Jessica Ekomane
Jessica Ekomane
Jessica Ekomane is a Berlin-based sound artist and electronic musician who has produced multiple sound installations and regularly preforms her music live. In our visiting practitioner series Jessica gave some insight into her work and answered a few questions from students.
Here are a few pieces of Jessicas work which she shared and talked to us about. I will be describing the aim and process behind each piece and offering my own critical response.
Multivocal is a 53 minute long album consisting of 2 tracks. Both tracks aim to create a cathartic experience for the listener by using constantly evolving rythmic patterns produced by electronic synthesis. The first song ‘Solid of Revolution’ begins with a steady electronic pulse which then gradually distorts and evolves into a new pulsating pattern. The change in tempo and pattern throughout the whole piece means no revolution is ever the same, until the end where the pulse returns to its original form. The second song ‘Never Odd or Even’ is similar to first however the pattern of this track is more erratic putting more of an emphasis on arpeggiation. Jessica explained how she wanted to experiment with rhythm due to its universal nature and produced the album using MaxMSP software. The album was conceived with the intention of using quadraphonic sound for a live audience.
I enjoyed listening to both songs taking into account their rhythmic and textural structures. if one stops actively listening for a few seconds they can find themselves in a new place which is both similar and different to where they just were. I found myself entering a state of reverie as the music gradually evolved around me but never grabbing my attention. As a piece of sound art I enjoyed it however as a piece of music it lacked the harmonic and melodic qualities I would usually find enjoyable.
Citizen Band is a 30 minute radio track which was displayed at the Musikprotokoll festival in Graz. The piece projects anonymous recording of truck drivers and workers using CB radio in Indiana and Nebraska. This form of communication is common amongst the working class as it’s a means to communicate easily over short distances, recordings can be made anonymously as its a public forum. Jessicas aim behind this project was to bring classes together as the classical music festival typically attracted those of middle or upper class.
I enjoyed listening to this piece, I could hear other peoples stories which I usually wouldn’t of been able to experience. In the setting of the festival exhibit the listening experience would be more meaningful and powerful, however I sill enjoyed listening from home.