Résonances at the The Vortex

Résonances
The Vortex
Illusion
London UK
April 17, 2023

Résonances is an experimental event which merges live visual art with dance, musical performance and poetry. As such, it has much in common with similar live performances such as Claire Zakiewicz's series of Some Loose Assemblies at the Hundred Years Gallery, or the Noisy Women Present events at Cafe Oto, both of which have combined music, dance, recitation and live visual art. Unsurprisingly, some of the faces performing at Illusion were familiar from those other events. Visual artist Aurelie Freoua (pictured above), who led this performance, is no stranger to the merging of art forms, as she regularly conducts the London Improvisers Orchestra at their monthly performance, often holding up examples of her visual art to the musicians to guide and stimulate their playing.

In contrast to those other events where the music is usually played by smaller groupings, for this event the music was produced by eight or nine musicians who were onstage throughout the evening, with Sam Leak on piano, David Mrakpor on vibes and Kate Shortt on cello and/or voice being the backbone of the ensemble.

The music the ensemble produced was all improvised in real-time with no hint of pre-arranged themes. As the musicians had to respond to everything else that was happening around them—including two visual artists painting on transparent perspex sheets, two dancers moving all around the musicians and visual artists, and occasional recitations from the audience—it seemed miraculous that they produced coherent music together. This was mainly achieved by avoiding the "cocktail party effect" in which everyone tries to play at once. Instead, most of the musicians seemed content to wait until there was a suitable pause before making an entrance; this was particularly true of instruments such as Asha Parkinson's alto saxophone or Loz Speyer's trumpet both of which soloed economically but to good effect.

Each of the evening's four strands—visual art, music, dance, poetry—could have stood alone and been highly engaging. From an audience's point of view, events such as this can verge on overwhelming, with more than two things to listen to simultaneously, and two others to watch while trying to figure out who is being influenced by whom. It is a credit to the audience at the Vortex that they remained transfixed throughout, applauding and cheering enthusiastically when the evening came to an end. Judging by the smiles on many faces and the animated conversations afterwards, a good time was had by all... whenever the next such performance takes place, everything points to it being Standing Room Only.

Personnel

Jeffrey Durrant: recitation; Aurelie Freoua: visual art, recitation; Will Glaser: drums; Petra Haller: dance; Hyelim Kim: Korean flute (daegeum); Sam Leak: piano; Ley Loosh: visual art; David Mrakpor: vibraphone; Asha Parkinson: alto saxophone; Paul Romane: harmonica; Kate Shortt: cello, voice; Alistair Smith: harp; Loz Speyer: trumpet; Yanaëlle Thiran: dance.

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