In the frozen north, tucked away at a safe 350km (approximate) distance from the American nuclear missile silos in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is the famous Canadian city of Winnipeg. Winnipeg, the capital city of the Canadian province of Manitoba, is a mid-sized prairie city of roughly 630,000 people, of which I am one. Winnipeg is famous for our world renowned ballet, snow, and freezing temperatures but we're not famous for music. And we should be! We have a vibrant local musical community which echoes Winnipeg's multicultural makeup. But with fame would undoubtedly come exploitation so I'm quite content with the knowledge that our music is our secret. The Send+Receive festival of sound is in its fifth year and it brings international artists to Winnipeg to showcase their talent while showing off local talent to an international audience. One such international artist is Kaffe Matthews. Kaffe Matthews, joined by Lori Freedman, who opened and performed a duet with Matthews, and Christof Migone—whom I didn't stay to see, performed at the AceArt Gallery.
Matthew's solo performance really got my attention.
The audience encircled Matthews' performance space— a table full of live sampling boxes and other gizmos. Not knowing much about the artist, I didn't know what to expect. Beginning with some low static noises, Matthews slowly manipulated the sound higher and louder. Incorporating other bleeps and re-processed samples into the mix. At one point I noticed something ... about half the audience had their eyes closed and heads down, giving themselves to the noizescape. With each new layer of static and sound—and there were many layers—audience members nodded or twitched, shrugged or squinted, as if understanding a message carried in the dark and brooding otherworldly soundscape. Others had their eyes firmly entrenched on Matthews, watching her stoic facial expression as she twisted knobs and pushed buttons on her various consoles. And finally, the piece climaxed to a very loud pounding beat-cycle, reminiscent of Rythm & Noise's "Bent Metal Forest". Then, ever-so-slowly Matthews brought the sound—and with it, the audience—back down. It took the audience about thirty seconds of silence before beginning to applause, totally enraptured by the music.
Some quick research on the web tells me Matthews, based out of London (UK), has been a live electronic improvisational performer for the last decade. Her latest release is called "Locks" and is a collaboration with guitarist Andy Moor. Here is an excerpt from her bio at http://annetteworks.com/bio/index.htm :
- kaffe has been making and performing new musics via all kinds of digital gadgetry all over the world for the past ten years. From a background in violin, shopkeeping, Zoology, drumming, acid house engineering and a masters in Music Technology, she is now most known for her live sampling performances of events and places in real time: processing in installation, on stage, in galleries, clubs, concert halls, tents, churches, the outback, warehouses, or ambient tea rooms.
I certainly was impressed by her solo performance and I intend to keep tabs on her tour itinerary. If I ever get the chance to see Kaffe Matthews perform again, I will. And I suggest you all to do the same.>
