Forum – Week 9 – ‘The Bent Leather Band’
Forum – Week 9 – ‘The Bent Leather Band’:
Stuart and Joanne of Melbourne’s ‘Bent Leather Band’ put on a captivating and informative workshop this afternoon. It was certainly interesting to witness the sophisticated heights that home made electronic instrument making / playing can reach.
Of particular appeal to me was the focus on playability and evolution of technique. I had given considerable thought to this area during the recent construction of my own instrument, and believe it would have benefited greatly from more time (not to mention money) devoted to this. Watching Stuart engage the light harp with often highly animated, but always controlled, gestures invoked images of Clara Rockmore pulling a complex violin sonata out of a Theremin. Of course, this music was very different, but the BLB, like so many new music exponents, are driven by the pursuit of new sounds and musical concepts, not by a desire to recreate that which has come before.
Perhaps the quality of sound (which was very good) was a key factor in this, but I found this performance substantially more engaging than many of my new music experiences of the past. The fact that the BLB are interested in the visual impact of their performance and stage setting as well as the sonic result certainly works in their favour too. The creature-like instruments of meticulously crafted leatherwork and electronics are awe-inspiring to say the least. I think the notably absent ‘aura of defensiveness’ in the likeable personalities of Stuart and Joanne, when communicating about their craft, helped to avoid tension that can exist beneath the surface of many a new music / art presentation.
Although I disagree with the notion that 'art of the past belongs in a museum' on some levels (Is it not okay to consider some music to possess a timeless quality, just as relevant today as it was then etc?), I found the experience rewarding and enlightening, much like the visit from Dr Sardeshmukh in 2006, looking forward to next week…
Reference:
Stuart Favilla and Joanne Cannon. “Forum – Week 9 – ‘The Bent Leather Band’.” Workshop presented at Space, Level 5, Schultz Building, University of Adelaide, 4th of October 2007.
Haines Christian. “Forum – Week 9 – ‘The Bent Leather Band’.” Workshop presented at Space, Level 5, Schultz Building, University of Adelaide, 4th of October 2007.
Sebastian Tomczak. “Forum – Week 9 – ‘The Bent Leather Band’.” Workshop presented at EMU Space, Level 5, Schultz Building, University of Adelaide, 4th of October 2007.
posted by David J Dowling @ 6:33 PM
2 Comments:
QUOTE: "Although I disagree with the notion that 'art of the past belongs in a museum' on some levels".
I thought that this notion was perhaps mentioned slightly off-hand or maybe not delivered correctly, but then Stuart says this on their website: "Jazz is a fantastic tradition and a great vehicle for improvising. It is more a nostalgic thing for me though. I don't feel it is the right musical direction for Australians. Jazz is very dangerous, once you become immersed in the Jazz wash you can never seem to effectively rinse it out of your clothes, its not really colorfast music. Improvising in an electronic and abstract sound multiverse however, makes great sense to me. The frontier here is a large, unexplored and unfortunately quite often an irrelevant place to inhabit."
I can understand their point - to me (and probably yourself also) these musical traditions can function in a nostalgic way I suppose, but can still remain very much alive, relevant and necessary to one's musical experience. So my take on the issue is to get the most out of anything that is considered musical. I sit on both sides of the fence!
I hate all music equally, except for my own, which I hate even more..
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