THEO BLECKMANN / JOHN HOLLENBECK DUO, at the New Languages Festival, 9/26/09
SEPT 26, 2009 --GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN: When one thinks of voice-drums duo, it is hard to imagine just what the music will sound like. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the elaborate setup on stage: a drum set complemented by many percussion instruments, as well as children's toys, in the company of a microphone connected to many different pedals and other effects, more children's toys, a tape recorder, a plunger mute and some plastic whistles.
The show was one continuous song, a manipulation of textures by Hollenbeck and Bleckmann. They were very sensitive to each other, and almost never did I get the impression that one was accompanying the other; they were both just adding to the greater soundscape they were creating.
It started with Theo singing long notes and, using a loop pedal, forming chords over which a groove was implied by Hollenbeck. It was interesting to see Theo's deliberate harmonic choices, as we watched him "input" each note to the chords he formed. Eventually, they move in a different direction, and transitioning from one "loop composition" to the next, Theo sets up a more static drone, over which he sings a sort of chant in French. It was here that I began to see how many different aspects there are to his singing, and how many different roles he can take on. He proceeded to use his own voice to create many different effects, without the help of pedals and electronics. He also repeatedly pitted his own voice against other sounds, such as whistles and a fast-forwarding tape recorder, which generated very interesting sonic combinations.
Although the melodic focus was always on Theo, Hollenbeck's contributions had just as much influence on the composition. I'm sure you've heard many analogies between playing music and cooking a meal, but If I may draw one more parallel in that direction, I'll say that to me the most noteworthy aspect of this performance was how deliberately each "ingredient" was put into the mix. Theo always stepped away from the microphone prior to adding the next note in a loop, and John's interjections were always relevant to whatever was going on in that zone of the piece. The end result had as much input from one as from the other.
This performance was to me a great combination between collaborative efforts and individual musical decisions, leaving us always interested in what would come next. Their spontaneity was always visible, yet the whole piece had an arch and a very strong sense of composition to it. The depth of music created in this way is always amazing to me, and this duo is certainly an example of wonderful music-making.
