vocal improvisations

live

A series of improvised performances showcased online, with the goal of building a template for a live set and sharing my creative process.

DEVELOPMENT

I have been developing an improvised vocal practice since 2016. This practice emerged through experimenting with my voice and learning how to produce music digitally during my undegraduate degree in Art, and has roots in breathwork, chanting and deep listening.

A process/technique began to form - starting with around 10 minutes of mostly singing the same note, as a physical and emotional warm-up, slowly increasing the duration and volume, then moving into free improvisation, which is looped and layered.

The process was led by the pleasure and emotional release I found through sounding with the voice. I enjoy feeling the vibrations move through different areas of the body as the shape of my mouth morphs and the amount of force applied to the exhale oscillates. Through focusing on these physical effects, I was able to explore altered states of consciousness such as trance.

I began to share this practice, starting with a vocal workshop I hosted with Oren Shoesmith in 2017 at Watt HertZ, an experimental exhibition/event/rave, which incorporated Pauline Oliveros’ deep listening practices. I have since hosted the workshop across universities, such as Goldsmiths, as well as at events and online.

I often use this process to start musical performances, such as XIDALIA (2019, Goldsmiths, London) and Elsewhere (2021, Ugly Duck, London), as a way to centre myself and the audience. It also appears in my music, which frequently starts with layers of looped vocals.

Most recently, this practice has taken the form of audio-visual performances that play with processing and sampling the voice in real-time, most recently at FIX, as well as online.

vocal improv + code

I have also done several live coding performances that incorporate vocal improvisation using Max, most notably my audio-visual performance XIDALIA.