Additional Information
The fruit of a close collaboration between performance duo Sawtooth and composer Charles Quevillon, Le Baptême du Haut-Parleur is a techno-opera that blends music, theater, puppetry and electronics to question our role as consumers in a capitalist society and our attachment to technological objects, whose manufacture exploits our Earth.
Audiences will have the opportunity to discover this bold opera at Espace Orange | Édifice Wilder on March 13. In this context, our journalist Judith Hamel had the pleasure of chatting with Sawtooth member Sarah Albu and Charles Quevillon. A conversation that gave rise to some very topical reflections on the place of the artist in a capitalist world, as well as on their artistic approach rooted in collaboration and mutual support.
PANM360: To begin with, the central element of Le Baptême du Haut-Parleur is this human-object, the loudspeaker. What prompted you to choose this object as the opera’s central character? And why did you choose the Genelec 8020D model in particular?
Sarah: I approached Charles with the idea of creating a work for my duo Sawtooth with accordionist Matti Pulkki. Matti and I both love cinema. So we started with the theme of dream logic, as we see it in our dreams and inspired by its use in films. All 3 of us share a fascination for the relationship between humans and technology. It was Charles who came up with the idea of a Baptism ritual for an everyday object, the loudspeaker. Our discussions at the start of the project revolved a lot around our attachments to our technological objects and how these objects are an integral part of our artistic practices.
Charles: The initial idea grew out of my interest in the links between the technological objects I use in music and spirituality, the sacred and rituals. For me, the loudspeaker is a secular object, present daily in my ears, my headphones, my computer. So the idea was to imagine what a sacred loudspeaker might be, and to explore the themes that flow from it. For example, Act I echoes YouTube unboxing videos, a kind of technological baptism in our modern society.
I chose to name the Genelec 8020D, because Genelec is a Finnish loudspeaker brand that’s very well known in Finland, where I live. What’s more, I opted for this model because of its rounded aluminum chassis design, its weight close to that of a newborn baby, but above all because these were the speakers I had in my studio.
PANM360: The opera was created in collaboration between your performing duo Sawtooth and composer Charles Quevillon. What role did friendship and collaboration play in this process? What were the main challenges encountered during its development?
Charles: We make a hell of a team, I think. A real synergy was created during the three workshops where we conceived the piece together. Then, between these sessions, I spent a lot of time writing the score and working on electronics, video and staging, while maintaining a regular exchange with Sarah and Matti.
Act 3 was the most difficult for me; it was a piece of the puzzle that required a lot of soul-searching before finding its place. This act marks a break in the relationship between the “mother” and her loudspeaker, and I wanted to strike a balance between a critique of the consumerist framework and an expression of the love and enchantment that a technology like the loudspeaker can arouse.
Sarah: I love working with Charles and Matti, and I was very happy to get us together to undertake this project! It’s been a very collaborative process all the way through, and continues to be so; not only during the work periods, but also in between. I think we’ve spoken at least once a month since 2022, sometimes much more. The main challenge was distance: we live in 3 different cities. So the piece evolved through multiple periods of intensive “face-to-face” work, with in-between discussions in progress, little messages and images sent, voice messages and sharing of inspirational material. The piece is made with a lot of love and a lot of humor too, and I think the audience can feel it. There are a number of key elements that started out as silly moments in rehearsal that ended up working their way into the final work.
PANM360: Le Baptême du Haut-Parleur premiered in Helsinki in the summer of 2024, and was performed last December in Montreal. For this second performance here, will there be any different elements?
Charles: We removed some elements that were weighing the piece down, both dramatically and technically. We’ve also changed the ending, which is now a little more punchy than in the Helsinki version. There are also cultural differences, particularly where the Genelec brand of loudspeakers is concerned. In Finland, they’re ubiquitous, whereas here they’re less well known to the general public. So we took the time to contextualize the brand.
Sarah: There was also a 20-minute version that we performed at the Sound Symposium’s ONSOUND festival in St. John’s, Newfoundland in July 2023. The piece has changed and evolved a lot since then, each time we change little things. For March 13, we’re working in a very large space, which gives us more room for movement and staging. There will also be Charles handling the giant puppet, which was motionless in December.
PANM360: In an interview with Le Vivier, you speak of a reconciliation with the capitalist world in which we live and work. Is this reconciliation a form of acceptance of consumer society, or a way of questioning it?
Sarah: I actually had a hard time using the word “reconciliation” in this context, because I feel it’s a very bold statement. There’s a part of me that regrets saying that, because I don’t want to give the idea that our project is a celebration of the consumer society. But it was something Charles had said in a previous interview that really made me think about what we were expressing. The opera’s narrative is complex; for me, there’s a thread that criticizes over-consumption in contemporary society, but there’s also a story of love and enchantment, a phase of infatuation, then a gradual realization of the complex baggage this object carries, after my character develops an attachment to the object and declares his love for it. So it’s not a strict condemnation or surrender to capitalism, but a reflection on attachment.
