The Bad Producer: Music for a Shop.
Saturday 16th July.
A broken moment within the implacable march of progress…
A.E.Barrow becomes a repository for a glimpse into the past through the filter of The Bad Producer’s memory and machines. Taking inspiration from the time capsule of jumble, the dusty relics of local life, the comforting echoes of childhood sherbet dips, The Bad Producer enacts a non-performance of ‘source confusion’.
The past and its dying harmonics are injected with the crackle and hiss of misplaced nostalgia in the feedback loop of the machine. Don’t listen, remember the past as it never was.
To hear more of Charlies work visit:
A performance by Rachael Perrin and Kazia Smith: Players always Please.
Friday 29th July
For the second evening event Rachael and Kazia invited the audience to explore the shop using music and personal memories. The performers moved around the building playing their clarinets sometimes in the shop, othertimes downstairs in the basement or on the staircase.
Each announced by the bell of the shop till, the three movements of the piece had very different characteristics, on the second Rachel and Kazia literally used the shop as an instrument, rattling tins and shaking shelves to create a ghostly soundscape that seemed to condensed 140 of activity in the shop into 10mins. Below is the text that everyone was given upon entry to the shop, explaining the elements that would make up the performance:
Once you have had time to explore the shop you are invited to take a moment to recall a personal memory of a place. Focus on this memory and on these two questions:
• Think of a hazy memory; the details of which you can’t quite recall.
• Write down one word that you associate with this.
• Think of a strong emotion that you felt when having to leave this place.
• Write down one word that you associate with this.
• Now memorise these two words.
When the piece begins you will be asked to take a seat on the mats and cover your eyes. You will remain in this position for the 30 minute duration of the experience.
The start of each movement will be triggered by the sound of the till. This is your cue.
• Movement 1: Listen only
• Movement 2: Speak your first word
• Movement 3: Speak your second word
You can speak your words at any time during movement 2 & 3. Listen as each seven minute the piece is created in response to your input.
Movement 1:
Memories of the space Impressions Voices
Movement 2:
Memories of our transient spaces Flashbacks Fragments
Movement 3:
Memories of emotional connections Association Shift
In association with Sound Castle:
www.soundcastle.co.uk
Many thanks to Duncan Whitley for the sound recording of the performance.
