Performed at the BEAST Vanishing Point concert, CBSO Centre, Birmingham, UK on 25 May 2013.

Are we there yet? Is it on? Are we famous yet?

There is a slippery relationship between the meanings within the song lyrics and the context of the recordings: a ‘reality’ where two young girls are learning to perform some gendered sentiments and metaphors borrowed from adult culture. It was necessary in this piece to find the right balance between social commentary and sound transformation, while having awareness that the ‘pop stars’ of the future aren’t allowed to put their feet on the furniture.

Vox Mashup was composed with assistance from Molly (8) and Keira (8) who possess an astonishing repertoire of lyrics from recent chart hits and great enthusiasm to perform them at a moment’s notice.

Vox Mashup

The Box was performed at the BEASTiary concert at the Bramall Music Building, University of Birmingham, UK on Saturday 3rd May 2014.

“What I put in them is eventually going to go back in me”.

The initial, brief suspense of what the contents of the box might be quickly evolves into a dialogue of riffs that suggest a dark relationship between the organic and the inorganic.  The interspersed snippets of disrupted narrative spoken by the human voice provide some relief and suggest that the relationship that the human subject has with the contents of the box is somewhat complex and emotive.

I am interested in the rich textural qualities of the voice and the ways humans often use highly descriptive narratives to communicate what could be perceived as the simple things in life. My intention is not to sentimentalise, but rather to explore ways in which the composition of spoken material as music can evoke a sense of the layers of meaning that exist in the text.

The Box

Jesse Lyons - Mechanical Bird

4 sections:
Part 1 - Mechanics
Part 2 - Small Engines (2:20)
Part 3 - Heavy Machinery (4:55)
Part 4 - The Engine Room (7:55)

Mechanism

Postgraduate student with Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre (BEAST), University of Birmingham, England.

jesselyons

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