Charles: When I think of certain natural objects, like a rock, I think of their birth, their origins; there’s something noble, enchanting, almost magical, that naturally links them to spirituality. On the other hand, when I think of a loudspeaker, it’s hard not to see the whole process of industrialization and consumption that surrounds it. This undoubtedly makes it more complicated to feel an unconditional love for technology. For me, this piece is a way of overcoming this cognitive dissonance, of reflecting on my relationship with the loudspeaker beyond its status as a consumer object.
PANM360: In your opinion, can the artist really extricate himself, or is he inevitably caught up in this system?
Charles: I personally find it difficult to make music outside the consumer framework. I think it’s possible to break out of it, but for me it’s not a necessity. My aim is rather to reflect, to ask the question and become aware of it.
In the past, say before the Renaissance, art was mainly associated with religious institutions. Today, as an institutionalized practice in museums, concerts and festivals, it is deeply rooted in capitalism. It’s a tension I feel every day when I embark on a project. Since this is my profession, one of my main motivations for making music, in all honesty, is to earn a living. Most of the time I manage to put these considerations aside, but they always come back and shape my work. There are many better ways of satisfying this need, and I’d be deeply unhappy if it were the only thing that mattered! My greatest satisfactions have nothing to do with money: they come from collaborating with musicians, from the emotions shared with audiences, and from the artistic and logistical challenges of creating large-scale works like this opera.
The relationship between consumption and my musical practice goes far beyond the loudspeaker and the objects that surround me; in fact, it’s one of the axes I’m exploring in my doctoral thesis currently being written.
Sarah: As an artist living in a city, I find it hard to imagine how I could extract myself completely and continue to create. Can a single person extract themselves? There’s a lot of excellent art that exists outside capitalist structures and lots of great initiatives and groups that work in an anti-capitalist way. Like Charles, for me the goal is to reflect, to remain critical in my work and to make the effort to be kind to other humans and non-human relatives in my daily life. And also to be able to continue doing projects that inspire me with collaborators who resonate with me, to be able to share moments of suspension outside everyday life with an audience. I feel there’s a myth that artists have to exist separately from the rest of society, and somehow live on air, raisins and morals. Our work is part of society, even if we criticize it, and we can choose to work for things we believe in, but to continue creating art, we need certain supports. We also all need community, mutual support.
PANM360: As well as being an experimental singer, you also work on folk music and knitting projects! How do your different artistic practices come together? Are these projects separate, or do you find intersections, whether in spirit, musicality, or approach to technology and tradition?
Sarah: Sometimes the projects are materially separate, but there’s always a kind of inspiration that flows from one form to the other. Sometimes I approach knitting or spinning as a performance or meditation rather than an action required to make a garment. Textile arts connect me to the past and to my ancestors, and help me honor the work of women of yesteryear and all the people who weren’t or still aren’t considered artists because their handiwork isn’t valued in the same way as “high art”. I love the intersection of craft and DIY and the mixing of forms.
My interest in traditional music was born out of a similar need: to connect with the past and a communal experience of making music. I began to familiarize myself with the different styles of folk singing from the region where my father’s family is from (former Yugoslavia), and I was so moved and inspired that I couldn’t stop these vocal textures from seeping into some of my other projects. These textures felt so familiar to me, even though I didn’t grow up with these traditions. Furthermore, there are very strong historical connections between textile work and community and traditional singing. In my career, I’ve done projects where sound, performance, and textile arts were blended and others where they were separate. Sometimes I like to just sit and knit a sock or sing a song I know without needing to break new ground in any obvious way. Overall, I find it very enriching to connect with ancient practices when I’m making new or cutting-edge work. It helps me remember that nothing is truly new and that’s okay; it’s the energy, the spirit, the intention, the connection that matters most.
PANM360: After this performance, what’s next for you? Where can we follow your work?
Charles: I’m finishing my doctorate on the Sacred Representation of Musical Technologies in Instrumental Musical Theatre. My website: charlesquevillon.com and my Instagram: @charles_quevillon.
Sarah: I’m slowly working on a solo album project and I’ll be able to give it more focus now! I can’t wait! Performance-wise it’s a bit more relaxed for a while, I’m preparing for concerts with the Balkan Quartet Sava (directed by Dina Cindrić) in May and a new project with Sam Shalabi and a fiery ensemble for the Suoni per il Popolo festival in June. In July and August I have the great privilege of singing covers of Steven Takasugi’s piece Il Teatro Rosso, premiered in February with No Hay Banda, in festivals in Germany and New York. In the meantime, recordings with the ensembles No Hay Banda, AC/CC and Phth. http://www.sarahalbu.com instagram: @sopranoise
