SO2017-4

Next day at SoundOut, part way through the late session. First up was a quintet with Luiz and a series of locals, Chloe, Sonya, Gail and Miro on bass, toy piano and other toys, vocals, electronics and trumpet. Again, this was a meeting of musicians, an experimental jam, and it started with some hesitation, leaving space to hear each other. Until Miro spelt some melody and this was cathartic. Miro later said he's a melodist. It seems to me that trumpeters are: it seems to be a function of the instrument. But here were clear notes, spacious, with some relationship one to another. Luiz picked up on this, bowing, plucking, then alternative techniques of tapping, slapping timber and strings, reaction from Sonya, with vocalisations that filled and swelled around them, again Miro's bell-like notes. Lovely. Chloe and Gail were more subdued and ambient, encompassing this with various noises of various toys on the one hand, tapping or sliding or clacking, or using electronics to meld and twist and revisit, or to add processed voice and glass clinks and pats and thumps. Luiz Gabriel Gubeissi (bass), Miro Bukovsky (trumpet), Sonya Holywell (vocal), Chloe Hobbs (toy piano, toys) and Gail Priest (electronics) performed.

Then a stunner. French pianist Frederick Blondy returned for an overwhelmingly powerful final set. this was meant to end with other performers gradually coming on stage for a collective improv, but rather it ended alone, everyone overwhelmed by the power and purpose and sweeping adequacy of it all. Again, he started under the lid, with bow hair on strings and something that looked like a stick with a can on top, a few electronic bows (?) and I expect some other tools for preparation, then moving to the keyboard for growing intensity of handfulls of notes, tone clusters, increasingly flailing and jumping at the piano, this time with rhythm, to an intensity of violence and excess. Then a stop. He seemed a little surprised at that, as we were. Some minutes then applause. My camera gave out so no pics.

After a short rest, the collective improv to finish it all for this year. Most playing their standard style, but amusingly and informatively, right in front of me, was Christian Svendsen dissembling his travel bass as in performance, formal, slow, precise, ordered. I'd wondered how it came apart and now I'd seen it. Amusing. Then a fall to quiet, a packup, a party. The end of SoundOut incarnation no.8. Hopefully to return in 2018. And congrats to Richard Johnson for his drive and effort to make this festival happen every year.

SO2017-1

SoundOut 2017 is the eight incarnation of this most intriguing and challenging festival. Every year I contest my ideas over this abandon, this questioning of musical verities, this search for sound, noise, art from standard instruments (they mostly use standard instruments), this abandon on all manner of traditional musical verities (they seldom play standard techniques). It's an intimate festival and considerably international. I spoke to one performer who was touring, asking about her experiences with performing, to small clubs on tour, of the chance of performing around a more dense continent like Europe. But even there this remains a form for a small group of initiates or searchers. Despite the traditional instruments, it's not too often that traditional techniques are used, so you may form an opinion that these players can't play straight. It's true for some. I once asked a player about her performance on piano. In discussion, it turned out she didn't know how to play an Eb scale. Nonetheless, I'd been mightily impressed by her set. But that's not the case for all. I heard some warmups this time that were straight ahead jazz or classical styled and played with great skill. And Brazilian bassist Luiz who stayed with me for the weekend was advising me on how to play bossa. Bossa! That's as sweet as it comes.

First up was a string quintet of three (!) basses, violin and cello. Bass playing with feet, hands, taps, bow(s), staccato, notes, short snaps, whooshing of air over bows, bow woods on strings or timber, metal winding scraping strings. Cellist Freya pulled it together with some traditional techniques, slow clear notes forming atonal melody of long intervals, double stops, minor seconds with lovely bowed tone. Others found harmonies, then into experimental techniques again, drones, high harmonics, some vocalisation (whistles this time). Cello uses pencils between strings (a common technique) and non-trad techniques with bow. Squeaks of skin dragged over varnish, tappings, slaps, again a climax. Form and movement is evident here. I asked Luiz about starting strongly or tentatively. He consider that it's respectful to enter gently with players you don't know or haven't played with before, to listen better and not to hog the scene. But then the alternative of driving, determinative start can also work. Continuing, some excellent pizz from Norwegian bassist Christian although with strings pulled off the fingerboard for a deadened and edged sound. More form, start low-grow, reduce-deduce, rise-surprise. Loud again, intense, cello again spelling notes that define melody if little rhythm. This music is not a thing of groove: it sets and meditates and sits in time rather than states it. Presumably nothing is dissallowed, even trad techniques, but it's uncommon. People drop out, complete, applause and smiles. Starts and ends are often somewhat indecisive (reminds me of my penchant for getting in the final notes on bass).

Such was the first set, a string quintet comprising Christian M Svendsen, Luiz Gabriel Gubeissi and Ben Drury (basses), Irene Kepl (violin) and Freya Shack-Arnott (cello).

Musing

Mike and Richard are currently playing fortnightly on Friday nights at Muse Restaurant in the East Hotel, Kingston, so I took the opportunity to visit and sit in for a few tunes. Luiz, one bassist at this weekend's SoundOut Festival, was staying with me so they got 2 bassists for the price of none ($0). But it was fun. I played some jazzers and perhaps one bossa. Luiz played bossas and one or two jazzers. Luiz is Brazilian born and raised so this was interesting. I got some hints on playing bossa more true-to-style (less driving, more relaxed, play the anticipation, perhaps meaning less samba) and all round the outing was a pleasure. Strange to see Luiz, who I know as an experimental player, performing bossa, but then he is Brazilian. Nice. Interesting also to play jazz without amplification. Hard work.

