Photo: Julie Andreyev
In approximately 1920 Leon Theremin invented the world's first electronic instrument, amazing audiences and touring around the world. The ability to play an instrument without ever touching it mesmerizes people, even with it's resurgence in popularity today! The instrument's unique sound, produced by interrupting two radio frequecies via two antenna, has been used in many movies, tv shows and in classical and contemporary music from the 1920s to today.
Vancouver Experimental Theremin Orchestra (VETO) was formed through several theremin building workshops at VIVO Media Arts Centre in 2011 and we had our first performance that summer at Signal & Noise Festival. Since then, we have given talks and demos about the instrument, performed with various audio artists, in events and festivals and several artists have developed a body of work around this unique instrument in independent art practice and projects. One such project will be our next performance on Friday, March 28.
VETO will be performing "Scratch Theremin" on Friday, March 28 at VIVO Media Arts Centre, where it all began. Theremins will join with canine vocalizations to create interspecies collaboration in a truly unique project created by artist/VETO member Julie Andreyev and canine companion Tom.
From Julie and Tom's website (www.animallover.ca):
"For Scratch Theremin, Andreyev works with canine Tom using interactive software and a theremin to produce a collaborative improvisational interspecies performance. The project advances methods of improvisation and active listening to propose live audio soundscapes that mesh canine sounds with electroacoustic practice. In the process of developing this performance, a custom built theremin, that incorporates a rug as an interface, was created to allow Tom to use scratch and digging gestures to create sounds. Tom likes to accompany his playing with a diverse range of vocalization. These studio performances are audio recorded for use later in the live performance where they are remixed into a new experimental improvisational soundscape. Here, Andreyev accompanies Tom’s vocals and rhythms with her own live theremin and software performance."
VIVO Open House
March 28, 2014
Show time: 7:30PM
VIVO Media Arts Centre
1965 Main St. Vancouver