Kara-Lis Coverdale

MUTEK, Montréal QC, August 27

Photo: Trung Nguyen for MUTEK

BY Corinne PrzybyslawskiPublished Aug 28, 2017

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Kara-Lis Coverdale's high degree of classical training was at the forefront of her performance as part of MUTEK's NOCTURNE 6: Other Hemispheres at the Society for Arts and Technology. Coverdale is a Montreal-based composer, producer and musician whose electroacoustic compositions are multi-timbral collages that, despite their formless structures, are layered to offer a sense of narrative.
 
Delivering a performance specifically designed for MUTEK, Coverdale's "VoxU" was inspired by the breathless, synthetic voice expressed through the sonic technology of the pipe organ. As a lone silhouette obscured by smoke, Coverdale stood nearly motionless as her synthesizers produced cinematic, ambient textures that created poetic otherworldly soundscapes.
 
Her set was characterized by a melancholic yearning that was felt more potently than could be described. Seemingly an exploration of the emotional effect of singular tones, Coverdale layered noise to musically mimic human emotions. Members of the crowd either took a seat, or physically embodied the ambience as they engaged in expressive dances that interpreted Coverdale's live set.
 
After performing in London with sound artist Tim Hecker, and collaborating with experimental producer Lee Bannon, Coverdale has established herself as one of the most exciting young composers to emerge from the Canadian landscape. She swathed the dome at the Society for Arts and Technology in her affecting textures, and set the precedent for aspiring experimental artists to come. 

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