Mike Dooley (piano) and Richard Manderson (saxes) play fortnightly as Aloft at Muse Restaurant. Luiz Gubeissi and Eric Pozza (basses) sat in.

On the other side (SO1)

The ACO was performing Tognetti’s Mozart in Llewellyn Hall. I dread to think how the ACO audience would have taken to SoundOut, the experimental music and free jazz festival in progress just the other side of the car park in Theatre 3. SoundOut is now in its fourth year. It’s a weekend festival of experimental music and free jazz organised by local reedist Richard Johnson. And all praise to him for the effort. This thing is growing; it’s international; it’s well provided with gear in a fitting venue. And this event was being multitracked for likely ABC broadcast.

This is not music of Mozartian popularity. It’s a strange world of noise and exploration and alternative techniques and small audiences. There were about 25 performers from Australia and NZ, but also from Germany, Austria, UK, Canada and Brazil, here with the help of various embassies. It’s controversial and a thought challenge. It’s certainly unconventional, and to some degree that’s its purpose. It’s rethinking about sound, exploring and expanding the palette of noise that we call music and sometimes venturing into associated arts. There was a dancer and an experimental film performer this evening, along with an electronics performer and 20+ musicians on traditional instruments. They were not necessarily played traditionally, of course. I wonder why they bother with traditional instruments for some noise explorations (like spinning clarinet parts or timber floors or the metallic clicking of clips against saxes) but they are perfectly relevant for others (like bows on cymbals or clucking on sax mouthpieces) and, anyway, they are on stage with these instruments in their hands. There are various degrees of traditional skills, too. This is where I found my preferences. I could clearly see traditional training and harmonic awareness in the Barcode Quartet from Austria/UK. I found them my favourite outing for the night. The forthright stand by Alison Blunt was worthy of the ACO next door, and although she dabbled in alt techniques, her fingering and bowing were exemplary. So were the wonderfully expressive and tonally varied vocals of Annette Giesriegl which sounded all the way from beak clicks to Nordic languages. The piano of Elizabeth Harnick was slabs of dissonance and delicacy of directly plucked strings and thoughtful search for harmony. And the male of the group, Josef Klemmer, played these popular light sticks, laid down authentic rhythms and touched on Nintendo drums, sounding all electronic and heavy and processed. Given their basis in trad skills, they may fit more in the free jazz than experimental field, but whatever, I found these thrilling and thoughtful and authentic.

Tony Buck played drums with Magda Mayas, a German pianist. I felt similarly for Tony as he took from more traditional forms. They had some initial technical problems, but after this, the set developed strongly. I’d lent my bass to Luiz Gubeissi of the Abaetetuba Collective, and I’d heard some impressive skills when he was warming up and checking out the bass in the morning, some forceful pizz and manly bowing. I liked it when he dropped into a short segment of pizz in their set. I felt it collected the instruments, formed a groove of sorts, brought things together more. But they mostly explored the experimental field of unfettered emotional expression and prepared instruments. There were fiddles and shamisens and guitars but in this context they are removed from cultural references. It’s noise as art. I often find it valid and engrossing when I close my eyes, but it is also culturally distant to my ears.

The major work of the night was Composition for 25 artists by Jon Rose. This was interesting. A full stage of musicians, one dancer, one video artist, four pianists on two pianos, three drum kits and several other drummers, and front and centre, a screen displaying minutes and seconds. The work commenced with 1 minute of silence, then 40 minutes of sound, and the end. Each minute was guided for each player, with instructions for volume, short/long notes, chords, perforkm or not. Otherwise, players listened and melded by chosing notes of a chord, phrases and rests, crescendos and whatever. All eyes, including the audience, were on the seconds as they ticked to the minute, anticipating new sounds. Jon took part, mid-right on stage, not leading but participating. This is communal composition. I found it fascinating and satisfying and skilful, and visually interesting, with so many busy musicians, as well as dancer and video and that mesmerising clock.

This was the Saturday evening session. More to come with Sunday’s session. The musicians at SoundOut 2013 are: Adam Sussman (Guitarist /electronics [Brisbane]), Alison Blunt (violin [UK] Barcode Qrt), Alison Plevey (sound manipulation, dance [Canberra]), Andrew Fedorovitch (sax [Canberra]), Annette Giesriegl (vocals [Austria] Barcode Quartet), Antonio Panda Gianfratti (percussion, ABAETETUBA collective, [Brazil]), Elisabeth Harnik (piano [Styria/Austria] Barcode Quartet), Hermione Johnson (piano [New Zealand]), James Waples (percussion [Sydney]), Jeff Henderson (Alto & baritone sax [NZ]), John Porter (tenor sax [Canberra]), Jon Rose (violin, multi-instrumentalist ([Sydney; Berlin]), Josef Klammer (drums, electronics [Austria] Barcode Quartet), Louise Curham (experimental film, performer [Canberra]), Luiz Gubeissi (double bass, ABAETETUBA collective, [Brazil]), Luke Keenan-Brown (drums [Canberra]), Magda Mayas (piano [Germany]), Matt Earle (multi-instrumentalist, Stasis Duo - [Brisbane]), Michael Norris (electronics & feedback [Canberra]), Mike Majkowski (composer, improvisor, double bass [Australia/Berlin]), Reuben Ingalls (guitar, electronics [Canberra]), Rhys Butler (alto sax [Canberra]), Richard Johnson (wind instruments [Canberra]), Rodrigo Montoya (shamisen, guitar, ABAETETUBA collective [Brazil].), Thomas Rohrer (Brazilian fiddle, sax, ABAETETUBA collective [Brazil]), Tony Buck (drums, percussion [Berlin and Sydney]).

Cyberhalides Jazz Photos by Brian Stewart