Last Thursday, Sala Rossa opened its doors for the University of Montreal’s Ultrasons series, presenting six unique performances created by undergraduate students in digital music.
The performance titled *Mukput* by Florence Dubé and Allison Chidiac kicks off the concert. Conceived as a live stream on a platform like Twitch, the two performers present a spread of dishes from Lebanon and Quebec. Throughout the performance, they sample the dishes accompanied by music that sometimes shifts in response to their movements, creating a constant groove throughout the piece.
Alexandre Hamel presents Dante, a custom-built instrument created by Brui, his electronic instrument company. The instrument is a dual-oscillator, dual-format unit controlled by a ribbon controller with pitch detection. The performance is thus an exploration of the possibilities offered by this brand-new instrument.
“Saxophone Conversation” by Alexandre Vaillant brings this first part of the concert to a close. Alone on stage, armed with his saxophone and his computer, the piece blends saxophone and electronics, blurring the line between what is actually played by the performer and what is reproduced electronically—whether it be added reverb or certain motifs played on loop.
After a short intermission, Florence Lafontaine presents Mon pays. With the help of Olivier Martin-Fréchette, they perform Gille Vigneault’s classic text over a soundtrack that expands as the performance progresses before gradually fading away.
Charles Anthony Raymond-Plante presents his piece titled Sirens. In an atmosphere thick with tension, where the bass reigns supreme, we hear sounds erupting in response to the movements of his hands as he triggers the noises that follow one after another throughout the piece.
The concert concluded with Industrial Sonata in E Minor, a performance by Jacob Boucher, Rafaël Bouthillette, and Félix Gervais-Richard. This piece certainly elicited the strongest reaction from the audience. At times reminiscent of death metal, the blend of sounds (often with an industrial edge) allows us to discern melodic-rhythmic motifs that, in turn, give us the impression of hearing a melody throughout the performance.
Here is a diverse program offering a compelling glimpse of the rising stars of digital music in Quebec.
