Some of the Things I Heard, 26 May 2010

• alarm multiple times with 10 minutes of silence in between
• brushing teeth
• walking on concrete
• walking down concrete steps
• subway sounds, which included a very interesting wavering rumble (the train stimulated a resonance of the tunnel)
• fan noise along with the sound of coffee being poured
• crumpling of paper bag
• chewing
• typing and clicking for many hours accompanied by various office sounds and conversations, scooting of chairs, other people's computer interactions, arguments
• carrying a desk loudly in a loud freight elevator
• putting a desk together
• the scraping of heavy shelves pushed on hardwood floors
• more computer interaction
• cocktail party and award ceremony (conversations of my own with others' conversations in the background)
• subway again, no resonances were noticed this time
• the dull hissing and thuds at the laundromat
• Morton Feldman's "The Kind of Denmark" (probably played louder over speakers than he intended for it to be listened to)
• these computer interaction sounds

Seth Cluett featuring Okkyung Lee

A week ago at Roulette, Seth Cluett hosted an evening of his works. What is so intriguing about Seth–and this is apparent from the moment that he starts talking–is that he is actually interested in the audience being as completely inspired as he is by the simplicity and beauty of sound.

To start off the night, the piece Paper and Stones involved the entire audience. He handed everyone in the audience two small sheets of rough paper, except for two members who were given two small stones. The audience was instructed to rub the paper together in a circular motion at whatever speed they felt like. The two stone players were then instructed to tap the stones together once for every time that some member of the audience–anyone of their choosing–completed a circular motion with the paper. To cue the beginning of the piece, Seth crumpled a large sheet of paper very slowly. The audience then followed the simple directions until he crumpled his sheet again, signaling the ending.

The result of this piece was a meditative few minutes for everyone present. The quiet scrapes of the paper changing speed and intensity accompanied by the taps of small stones from either end of the room. I was lucky to be nearby someone with stones–allowing for a contrast between the dynamic levels of the different rhythmic tappings.

This very subtle piece almost begs for one to raise an eyebrow and say "Ok. I get it. Very clever. Can we move on?" But Seth's genuine love for the sounds around him and his want to share this with everyone else through his practice makes this performance as concrete as any I've heard in a while. If you just forget yourself for the moment and listen–as we all should do–some very exciting things happen.

Next was the premiere of Overflow and Drift for cello, sine wave oscillators, and reed drones. Okkyung Lee performed on cello as a drone played through two loud speakers. This piece is an exploration of the interaction between notes and the changes that attack and timbre can make. Okkyung has the ability to coax almost any sound out of her cello, and the musical depth that results from her meditations upon a single note is astounding. The sound of the cello beating against the amplified drone recalled James Tenney's Beast for double bass, a personal favorite of mine.

After a short break, there was a solo performance by Seth on laptop, modified electronics, and amplified objects. As with the previous pieces, single sounds were shown to be far more interesting. The piece started with the the scraping of stone and then was taken over by a beautiful electronic harmony that persisted throughout the rest of the performance with meandering notes coming in and out of focus. I realized how much I was loving the performance when I slightly turned my head and found a whole new sonic universe available within the same space. It became immediately apparent that Seth was using the room as his instrument–turning the oddities of a space into the material of the performance. I wish he had invited us to stand up and walk around in order for us to explore the spatial nuances available throughout the room.

Seth Cluett is the type of artist that I'm truly glad still exists. He is enamored and excited with the sounds that surround us, and he wants to share it with those willing to take the time. Virtuosity is not what is being explored here. Something far simpler, but often under-appreciated, is brought to the forefront in his work.