It becomes a drag finding oneself seemingly forever stuck in queues at rock festivals where you're subjected to cheering for sounds hopelessly out of reach. But a complete turnaround of this feeling took place at free music festival SoundOut 2011. Held at The Street Theatre last January the experimental/free jazz/improvisational event featured a stellar line-up of local and international performers who traversed an arc encompassing microtonal electro-acoustics, uniquely configured group improvisations and full on sonic blasts from the likes of Swedish power trio The Thing that shook the floor and ceiling of the intimate theatre with visceral force.
So too will SOUNDOUT 2012 enliven the senses of discerning music fans with an engaging line-up including Japanese electro-acoustic artist Toshimaru Nakamaru whose instrument of choice is a mixing console; French saxophonist Christine Sehnaoui; and Melbourne based percussionist Robbie Avenaim. Festival organiser Richard Johnson is devoted to promoting the many joys of improvised music, and has overcome funding difficulties this year to ensure festival goers are treated to diverse and stimulating performances from musicians the world over that will illuminate limitless possibilities and unique configurations.
In this respect SoundOut has been inspired by an observation from guitarist Derek Bailey when organising European Company performances in the '70s that “for some time it has seemed that the most interesting results in free improvisation come from the semi ad-hoc groupings of musicians.” Johnson improvises on a variety of instruments himself, including conical gourds, and he has enthusiastically run with Derek Bailey’s idea in order to promote improvised music in Canberra.
“Experimental music, especially free improvisation and free jazz, always has a place and it speaks volumes to the fact that we can keep on drawing both performers and audiences to a festival of this nature and to Canberra,” he says. “We have things here like Summernats and we’ve now got McDonald's in full frontal view in Civic. The McDonald's culture is about fast food, and SoundOut is about deep listening and if improvised music is doing anything worthwhile it’s opening people’s ears.”
This intent stems from the very nature of improvised music to focus on deep creative exploration beyond quick fix capture and dissemination. Free improv isn’t about momentary distractions that are all the rage in mainstream culture. To fully appreciate what is going on the audience needs to engage with the music which, in turn, is a product of both the environment in which it is created and the combinations of featured performers.
“Each individual festival is unique in the sense of the individual musicians appearing at it,” Johnson says. “And they don’t necessarily come to play together at any other time. So a festival of improvised music is unique in that it creates an environment for people who’ve hardly played together or never played together. People are coming together with a common language or maybe striving towards a language that is diverse and open in a free improvisational setting; a new language in sound.”
This idea of working towards a new musical language is taken up by percussionist and SoundOut performer Evan Dorrian who is also known as one half of improvisational music duo Spartak. Dorrian says the language of improvisation is about, “spontaneity and making things up in the moment, and for me it has a strong reactionary element to it. Especially the sort of improvising that will happen at SoundOut. It’s to do with the performers reacting to each other and playing with people you have never performed with before. In that sense there is a conversational element to it by being able to get together with players with a common language that involves being able to adapt and improvise.”
Dorrian likens improvising on the drum kit to a free flowing discourse between performer and audience in much in the same way as the punk rockers of the late '70s pursued an open exchange of art and ideas that negated commercial ‘artists’ pandering to passive consumers. “It’s about relating music and sound to a conversation," Dorrian confirms. "At one point somebody will perhaps take the lead and then other people will contribute. Then somebody else will have a strong idea and have a go at the lead and it goes on like that.”
The outcome is a joyous musical freedom, and festivals like SoundOut promote an openness of expression that is new and spontaneous. Dorrian observes that, “there’s an exciting element about improvisation by being unsure about what’s going to happen at any given moment. The spontaneity of the collaboration is something that will only happen the once.”
When melded with musical textures and non conventional approaches to familiar instrumentation, the spontaneous flow of ideas advances cultural expression in enjoyable and innovative ways. Anyone who cares about the art they absorb should be checking out SoundOut 2012. This goes for both the audience and participating performers. Richard Johnson points out that for younger musicians such music events “illuminate different directions, making them realise that they can do other things, that they can be composers and improvisers at the same time.” Johnson cares greatly about the music he performs and enjoys, and is living proof that without a high level of enthusiasm and commitment to the cause, such events as SoundOut would remain the stuff of dreams. “Yesterday I thought ‘this is fantastic,’” he says. “Last year everyone had a ball, everyone got into it and I know the same will happen this year.”
SoundOut 2012 event happens at Canberra Repetory's Theatre 3 on January 27 (7pm-midnight) & 28 (1-5pm & 7pm-midnight). Tix are between $25-40 from 6257 1950 orwww.canberrarep.org.au .
