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).

SOSun eve

I came after a family dinner to catch the last bands and managed just one band that morphed into the final SoundOut Collective session. Amanda Stewart of Sydney sang with, Achim Kaufmann and Roger Turner. The trio showed all manner of techniques with clicks and vocal pops and words amongst them, displaying some hints of jazz and C20th classical styles, and into a sudden and widely unexpected fff stop. Fascinating, with energy and commitment and often virtuosic skills. Then into the final all-in SoundOut Collective set, started by Jim Denley with Alister Spence, Frank Gratkowski and Tony Osborne, joined gradually by musos moving through the space, to stage and from, watching and responding to one or another, gradually building and receding to end with the sole pair of Richard and Jim and the end. Effective and shared art in community. Congrats again to Richard and his work and success for this 11th incarnation of SoundOut, our own International festival of free jazz and experimental music, right here in Canberra, If you missed it, get on the list for occasional events and next's year's festival: SoundOut on FB or web.

Amanda Stewart (vocals), Achim Kaufmann (piano) and Roger Turner (drums) played a trio set. Then Jim Denley (flute), Alister Spence (piano), Frank Gratkowski (alto, flute, clarinet) and Tony Osborne (vocals) joined by the SoundOut Collective to finish. SoundOut 2020 Saturday evening at the Drill Hall Gallery.

SOSat arvo 1-1

This was SoundOut 2020, Saturday afternoon session. As always, there was a mix of performers local and Australian an foreign. We all expect the ringins from OS to be the exciting ones, and they often are, of course, being the stars invited and presumably supported by their embassies. I was particuarly looking forward to Achim, Frank and Wilbert who had massively impressed me with a short informal perfomance in the workshop, but that was for the evening. I arrived to hear a trio of sax, sax and vocals/electornics from Rhys, Richard and Tony Osborne. Nice, flowing, nuanced with tones and noises. Then Peter Hollo, cellist with electronics. I checked out his web page: he records postfolkrocktronica as Raven, has played classical with AYO and more and pop with Deborah Conway, the Whitlams and more, os he has chops. It showed in his playing with an awareness of melody and traditional techniques, nicely embellished with electronics and loops and the like. I heard yearning, distance, lovely acoustic cello tone, and later some tongue taps and what seemed quite like a constructed compostion. Nice. Then on to a feature trio, Dylan Van der Schyff, Elisabeth Harnick and our own local, Jess Green. A power trio: high energy from the opening; exciting and varied; quick insectoid flourishes form Jess; all manner of tones from dismantled kit and standard techniques from Dylan; scrapes and noises from within the piano into effusive keyboard with indeterminate harmony from Elisabeth. A huge pleasure.

Rhys Butler (alto), Richard Johnson (soprano) and Tony Osborne (vocals, electronics) played first. Peter Hollo (cello, electronics) played second. Dylan Van der Schyff (drums), Elisabeth Harnick (piano) and Jess Green (guitar) played third. SoundOut 2020 Saturday afternoon at the Drill Hall Gallery.