– April 25, 2014, concert at Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, City University, Hong Kong
The performance venue was set up in a circular form, with small separate stages for each performer located along the perimeter. The center of the circle, an empty space, was left for the audience. Each performer had his own speakers/amplifiers, and there was no sound engineer controlling the master mix. This setup was very unique and it put the first decision in front of the audience as soon as they entered the space: Where should I stand or sit?
Once the performance started, the stages were first occupied in pairs – two musicians playing together at the same time. In the second part of the performance, all five musicians played together. With each change, but even with each sound produced, the audience was tempted to move their heads to follow the sound. Someone decided to stand at the perimeter of the circle, in between two stages. Others decided to sit down in the middle of the circle. Some turned their body with each change in performance, others sat still. The circular setup did not only induce a constant movement of the body, it also induced a constant movement in auditory attention, as one was trying to locate the sounds in space. Each member of the audience created his own master mix by positioning himself in space, as well as by distributing his/her attention to sounds differently. In a very subtle way, the audience became active listeners and co-creators of their experience.
Talking about the sonic content of the performance, Otomo Yoshihide was the main ‘star’ of the show. The setup was symmetrical yet Otomo Yoshihide’s stage was not in the middle. That was a good decision, stressing the equality of performers in the improvisation that took place – there was no conductor and orchestra, but five independent musicians. However in terms of sonic presence and clarity of expression, Otomo Yoshihide still did stand out. If one closed one’s eyes, his turntable and guitar noises and feedback did provide a lead element throughout the whole performance. Given the overall setup, his performance was more meditative then I expected. It did become noisy, but it was a controlled noise interlaced with intervals of silence. Otomo Yoshihide did perform well as ‘himself’ while also showing sensibility for the overall setup.
Chin Kings sound production was about as prominent as Otomo Yoshihides’s. Chin King was playing the Guzheng, a Chinese zither-like instrument. This came as a surprise to me. I did not expect a classical Chinese instrument on stage. Chin Kings presence changed the whole atmosphere of the performance. It worked well in the duo performance with Otomo Yoshihide (electric guitar and guzheng), but with the other three electronic musicians, I had more a feeling that the sounds clashed and did not complement each other. Chin Kings presence also made the performance more accessible. It provided a melodic element to hold on to for people not familiar with experimental electronics. I did feel a bit strange about it at first, but in hindsight I support that decision, because she provided a human touch to the whole performance, and it was also great to see how she and Otomo Yoshihide interacted.
So far we have covered the ‘right hand’ side of the stages (relative to the entrance): Chin King (very right), Otomo Yoshihide (right). In the imaginary ‘middle’, opposite from the entrance was Fiona Lee’s stage. She was the least understandable part of the ‘quintet’. Equipped with three light bulbs connected to some electronics and a Mac (the only performer with a laptop computer), the only sound that came from her were a few buzzing modulated sine and saw tooth waves, with the light bulb’s flickering in sync. Most of the time she was staring at the screen, her face illuminated in pale blue. Given the unimpressive sonic presence on stage, it was the typical occasion of a laptop musician where one wonders what (if anything) they are actually doing. The computer screen was really a prominent barrier, and she also was the least responsive in terms of interaction with other musicians. The light bulb synchronized to (her) sound (maybe the source of the sound) also looked heavily inspired by one Taiwanese sound artist who in turn was inspired by one Japanese sound artist. To be fair, Fiona Lee was the youngest of the performers, so there is still space for development, I would say.
Moving to the left side of the circle, next to Fiona Lee there was DJ Sniff. His instruments, as the name suggests were record players, or better said one record player, and some electronics. The first thing which caught my eye was that this was a rare occasion of a sitting DJ. Especially with record players, it is rare to see DJs sit and not stand, as sitting limits the range of body movements necessary for effective record manipulation (a.k.a. scratching). It seemed that DJ Sniffs basic technique consisted of cueing the record with one hand, and life sampling bits and pieces with the other hand. Not much scratching. Maybe that’s why he could afford to sit as well. I somehow expected a bit more ‘DJ magic’ in terms of manipulating the record and cross fader (a.k.a. scratching). But probably I have too stereotypical expectations here. As a member of the ‘quintet’ DJ Sniffs contribution was mainly in bringing in the ‘world outside’ – snippets of sounds, or even speech. This was a welcome contribution to the overall sound puzzle. Unfortunately, he was the most ‘quiet’ of the performers. While all other performers played at least some kind of ‘solo’ at one point or the other, DJ Sniff stayed in the background.
On the very left was Sin:Ned. He used a set of not closer identified electronics to produce sound. The sounds coming from him were most versatile. He seemed to be changing the type of sound as the performance went a long, from more flowing to more fragmented, from clicks and screeches to more protracted feedback sounds. He also came across as the most reactive listener (besides Chin King who was also very reactive), by reacting to other musician’s output. This gave the impression that he is in good control of his instruments.
To sum up, Otomo Yoshihide and Chin King were the most prominent lead players in my ears. Fiona Lee, DJ Sniff and Sin:Ned took on more of a support function. Out of them, Sin:Ned and DJ Sniff did a good job in contributing, even though DJ Sniff was unfortunately too quiet to stand out. I am still clueless about Fiona Lee’s contribution except for a blinking light bulb.
Now that I dissected the performance into pieces and I wonder if I was too harsh in my criticism, but I hope all can be understood as constructive criticism and personal observations. After the show was over, I stayed for a while, and I felt very balanced and calm. I heard things differently. It was a great example of synergy, where the whole is more than just a sum of its parts. That is also the explanation why I was more critical about individual performers, but I have not much criticism about the performance as a whole. This performance could only work as a life performance. No recording will ever do justice to the experience, which was specific to each and every individual, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph. I felt that the concert did produce a change in my mind, and as such, I think the performance as a whole did not disappoint.