SoundOut 2024 / 4

I feel more informed in this SoundOut festival and maybe understand it better.  I peruse the program and realise (I think I'm correct) that day 1 has the performers playing in their normal combinations and later session mix and match for more new combinations.  And like people who have played together for a time, you see the comfort of the known and the challenge of the new.  All interesting.  I often find I prefer the known, but I respect and the new.  Next session for me was Saturday session 2.  First up was Ellen Kirkwood, Guylaine Cosseron, Maria Moles, Mark Cauvin and Richard Johnson. This started with voice and voice remained a major lead throughout.  Guylaine is seriously expressive and capable with her voice, so numerous sounds, vowels, groans, whistles even multi-pitch harmonised, running through highs, climaxes, recoveries.  Then nice ears for harmonies from bass and sax, even with surprisingly similar solo concepts, occasional percussion then trumpet tones later on and a final note that sounded of air raid sirens.  Whoah.  Next up was Bonnie Stewart, Guillaume Gargaud, Novak Manojlovic, Rhys Butler and sit-in vocals form Tony Osborne.  An immediate start from piano and vocals, leading to guitar with even country twangs.  Then waves of intensity, sudden explosions, with perhaps percussion or gentle alto or vox in between, rolling strings from piano and damped guitar plucks through extensive solos.  Another discovery?  That this music is more about dynamics than harmony let alone melody or even rhythm.   Then Jodie Rottle, Josephine Macken, Jamie Lambert and Peter Farrer.  Opening with a bell, then more mild, meditative, pensive, flautic (is there such a word?) with flutes of various sizes from Jodie and Josephine, bell-like guitar and bowed and even some violin from Jamie and alto and percussion from Peter.

Peformers for set 1 were Ellen Kirkwood (trumpet), Guylaine Cosseron (voice), Maria Moles (drums), Mark Cauvin (bass) and Richard Johnson (tenor).  For set 2 were Bonnie Stewart (drums), Guillaume Gargaud (guitar), Novak Manojlovic (piano), Rhys Butler (alto) and Tony Osborne (vocals).  For set 3 were Jodie Rottle (flute), Josephine Macken (flute), Jamie Lambert (guitar) and Peter Farrer (alto).

SoundOut 2024 / 1

Richard Johnson's SoundOut festival is back for its 15th incarnation.  It's presumably well known in these pages as an experimental and free jazz festival featuring Canberrans, Australians and a spattering of internationals.  And for that matter, sadly, just a spattering of audience.  This is not the most popular musical style: eclectic and authentic, yes, but popularity limited.  I won't get too all, but I do expect to get to one workshop and two or three concert sessions.  First up was Session 1 Friday evening.  I came in as Biomorph were performing.  This is the veritable core group of Richard Johnson and Rhys Butler playing tenor and alto saxes.  I heard flickering, moody, floating, whale calls, tonguing and horn staccatos and a closeness that comes with time playing together.  Then French internationals Animal Duo comprising Diemo Schwartz (electronics) and Guylaine Cosseron (vocals).  Sounds of cymbals, explosives, unexpected dynamics and more from synth and vocals that sounded of wind, grunts, animal noises and gutted with taped vocal chords.  Variously swelling, settling, floating, menacing.  Third up was a favourite for me, especially given I play bass.  Panghalina comprises an odd combination of bass plus two drummers, each playing another instrument, vocals or synth.   It comprised Helen Svoboda (bass, vocals), Bonnie Stewart (drums, vocals) and Maria Moles (drums, synth).  This sounded more ordered to my ears, but still mightily improvised.  They told me later of SoundOut being an opportunity return to improv roots given they are otherwise touring an album and playing those tunes which were originally productions of improv and remain improvisatory but with some structure.  I noted how "this has structure, thus some expectations amongst improv with huge intensity and high wordless vocals".  They later talked of parameters, being standard modes of expression (short note, long notes, staccato, etc) also a pictorial sense, as in long notes as landscape and short notes for Jackson Pollock.  Tech also took a role: Maria's synth but also TC Helicon over Helen's voice and a Boss RC505II to sample and loop Bonnie's voice, but more importantly, their voices found natural, improvised notes and merged through gentleness and harmonies.  Some structure over improv: how I like it.

Biomorph comprised Richard Johnson (tenor) and Rhys Butler (alto).  Animal Duo comprised Diemo Schwartz (electronics) and Guylaine Cosseron (vocals).  Panghalina comprised Helen Svoboda (bass, vocals), Bonnie Stewart (drums, vocals) and Maria Moles (drums, synth).

SO2017-2

I was interested to hear the next outfit, RHRR Trio out of France, a formed band rather than a meeting of performers without a shared history. RHRR are Frederick, Guylaine and Xavier, piano, vocals and clarinet. Things got seriously interesting here. This was a meeting of minds with history and that history was evident, in their responsiveness, ease, purpose, those things that develop with time together. Various piano preparations, playing under the lid, bow hair drawn across strings for drones, various implements tapping or otherwise expanding sound, later some playing on the keys, sparse and open and with ill-defined time, plinks and bells ringing in the air. At the centre, a voice of unearthly quality and inventiveness. This was really the centre for me: voice is so central to our humanity, so much a product of our core. And what voice! Unearthly, yes, with whistles and squeaks, impossible sounds to imagine from a voice, but here they were. But then animal sounds, sounds of the wilderness, like listening with open ears in a primitive environ for a first time. Approaching, retracting, mobility and movement: very expressive in body and movement, often closed fists or swaying to and from the mic with closed eyes, every movement spelling the sound. Some meaningless words, too, pleading, although language-like voice is a rarity here. And Xavier on clarinet, responding, filling, mobile too, arcs as clarinet sweeps upward, providing structure and conversation. I was hugely taken by Guylaine with her intriguing and virtuosic vocalisations, but the whole ensemble was a gem. RHRR Trio are Frederick Blondy (piano), Guylaine Cosseron (vocals) and Xavier Charles (clarinet) out of France.

Solo bass up next, from Norwegian Christian M Svendsen. Throughout, his bass playing was strong, unrelenting, physical, visual, using feet and hands and up to three bows. This performance was not different. An unyielding German bow bouncing quavers at 190bpm for about twenty minutes varying in intensity, volume, changing tone through overtones despite little movement of the left hand, a foot to stop a string for one bow while the other hand bows otherwise, another bow played from the mouth. Strange but still those unrelenting quavers at 190bpm. One bow in a back pocket, taking the bass for a walk around that Drill Hall Gallery corridor just built for this purpose, audience listening to reflections from than coffered ceiling, more distant and muffled, then a return to the stage, then polyrhythms played by two bouncing bows, perhaps 5 over four. Still, after 20 mins, those incessant quavers at 190bpm. A feat of commitment, application, strength. Is this painful? Maybe. It's certainly memorable.

Christian M Svendsen (bass) played a solo set.