WESTERN FRONT – Ethnotechnological Music

Description:

Ethnotechnological Music was a concert by Martin Bartlett, Doug Collinge, and Dan Scheidt. They performed two original electroacoustic works: Accumulator and Travellers’ Tales. The compositions made use of homemade electronic instruments, including Bartlett’s black box, and a number of flutes, rattles, gongs, and other percussion instruments from China, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Presented as part of the New Musica series.

Video and audio documentation available upon request.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, three performers hover over a desk filled with sound mixing equipment. Dials and wires populate the desk as they work their hands over them.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, a high-angle light illuminates a performer as they speak through a microphone on a stand.

Seen in black and white, a camera operator is drenched in a spotlight, creating a dramatic shadow on the back wall. Opposite to the operator, a television box stands on the right, screening the operator’s expression.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, three performers speak to each other as instruments and microphones surround them.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, a spotlight illuminates three performers who hover over a desk filled with sound-mixing equipment. To the left, a seated crowd watches.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, two performers sit next to each other, behind a large sound mixing system. One plays the guitar as another dials on the system.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, a performer smiles while playing the piano as another performer stands behind them, half of their body is cut off by the frame.

Seen in black and white, in the Grand Luxe Hall, one performer smiles while playing the piano, as another blows the trumpet behind them.

Captions:

Dan Scheidt, Doug Collinge, and Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Doug Collinge, Dan Scheidt, and Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Dan Scheidt, Doug Collinge, and Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Doug Collinge and Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.
Doug Collinge and Martin Bartlett performing Ethnotechnological Music, photo documentation, Apr 16, 1982.

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.