Ideas, Projects, Collaborations
Brevity
“Brevity is the soul of wit.” Hamlet
Brevity is an idea that I have had for few months. It will be a collection of short pieces for voice and piano based on seven words:
hope
push
clock
tree
fake
spin
back
The piece will attempt to explore the unexpected realities of sound that happen when words are pronounced, spoken, sung. The tiny little openings created by breath, the cracks between vowels and consonants and the magical power of the pure sound of speech beyond semantics.
Nomad Sounds/Floating Bounds
A project involving piano live piano improvisations,
combined with pre-recorded voices and video projection.
If you click on the plus sign on the right, you can see more details about the project.
In early 2011 I wrote, produced and recorded “States of Transmigration” – a full album with piano improvisations, combining the purely acoustical sound of the instrument with sampled speech sounds.
The response to the album was overwhelmingly positive but I realized that it was just a first step towards a dream that I had – conceiving, writing, producing and performing a full-length concert incorporating live piano improvisations, sampled and manipulated sounds of voices speaking and singing also “played” live, with a video projection added. The interaction between the three elements will create a unique experience for the audience. None of the three elements will take over the other two – the goal is for them to be balanced as perfectly as possible.
Syncretic in its nature, the idea is taking me on an exciting journey in combining music, speech, video and theatrical elements. In a way it is an attempt to return to the very origins of Art – a ritual encompassing multiple forms and facets. This piece/album will also be informed by the unique position I find myself as an artist. Having being educated from early age in a blend of Eastern European and Western traditions, coming from a country with one of the richest music folklores in the world and finding myself in the whirlwind of thriving multicultural Canadian art scene, I feel charged with tremendous energy and I am sure the resulting performance will appeal to audiences.
After the project is complete, I will take it on the road, first locally and then nationally and internationally. The project I am starting tomorrow, December 1st, 2012, will entail research, preparation, composition and rehearsals of a full concert length piece in eight or nine movements (50-60 minutes in total), which will explore the inner workings of inspiration and instant creativity (piano improvisation), and the sounds of today’s life as found objects. I will record, edit and incorporate live into the piece those found sounds and they will serve both as a canvas for my improvisations and as a visceral exploration, a starting point on a journey in which the arrival is not as important as the road traveled I will also use video projection for some of the movements of the piece. Some of them I will shoot and edit myself, for others I will rely on friends who are visual artists and have already expressed a keen interest to let me use videos they have already created.
There are many obstacles that I could see even before I begin and I am sure I will need “a little help from my friends” along the way.
So, if you are a visual artist, actor, director, or a cinematographer and would like to get involved, please, contact me.
Nomad Sounds/Floating Bounds will happen, one way or another.
I promise you.
Because I never give up.
The Sound Convincer