Usually the weird noise artist is booked a little later in the FME roster, so we all have a moment of reprieve to truly take in the abstract magical energy given off by a place like Rouyn-Noranda. But the FME bookers and Mothland really pulled out the experimental stop early with Camilla Sparksss.
As we entered the Petit Theatre, I felt slightly drunk, not due to the four or five beers prior, but because of the MC Escher-vibed electronic loop Camilla Sparksss was blasting. The synthesized riff seemed to be cannibalizing itself in real time and throwing me off my axis. I heard one person say, “I hate this,” while another said, “This is my vibe.” Either way, it was a bit off-putting and difficult to take in, and I felt like I was falling up some confusing stairs.
Camilla Sparksss is a Swiss-Canadian noise artist who drops heavy beats, ear-piercing synth lines, and razor-toothed vocals about drunken love, hate, and apathy. At times, her set felt very Berlin club-coded, and others it was more like a shoegaze show. She was constantly moving, as if she had four arms extending from her black dress, jumping between the two turntables, two samplers, and a metric shit ton of effects pedals. At one point, Camilla’s backdrop became rotoscoped as she screamed “I Like the Noise.” Her vibe also reminded me of Toronto noise punks, SLASH/NEED—another FME alumni.
It’s these kinds of noise shows that both unite and conflict a festival crowd. I’m sure most people have no idea who or what Camilla Sparksss is, but for the ones who did witness her, we will all remember it.
