You may have heard her alongside David Byrne, Terry Riley, Malcolm Goldstein, Natasha Atlas, Threnody Ensemble or Nirvana at the famous Unplugged concert in 1993. Her name is Lori Goldston, and she composes/improvises, teaches, writes, and campaigns for a new way of making “artful” music. The Seattle-based musician was at La Sotterenea last night for a concert that also featured Montreal guitarist Stefan Christoff, Lebanese-Palestinian-Quebec author Elissa Kayal and singer/harpist Christelle Saint-Julien. The concert was part of the program of Montreal’s new Flux festival, which focuses on alternative music of all kinds: contemporary classical, improvised, indie, rock, experimental, electro and more. Listen to Alain Brunet’s interview with one of the event’s initiators, Peter Burton.
FLUX CONCERTS, INFO AND TICKET
The performance of poor Christelle Saint-Julien, plagued by all kinds of technical sound problems, will have to be passed over. She accompanied herself on harp (Montreal is definitely a world center for “Indie” harpists!) with a fragile voice that was nonetheless capable of more solid lyrical outbursts. The highlights of the evening were provided by Elissa Kayal, who opened the show with a powerful text about uprooting, identity and the misery of an entire people (Palestinian). Powerful phrases such as “La tristesse, je la pisse hors de moi!” (Sadness, I piss it out of me!) ensured an emotionally powerful first contact with the evening’s program.
Lori Goldston herself took to the stage with her cello and embarked on a tour of just a few pieces, albeit of considerable length, all mostly improvised in a rather modal language that is more or less always developed in the same tessitura of around two octaves. Through this seemingly straightforward approach, the artist’s ultra-solid classical technique shines through. Interchanging textures between generous bowing and voluble pizzicato, Goldston musically invites us into a visceral and emotionally expansive personal universe. That said, there’s nothing abrasive or aggressive about her style of contemporary art music improvisation. Rather, it’s an open door to a vibrantly intense and, dare I say it, somewhat romantic interior.
Guitarist Stefan Christoff joined Goldston at the end of the concert. The meeting of Goldston’s lyrical cello and Christoff’s soaring, ethereal electric guitar brought the evening to a close as if on a cushion of meditative ambiance. Very beautiful.
In the same spirit, I invite you to discover Goldston and Christoff’s album A Radical Horizon, released earlier this year. Even if Christoff is on piano rather than guitar, you’ll feel much the same as we did last night.
For info on the rest of the Flux festival, visit the
INTERVIEW BY ALAIN BRUNET WITH WADADA LEGEND LEO SMITH, IN CONCERT FOR FLUX ON MONDAY OCTOBER 7
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