Piano Mechanics, Speaker Swinging, Tape Pulling, Guitaring

Description:

Gordan Monahan performed four experimental pieces in the Grand Luxe Hall: Tape Pulling, Piano Mechanics, Speaker Swinging, and Guitaring.

In Tape Pulling, Monahan presented a composition recorded using a Buchla electric music box synthesizer. Prepared on reel-to-reel tape, Monahan played the piece by physically pulling the tape by hand through a tape recorder as he moved throughout the room. At times, Monahan gave one end of the tape to audience members to play themselves. Tangled and twisted strands of tape criss-crossed the room, creating a sculptural index to the sounds that unfolded. This was followed by Piano Mechanics, a work for solo piano in nine movements.

The second portion of Monahan’s performance opened with Speaker Swinging. Monahan played a synthesizer while two performers, one being Western Front founder Martin Bartlett, took speakers attached to ropes and swung them overhead. As the speakers moved like a pendulum, they produced varying sound frequencies that were amplified and projected throughout the room. The swinging motion of the speakers created a Doppler effect, causing the pitch of the sound to change as the speaker moved towards and away from the audience. Demanding the live performers’ physical strength, the work explored the relationship between sound, movement, and space while acknowledging the loudspeaker as an electronic music instrument in itself.

Monahan’s performance closed with the Guitaring, which created sustained feedback by tuning an electric guitar at high volume through a fuzz and distortion box. 

Video documentation is available upon request.