Gratitude for having an Arts Council so a new live electronic music performance can emerge

Well what a lucky pixie I am. The Arts Council of England have opted to support my somewhat wayward endeavours again. And how grateful I am.

So, what follows is research and development of a new live performance with new, already pretty much created music centred around found sounds, my voice and me playing piano badly. The most exciting aspect, however, is that I will perform as part of a sound reactive installation of sorts ie. the light/images/colours respond to the volume or frequencies of the music being performed. To realise this I am working with fellow Delia Darling for Delia Derbyshire Day 2014 and creative technologist/digital visual artist/animator Andrea Pazos.

Part of this luxurious process is to spend a week in the new location for Manchester Digital Laboratory and Omniversity (what a concept!) Madlab at the beginning of February. Hopefully we will then be ready to share the new experience whose concept is around themes of interconnectedness, kindness (to others this time, last album was kindness to self) and compassion – crucial ingredients given our current cultural context (in my sometimes humble opinion).

As part of my magnifying the magic in the mundane, I love to use found sounds in my electronic music. I find they have a more interesting sonic texture, untamed edges and poetic timbre/colour. Current favourites featuring in new tracks include ice cubes clinking in a glass of water, a hot pan sizzling under cold water and a freezer door shutting (thank you to Benedict Fryer for suggesting that one for a kick/bass drum).

More suggestions for favourite sounds are very welcome and may well become integrated in this new soundtrack – so do share if you spot a magic sound in a seemingly mundane object 🙂

Maybe this music material will become a new album, maybe a 30 minute listening experience once recorded. Such is the magical mystery of authentic creativity. I hope to be able to divulge more delightful details once our week at Madlab is completed.