“It’s one of those unique opportunities that you don’t get to do very often.”
Speaking from her home in the beautiful old Capitol building in Naarm’s CBD, Jannah Quill is setting up for her performance with Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) at the Melbourne Recital Centre on July 18. Jannah is sharing the bill of Sonorous 9 with the multi-faceted talent Joel Ma for a night that extends beyond earthly sonic comprehension.
Since moving to Melbourne from Sydney/Eora in 2017, Jannah has worked closely with one of MESS’s founders, Robin Fox. Her exploration of electronic sound has been nurtured by the tools, spaces and mentorship that MESS and Robin have provided her. “I met [Robin] when I went in and I was the only person in the studio that day,” she says. “I was working out of the speakers, and I felt like I just got lost in a bit of a trance. Robin came up to me at the end and sort of saw something in what I was doing.”
Sonorous 9, curated by MESS
- With Jannah Quill and Joel Ma
- Thursday 18 July
- Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre
- Tickets here
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Seven years on, Jannah is still working closely with MESS, bringing her sonic experimentation that focuses on the interplay between light and sound to Primrose Potter Salon this Thursday. “They wanted to give me this opportunity,” she says, “which is really, really amazing.
Jannah’s work is an octaphonic (eight-channel) sound performance that is a combination of VSTs and the Buchla synthesizer. Through both research and practice, Jannah presents a unique perspective on generative synthesis and feminine technological histories through her experimentation with light and sound. “Ultimately,” she says, “[The performance] will be an immersive sonic experience with a lot of movement and fine detail.”
“An investigation into how I could listen to light”
Jannah’s interest in light and sound began when the artist was studying at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. “Sometime during third year, I became really obsessed with light as a material,” she says. “That naturally led to me thinking about that same process within electronic sound, and the fact that they both have these kind of waveform qualities that transform into something physical. So, then it was all very much about an investigation into how I could listen to light.”
The artist’s focus on feminine technological histories in electronic sound has been a burning question for Jannah that’s been simmering in the background of all her work. “What I’m talking about when I say that is that it’s not so much about gendering technologies per se, but thinking about how historically feminine characteristics interact with either the design or the user interaction with a technology.”
“It can be linked to the divine feminine”
Jannah’s collaboration with MESS for Sonorous 9 has brought this question front and centre for her as she explores the sonic universe of the Buchla modular synthesizer. An instrument that dates back to the early 60s, the Buchla has played a significant role in the development of electronic sound capabilities, as well as representing a uniquely feminine perspective on the history of this area of sound.
“I’m thinking about how that kind of generative circular synthesis can be explored through a lens of historically feminine practices, like weaving circles, which also interestingly had a really big influence on computational histories,” Jannah says. “These things are littered throughout technological innovation, and then also have a kind of generative synthesis. That circularity, it can be linked to the divine feminine as an example.”
The exploration of feminine technological histories expands beyond the methods and practices in which the instruments are experimented with. For Jannah, the other side of the question – which she says is closely related to her own practice – is the relationship with which artists have when they use the instrument.
“It’s this really sensitive kind of conversation”
“Traditionally feminine notions of intuition and empathy are really paramount to my compositional approach,” she says. “Especially when working with a synth like the Buchla, it’s a very empathetic exchange where I’m really listening to how the Buchla responds to an intuitive decision, and then that, in turn, guides the next decision. It’s this really sensitive kind of conversation.”
The dance between instrument and artist, and the space they cover to move together within this waltz, is an idea that audiences can see – and hear – come to life at Sonorous 9. The music will extend beyond the traditional confines of soundscape to reach out into a sonic universe of limitless capabilities. It’s the kind of performance that you’ll have to witness to believe.
You can get tickets to see Jannah Quill at Sonorous 9 here.
