FLOAT excerpt live @Elastic Arts 11-4-23

illusion of safety premier performance of FLOAT a new multichannel A/V composition of water
Sound & Visual composed by Daniel James Burke ©2023 FiniteMaterialContext
will be performing this 40 minute composition where possible on the Euro tour starting next weeK;
22.11. Hamburg, Hörbar
23.11. Hannover
24.11. Brüssel, Les Ateliers Claus
25.11. Münster, BlackBox
26.11. Amsterdam, OCCII
27.11. Paris, Meca
28.11. Wuppertal, Galerie Grölle
The west coast tour in January and whererver else possible over the next year...
Due early 2024 is the binaural recording of FLOAT recorded at the 11/4/23 anniversary performance at Elastic Arts Chicago mastered by Andrew Weathers to be released on Full Spectrum Records
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Illusion of Safety has had a shifting cast of collaborators throughout its 40 years of existence but tonight, to celebrate its 40th anniversary we got a performance by the main instigator and only constant, Dan Burke.
I was somewhat unfamiliar with IoS so, I’ll dispense with any history but only say this was a big night for Dan. I mean wow… 40 years is a long time to keep any project going and I have nothing but huge respect for an independent creator that not only is able to persevere for that long in a completely toxic anti-artist environment but, while doing so doesn’t fall back on past styles and tropes and keeps things fresh and new.
For this performance, we heard a new piece called FLOAT which was also accompanied by outstanding video-art. FLOAT was composed as an homage to water, in all its forms. What I didn’t realize (and what makes this piece even more fascinating to me) was the sound of water was its primary source material because, in true acousmatic fashion… I would never have guessed that (as it should be). Water, as a sound source has been used to death in the electronic music space, but in the hands of Burke, it was given new depth (pun intended).
I’ve said before in other write-ups that it’s amazing to me how powerful music software can be. The sound of water via sampling and then transformed in a myriad of different directions ended up not even remotely sounding like water. The more I think about this… I can’t help feeling a sense of animism in the world. Everything, whether it’s a carbon based life form, a giant boulder on a mountainside in the middle of the wilderness, a tiny pebble on some beach somewhere or yes, a body of water, big or small… on some kind of “not understood” quantum level shares a common connection. Everything, everywhere is the same. I’m not sure this was Burke’s intention but, that’s what I got from listening to this large scale piece.
What Illusion of Safety did to water in a most ingenious way, can be done to anything. This is one of the primary beauties of Acousmatic music and it’s something I’ll explore further in a series of write-ups to be posted soon. But, let’s talk about the music IoS presented here. It was obvious to me that FLOAT was a thoughtful and meticulously composed piece of sonic and visual art that easily transcended a simple live, sit down performance. Of course it all has to start somewhere but Burke makes it easy (as does Palombo) by providing a visual component that encourages, even stimulates the listener to experience it on a deeper level. Before the show started he said that he was on the fence about providing visuals with this work because (paraphrasing from memory), the real deal is up here (pointing to his forehead). I unequivocally agree with this, people need to participate, even a little by using their primary sense organ… the brain. Trust me when I say that the experience as a whole will be better and more rewarding for you!
That’s not to diminish the visuals in any way. They were stunning, and mirrored the sounds perfectly. To quote myself, “Natures beautiful bounty” INDEED! There was some strong statements being made in this piece and Elastic’s CLEAT canopy o’ speakers performed admirably. At times, the sonics took on a material aspect and felt like they were dropping down and saturating the audience in a slow moving, lava-like fashion. In short, the set was high drama and Burke knew how to get it done. Honestly, it was humbling for me to have an experience in such a way that showed… no matter how big or how small, or how important or inconsequential something is, everything’s the same, everywhere! Well done and thank you IoS! -Michael Eisenberg
#experimentalmusic #electronicmusic #ambientmusic #modernclassicalmusic #postclassical #darkambient #darkambientmusic