless. These thermein concerts were transcendent and inspiring experiences for me.
Plus There was so much great stuff going on!
Other high marks were:
Kevin Spears on the electric Kalimba (he even did a pass where it sounded just like Jimmy Hendrix);
James Spitznagel on Nintendo (music generating "games") and Tenori-On (hand held instument) with lap top, here was the rare example of an artists personhood really coming through "ambient" and broad spaced music. So often it's a beautiful wash of sound but with James you really felt him as an artist and the music told a story;
Amos Gaynes demonstrations, this guy knows so much it's scary. He's great at revealing the hidden secrets of the Moog instruments;
Sensitive Chaos, and Earth Girl both are also excellent "ambient" artists with unique sound palettes that lift you right out of normal life.
And the list goes on and on, more than I can share here.
Hope I get to go next year!
http://emusician.com/videos/events
The report includes a couple of clips from my performance.
I really hope I get to hear one of your live performances some day. Do you think you'll ever make it to one of the European festivals?
So far I've heard from five folks who listened to it Thrusday night and could hear things very well.
Two young boys were also listening to my set and I'm told they thought is was scary at the beginning, but really got into it after the first piece then listened all the way through!
I'm working with their dad to get them more info. on the theremin and all the other electronic
adventures that were going on at e-m.
So the festival and the stream was a great out reach tool as well, audience building is an extremely important thing for all of us in the fringe and Theremin music world.
Oh, I would love to travel to the UK and I hope to have the opportunity. At the moment, time and money are a bit tight, though.
There are a lot of thereminists in the UK I would enjoy meeting/hearing/watching in person.