-_teem_//__pondering_ -
composition & sound design
spring 2021:
composition for a contemporary dance piece without meter spanning roughly 45 minutes. the sound design is anchored in ideas brought by the dancers and executed through live sound-processing and playback of prerecorded- and produced elements.
the sound of the dancers was collected with a shotgun center mic, two L/R pairs and two contact microphones. it was processed using ableton live and routed through seven speakers and one subwoofer.
performers:
Amanda Líf Fritzdóttir___Anna Guðrún Tómasdóttir__Bjartey Elín Hauksdóttir___Júlía Hrafnsdóttir____Júlía Kolbrún Sigurðardóttir__Karitas Lotta Tulinius________Mathilde Mensink
_______________Sanna Josefiina Hirvone
…
the piece can be perceived as an incredibly honest portrayal of an inner emotional world, expressed through contrasts of harmony and noise, animalistic sounds and song.
the main concept was to let the dancers accompany themselves as much as possible, and create atmosphere, emotion and propulsion through live processing of the physical sounds that’d been incorporated into the choreography.
the composition and sound-design for the piece was shaped by the inner dynamics of the dance troupe and their personal voice and contribution to the group. the piece explored power and fragility and pushed limitations of emotional and physical expression which came to be expressed through a short melodic motif that’s revisited throughout the piece.
because of the dynamic process that characterized the creation of the choreography, the main tool for composing was observation and enhancement.
an example could be adding small layers of processing to a conversation without words in order to further the emotion and storytelling.
the goal was to immerse the audience into a raw and lyrical inferno of sound by carefully introducing sound from different areas of the stage in different speakers throughout the space.