the-possible-impossible-thing-of-sound: Temporal Drum Set

Jun 26 — 29, 2018
Field:

Exhibition

Description:

Temporal Drum Set was an installation and concert by John Brennan that investigated the relationship between the sonic memory of instruments and improvisation.

Improvised sets by drummers Chris Corsano, Greg Saunier, and Mili Hong were emitted from a drum kit customized with transducers. By allowing the solos to be recalled directly from the drums, the installation considered how instruments retain memories from previous performers, and whether improvisers can transform their instrument’s tonality and timbre over time. Accessible during gallery hours in the Grand Luxe Hall, the installation consisted of Brennan’s sound sculpture and a listening station with interviews featuring project collaborators.


The hour-long concert featured performances from Brennan, Corsano, Hong, and Saunier with vocalist Rozie Jordan. 

Temporal Drum Set was presented in collaboration with Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, and as part of the-possible- impossible-thing-of-sound—a series of installations, programs, and concerts that investigated real and imagined sounds beyond the hearing spectrum.

In the centre of the dark Grand Luxe Hall, a drum set stands alone illuminated by a spotlight. To its left stands a podium with hanging headphones, and to the right stands a projection screen with a person playing the drum set on it.
From the front, in the centre of the dark Grand Luxe Hall, a drum set is illuminated by a spotlight. To its left, a podium with headphones is also in spotlight, and to its right, on a background projector, a person with short, black hair plays the drum set.
In a medium shot, to the right of the drum set seat, the white drums and gold cymbals in front glow from the overhead spotlight. The background is drenched in darkness.
In a close-up, the gold cymbal, with a wired mechanism attached, glows from a spotlight. In the background a drum with a black-yellow-black pattern on its side illuminates.

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Captions:

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.