Emilie Mouchous & AJ Cornell - Ederlezi

EMITTERS : Andrea-Jane Cornell and Emilie Mouchous - radios (bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, balcony)
may 9th 2011 - my apartment - preceded by a green chroomatic dinner.
 
With Ederlezi we created an intimate situation that immersed people in a constantly evolving omni-directional space. The diffusion of the piece involved everybody and every sound device and object in the apartment : cassette players, radios, people, cars passing down the street, parasites, all integrated as unobtrusive contributions.

RECEIVERS

There was an article in Frieze (#125, sept 2007) where it said and this is probably not an exact quote "The craft-object evanesces in Duchamp. Duchamp lets in air, light, emptiness". So, air, light, emptiness, traffic sounds, movement, empty plates and glasses, creaking floors... all operating on the same level as your radios which seemed to recede (or evanesce) so much at some points that there was question about whether the thing was still in progress or not. Duchamp withdrew from the scene. I feel like you were more, sort of, playfully hidden inside of it. Like in Scooby-Do when a character hides from someone by standing still and blending in with the background. Isn't there something about hiding inside paintings? Like in "tableaux vivants"? Or like mazes. There was something maze-like about it. Was the radio reception being transmitted from somewhere else inside a huge complicated maze? It got hard to believe what we were hearing. What is it? Someone chopping vegetables? A fictionalized state of play. There is a connection with Artaud there somehow. The idea of theatre as a ritual. And enchantment. Alain Lefebvre
Something metal; something not; a fork; a knife; an ear trumpet; lost glasses; examine closely; anyway; in this place; someone; worshipping; somewhere else; all together; something alive; something not; hear it clearly; isn't clear; on a shelf; on the floor; no need; for objects; not many objects; anyway; not a lot; not a few; all together; all apart; someone you know; someone you don't; sadly; no need; to go; to the bathroom. Simon Brown
J'ai eu l'impression de participer à la performance d'A et E. Les sons que j'entendais m'apparaissaient uniques, puisque tout - c'est-à-dire mes gestes, mes pas et ma décision de changer de pièce, de marcher, de m'asseoir ou de rester debout, - oui, tout cela, faisait partie d'une expérience sensorielle qui contribuait à métamorphoser le son. A et E étaient elles-mêmes en mouvement, ce qui générait des rencontres acoustiques, entre elles, mais également avec les "spectateurs", qui devaient s'adapter à la présence improvisée de ces "radio ambulantes". Se créait alors un va-et-vient de marcheurs qui, d'une pièce à l'autre, entendaient l'écho de ce qu'ils venaient de quitter et devaient décider vers quoi ou vers qui leurs oreilles et leurs perceptions les guidaient. // I felt like I became part of A and E's performance. The sounds that I heard seemed singular and unique to me, since everything - i.e., my gestures, my steps, and my decisions to move from room to room, walk, sit or stand, - yes, all of this became part of a sensory experience that itself contributed to the transformation of the sound. A and E were themselves in constant movement, which not only provoked acoustic encounters between them, but also with the "spectators", who had to adapt to the presence of the impromptu ambulatory radios that they had become. Constantly compelled by the echo of sounds from the adjoining spaces they had just left, the "walkers" were caught in a continuous back-and-forth movement from one room to another, each following the path opened up by their ears and perceptions. Marie-Douce St Jacques
Electromagnetic deities The performance was curious and engaging. The two performers moved throughout the apartment, playing with proximity to the various radios, modulating the frequencies and broadcasting from portable devices. At one point they were both singing, harmonizing with a radio prayer, channelling electromagnetic deities into the room. Erin Sexton
I would be happy to write something, but, hmm, what to write? I can imagine describing it in a lengthy manner, but i don't know what i'd say if it was just a couple of words or sentence other than "it was beautiful". Hmmmmmmmmmmm........ I always find it interesting how people cope with situations like this, performances where the stage disapears and there's an uncertainty in the audience as to how to behave or what to do.....some people walk about listening intently, understanding there's a piece that is being crafted for them to absorb, some people don't understand that there's a piece happening at all and talk amongst themselves, some people know that a piece is happening, but because it's not happening on stage, in a normal context for performance, they feel compelled to ignore it completely, and chat regardless. In this situation, the context of a party, there was a lot of talking, which naturally became part of the sound environment (it is always a struggle to remember that people yapping over a performance isn't necessarily a bad or negative thing......at first i was annoyed, because i was trying to listen, then i reminded myself to just listen to everything no matter what was happening, and felt less irritated and more embracing of the talking). Anyway, the actual sounds were quite nice, I liked that they came out of so many different types of speakers (boom boxes, alarm clock radios) .........i enjoyed walking around, listening, trying to find the source of the sound, bumping into other people who were walking around and listening......lots of "excuse me" and "pardon"....... i really also liked that there was occasionally live singing with the pre-recorded sounds which added a nice level of intimacy and.......magic.....yeah, i'll say magic! cause it's true. magic in the sense of an incantation of some sort.........or, actually, my first impression when i saw andrea-jane singing was that she was so moved by the sounds that she just had to in some way sing along (which was an exciting thing to think)..........then later i realized it was probably planned that she do so............ the juxtaposition of sort of "everyday sounds", the sounds of the church service, and the sounds of party banter was interesting........three very different world weaving.......... i guess what i mean is that i like the idea of putting the two (everyday sounds/religious service) on the same level......maybe implying that everyday events can be every bit as interesting/spiritual/beautiful as a church service, or maybe just showing us that the church service is just another event, just like anything else that we do (i thought and still prefer to think that it's more about the former). Hmm, is that enough? Skot – ID M Theft Able
Ederlezi, as near as I can determine, is a festival that originates from the Balkans which celebrates the rebirth of spring , a fine theme for a composition of electro-acoustic considering the advent of spring was imminent on the night of the 9th of May. The piece presented was constructed from various recording of the environment, perhaps a few percussive sounds, and some sound sources that appeared to be digital in nature. Occasionally, there were vocal sections of devotees of some particular religion reciting hymns in a quite a serious manner, while minimalist clicks and very alluring washes of digitally processed sounds emanated from the speakers located in the other rooms. Various radios placed around the performance venue, which was perchance the apartment of one of the composers, were used to broadcast these sounds while the audience were free to walk around and interact with each other during the pieces duration. Ederlezi’s elasticity in structure and social constraints (the audience not being expected to engage in active listing), and the fact that it explored an textual middle ground which eschewed ear-splitting noise or the almost inaudible, made for something that was tangible but not oppressive. Such a way of thinking always appeals to me.   Chris Strickland
Je ne sais pas trop quoi dire sincèrement... C'est pas que j'ai pas aimé, c'est plus que je trouve que je n'ai pas trop compris l'oeuvre... Heh... // I sincerely do not know what to say. It’s not that I disliked it, but I feel like I didn’t really understand the piece. Martin Sasseville - Wapstan