Polydimensional Scores: Stepping into sound-painting

Polydimensional Scores: Stepping into sound-painting

Score by Jermaine Oxley
Music by Emma Tomic

Notes from Jermaine Oxley:
The process of my performance was mostly score walking, but every step I encountered new
sounds that made the paintings more emotional musically. But the use of sound
that surrounded me produced art work that I never thought of, because each line or scratches
that were created and placed on the paper was represented throughout the sound that
encountered me.

Notes from Emma Tomic:
I was inspired by Jermaine’s score with it’s visceral, textural elements and the striking immediacy that comes across. I meditated on the pieces and improvised sections to them. The sounds were generated using modular synthesis techniques, notably an Earth Return Distortion; Raven Edition, using earth from Edgar Allen Poe’s grave. On either side of the earth are copper contact plates that conduct electricity through the earth and transmit the audio signal. The moisture level in the earth also affects the sound. Another implementation was the Instruo Scion, which takes input from plants and earth and translates it into electrical signals.

Presented by Vancouver New Music in association with Emily Carr University of Art and Design.