Sunday, October 28, 2007
went for "tom waits for nobody" yesterday, an experimental music performance, which can also be considered sound art.
i really liked it, it was really intriguing, though i must say its a highly subjective performance.
maybe its because its a fusion of art and music, the two loves of my life =)
there were three instruments present, two electric guitars and a piano.
the artists were pushing the limits of their instruments, outrageous limits that i would never have dared lay a finger on.
they didnt just strum or pluck their guitars, they did ridiculous things to them.
one part that i really liked was how zai kuning use the tip of a violin bow to hit the side of his guitar, the sound produced and the echo that followed was pretty interesting.
other nonsensical objects include a screwdriver, forced between the guitar strings and a spoon, adjusted on the different frets of the fingerboard to produce different sounds.
when zai kuning plucked out all the hairs of his bow i was like omg how could he do that?!
to me my instrument is almost sacred. i would never do that to my bow, or slam things onto my guitar, not even in the name of art.
i feel that a part of my soul is encapsulated in my instrument, and to be able to play well would be to make my instrument part of me, something similar to an extension of my arm.
its quite hard to explain. like an invisible connection.
what i really liked was how the whole performance was defying the norms of music, but adhering to it at the same time.
there was the usual beat, or rhythm, mostly in triplets, sometimes quadruplets, and the piece was your usual three movement piece, slow-fast-slow. it did have a climax, and considering that the whole thing was impromptu its seriously amazing, how they manipulate their instruments such that it draws the audience in and releases us as and when they want to.
the sound changes from dark melodies, to something so minimal you almost wonder what happened, to noise that hurts your ears, playing on the different frequencies of sound, almost edging you to leave your seat and walk out, and
the use of the grand piano topped it all with cherries on top =)
an atonal scale was used, and the piano added a balance to the whole performance, both visually and auditory. it was the force that said, "heyy this is music afterall" and it being physically there kinda deemed it a "musical performance".
Zai Kuning played forgotten music, the weird sounds that the amplifiers make when the mikes get too close to them, sounds that are completely disregarded in day to day life termed as "noise", sounds that are "discriminated" against, he brought them to his audience's attention, and he let them decide if it was music or otherwise.
a marvellous performance.
it actually made me think quite a bit. Zai Kuning is one of those hardcore artists in Singapore, a rare breed, those who do art for the sake of art.
i want a big house.
with a pool table.
squeeze in an ice skating rink.
a glass piano with spotlights shining on it.
a horse.
a field.
an indoor court to play floorball in.
thats why i can never be true to my arts, be it art or music.
thats why i can never be a concert pianist, or a full fledge artist.
not in Singapore anyway.
hui jun published at 10/28/2007 10:32:00 PM
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