Week of Sound | Inclusive affordances: on-the-air synthesiser performance

Jessica Argo plays the Moog Theremini, a gesture-controlled synthesiser. This is a mutation of the monophonic theremin invented in 1920 (a by-product of Leon Theremin’s attempts to build a device to detect changes in air density, a poison gas alarm), an electronic instrument that the player does not touch; rather its antennas generate an electromagnetic field for the player to dance through. The theremin was first popularised in concert halls by injured violinist Clara Rockmore (who turned to this instrument for its more inclusive affordances), recently techno-feminised by Dorit Chrysler in her site-specific surrealist film at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (she also devised an installation where the limbs of Alexander Calder’s mobiles performed her Moog Theremini), and again returned to concert halls by Carolina Eyck. The theremin has a history of ethereal, magic (witchiness), femininity, balletic, corporeal gestures (the Moog Theremini instructions guide the player to move their hands as slightly as a butterfly’s wings!) – which can be subverted by punk performers like Skin from Skunk Anansie, who at Glastonbury 2022 broke the rule of no touching, when she licked the antenna of a premium Moog Etherwave, before smashing it on the ground.

Dr Argo will present a lecture-demonstration, in which she will share audio visual documentation and reflective insights from large ensemble compositions where she encourages heightened expressive physicality from musicians in Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and international collaborators (such as International Contemporary Ensemble and Australian Art Orchestra.) This will be followed by an interactive musical improvisation workshop led by Dr Argo. Participants will have the opportunity to engage “in dialogue” with the Theremini as improvising instrument, and are encouraged to bring their own noise-makers (a musical instrument, or something entirely different!). At the end of the workshop, participants will have the option to try out a range of sound-making devices, including fully functioning theremins, under the guidance of staff from the Reid School of Music.

Places are limited please book here.

Biography

Dr. Jessica Argo is Programme Leader for BDes Sound for Moving Image at Glasgow School of Art, a composer for improvising ensembles and an experimental filmmaker/sound artist, drawn to music for community world-building - improvisation to bridge international distance and sustain intergenerational learning; improvising for queer affirmation; deep listening, emotional expression, mood regulation and liberation from patriarchal, ableist and economic oppression. Argo uses embodied synthesis (Moog Theremini, contact microphones, voice) to conjure alien sound, extended from her physical body or other acoustic bodies (cello). She has conducted neuroscience research, films in white cube galleries, dance clubs and hybrid room-and-ZOOM orchestra theatre performance.

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