What can you tell me about the works that will be performed on your concert on May 12?
Apart from the information about our concert that is already on the website, I can say that Dave and I will present work that is highly imagistic, atmospheric, and at times, sonically intense. Our duo represents a strong blend of foundational elements of sound art such as composing with found sound blended with melodic, rhythmic, and narrative elements of instrumental music. All the pieces we will perform possess unique qualities and identities.
How long have you and Dave Sholl been collaborating?
Dave and I began working together in 2006. I invited him over to listen to Two Ships, my CD of electro-sonic collaborations with David Lee Myers. Dave Sholl loved the sounds. Up till this time, his musical expression had been chiefly in bands as a saxophonist. Dave is a very open-minded person and he was motivated by the challenge to develop his work within sound art and electronics. Our collaborations have helped both of us push the boundaries of our musical and sonic expression.
What were some of your earliest musical successes?
Success can be measured in many ways. If I measure my musical successes by which piece put my work and me ‘on the map’ it would be Railroad Gamelan. I remember playing it for James Tenney and Lauren Pratt just after I had completed it. Jim’s response was something like, “Now you’re in trouble Ellen. Everything you compose from now on will have to measure up to this.” Railroad Gamelan may be my best-known work and it has been played on radio stations throughout the world. If I use a purely personal standard of measurement for success, Railroad Gamelan represented a major shift in my working style. It was my first foray into composing and editing in the digital realm. I also developed a working style while composing the piece that I have employed since then – a process I call ‘sonic inventories’ which involves a thorough analysis of all my recorded material. Composing Railroad Gamelan led to the refinement of my working style.
Venues like The Stone that highlight creative music are all
too rare in this world, in NYC, or elsewhere. Do you have any
thoughts on the changing shapes of the live performance
opportunities?
We’ve all seen many great venues come and go. Thankfully a few have survived for many years. We must be grateful to individuals who have and continue to curate series and/or make spaces available for the community such as Experimental Intermedia, Interpretations, Diapason, and The Stone, to name a few. It would help a lot if more galleries would host performances from time to time the way the Paula Cooper Gallery has for many years. There has been somewhat of a resurgence of ‘salons’ as a means of compensating for the lack of venues. I started a series, Audible Visions, in my loft in 1994 specifically to address the lack of performance venues in the Boston area. There are particular logistical and technical issues that present themselves when we open our homes to concerts but from my experience, people love hearing music in intimate and informal spaces. Perhaps we need more contexts like that.
Your work focuses so much on appropriation. Do you feel that
the changes in how people listen to and acquire music in the
last few years is in any way related to the struggle of artists who
seek to call into question the meaning and value of a recorded
document and how it should be used?
If by appropriation you mean sampling the work of others, I hardly do that. I sample the world of sound and thankfully we don’t have to pay royalties for that use. I do believe that artists should be compensated for our work. If people think that music should be free, perhaps our society ought to consider making other services free as well, and I don’t mean the news media.
Can you talk a bit about your various installation projects? This is a diverse body of works and I’m curious how these less performance-oriented works relate to your work as a performer.
It’s probably a function of my personality, but I prefer not to be locked into one mode of expression. A feature I’ve long cherished about sound art is the variety of contexts for sound works such as sound installations and sound sculpture. I enjoy environments in which much thought has been put into creating engaging atmospheres. That can include anything from a great restaurant to a well-conceived gallery or museum exhibit. Performance is wonderful, however, many of my ideas are better suited to other forms of presentation. I have found that sound installations in particular satisfy some of my needs to create environments in which people can linger, take the time they need to absorb a sound-based work, and immerse themselves in the experience. Since performance is time-based, sound installations remove that element of fixed time. With sound installations, people can often stay as long as they need or want to and return if they choose to, if that is an option.
