James Mobberley: Electroacoustic Excitation, Anodized/Bionic/Fleshly Hybrids

M   y friend and colleague, Carter Enyeart, provided not only the idea behind the piece and its reason for being, but also the recorded sound material for the fixed media... [live cello plus recorded, digitally-processed] sculpted sounds from that same instrument.”
  —  James Mobberley, program notes.

T he Charlotte Street Foundation’s annual Generative Performing Artist Awards Celebration at the H&R Block ‘City Stage Theater’ in Kansas City’s Union Station last night was really excellent. I especially enjoyed the part of the program honoring UMKC Conservatory composition faculty member James Mobberley, featuring two of his compositions.

• Mobberley – Alter Ego (2006) for cello and fixed media, Carter Enyeart (vc)
  
• Mobberley – Icarus Wept (1994-97) for trumptet and fixed media, Keith Benjamin (trpt)

C onsummately beautiful DAW editing and engineering of the fixed media sound! The ‘immersive’ intensity was boosted by having the live performer positioned in between two powered monitors, less than 1 meter away. (Ordinarily, in electroacoustic performances the fixed media speakers are deployed around the periphery of the performance space, and the musician operating the mixing surface is typically located in the center or at the rear of the hall, the net effect of which is a sense of remoteness or detachedness of the fixed media from the live performers. By contrast, the close-range speaker config last night was ‘in-your-face’ proximity, tantamount to making the monitors into ensemble players sitting right the heck next to the human soloist.)

I f you are familiar with Benjamin’s and/or Enyeart’s playing, you know that neither of them ever lacks for intensity or conviction, even under ‘normal’ conditions. But these specific Mobberley pieces, plus the point-blank immersive set-up, plus the exuberant, celebratory buzz infusing the audience members and performers and Charlotte Street leadership in attendance—put the passion over the top... these factors all combined to make the sound totally cook, man!


H ave a listen to some previously-recorded sessions on the SoundCloud link below.

P .S.— Keith Benjamin uses a Bach 1-1/4 ‘B’ mouthpiece with a #24 backbore.

W   as funded by the NEA, a U.S. federal agency; therefore, the original concept [for ‘Icarus Wept’], involving full frontal nudity, had to be abandoned... impromptu recording session and ‘brain-fry’ in which we came up not only with trumpet sounds of all kinds but also with the formula for a ‘partially androgynacious anodized serial copolymer,’ patent-pending... [digitized sounds including] Keith’s trumpet stand, swirling coins, laughter, and various expletives [see the Caleb Kelly MIT book, link below]... Icarus’s flight toward the sun and sudden realization of his [fatal] mistake... Three movement titles (Getting Waxed; Climbing the Blue Staircase; 11 Feet from the Sun) reflect themes of Icarus. However, the other two (Somebody Else’s Face; Strap on Your Lobster) have nothing to do with Icarus at all, or with weeping either, pretty much.”
  —  James Mobberley, program notes.

• James Mobberley page at UMKC Conservatory
  
• James Mobberley mp3 tracks at SoundCloud.com
  
• Charlotte Street Foundation website
  
• Keith Benjamin page at UMKC Conservatory
  
• Carter Enyeart website
  
• Bey T, Bailey W. Micro-bionic: Radical Electronic Music and Sound Art in the 21st Century. Creation, 2009.
  
• Dyson F. Sounding New Media: Immersion and Embodiment in the Arts and Culture. Univ California, 2009.
  
• Erlmann V. Reason and Resonance: A History of Modern Aurality. Zone, 2010.
  
• Holmes T. Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture. 3e. Routledge, 2008.
  
• Kelly C. Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction. MIT, 2009.
  
• Toop D. Sinister Resonance: The Mediumship of the Listener. Continuum, 2010.
  
• Voegelin S. Listening to Noise and Silence: Towards a Philosophy of Sound Art. Continuum, 2010.