Oscar Alvarez – Sound Arts Year 2

As the performance on the 27th June in Paris approaches, our recent sessions have been mainly concerned with refining our performance.

After a few full-length run throughs, Violet’s idea of a step-by-step, sectioned performance has slowly eroded into something far more open-ended, flowing from start to finish all in one. In many ways, it has become less of a traditional dance performance with various ‘sections’ of movement, but rather something closer to an improvised sound piece.

In this time, I’ve began to finalise my laptop effects setup. Since I’m forgoing my usual pedal equipment, I have slowly put together an effects chain that recreates many of my analogue effects.

As before with the technical aspects of my sound, explaining the function of each plugin I use (in a clear manner, demonstrating each effect individually) has proved to be very useful in regards to our communication and overall understanding of the performance. Now, since the element of improvisation has increased in our performance, I have begun taking the time to explain the ‘range’ each effect provides.

For example, the concept of reverb, (particularly the kind of complex algorithm I am using which incorporates heady concepts such as pitch shifting and smearing, reverse-envelopes and spectral modulation) is abstract and therefore difficult to explain.

By actively saying things such as “this is how loud this sound will get whilst the reverb is at its peak” or “these are the individual steps of pitch shifting- which do you feel is the most effective and how far should I take it?” Violet has gained a strong understanding of the various minutia of such effects.

Following this newly decided ‘free-flowing’ approach to our performance, it has now become even more imperative that I evolve a cohesive symbiosis between my sound and Violet’s movement. Through the spaces created within the arranged cables on stage, and the variations in Violet’s improvisations, I will have to continuously adapt my sound in an extremely relational manner. This poses a challenge for me, as I have rarely have to create and modify sound within such a spontaneous time frame.

I also noted to Violet that in my own solo performances, I often utilise a timeline-like graphic score . With such free-flowing performance, creating a sense of temporality can be grounding, an acts as a useful framework. Following this conversation, she kindly provided me with the following text, that I would be able to adapt into my own ‘timeline score’:

This session was primarily led by a new creative direction Violet had previously expressed interest in- Until now, the performance (or what we had created so far) did not consider the aesthetic arrangement of the space itself. This is to say, we had kept the dance studio ‘as is’.

Inspired by the various black cables that connect my music equipment together (specifically the longest cable connecting to the contact microphone placed centrally in the room) Violet purchased and arranged various black, plastic cables around the dance space. These cables were positioned around the room using a sense of ‘organised chaos’ – that at first glance appeared random , but in closer observation revealing a more methodical composition.

The use of various shapes constructed through these cables almost seemed to divide the space into separate stages, or partitions to navigate – in Violet’s words, “like hopscotch”. There is a real sense of ‘play’ here, that only seems to grow as more and more spaces for improvisation find their way into our performance.

— Edit–

Over the following sessions we would progressively tailor the arrangement of these wires according to what provides the most room and interest for movement.

The following image is a sketched idea of how we may form this arrangement in an upcoming session:

–Edit 2–

The following arrangement is our now most recent configuration before our show in Paris:

My interest, or role, here is to consider this newly added spacial element within my sound. This, so far, has involved small changes or slight modulations that occur wherein Violet moves in or out the various loops and segments of the wire. We have also began to discuss how I may modulate the overall presence/ intensity of my sound, related to Violet’s proximity to me.

As the collaboration continues, the ability to convey often quite technical musical terms is becoming ever more apparent.

For Violet, this is her first venture that considers sound equally as much as physical movement and dance – so its only fair that she may be slightly overwhelmed and confused by my mentioning of ‘noise gates’ or ‘EQ’ or ‘granular synthesis’. I am reminded that outside of the kind of creative world I inhabit, terms I perceive as simple, such as ‘mixing’ or ‘sequence’ are in reality quite nebulous and obscure.

Because of this, I have found it incredible useful to explain any technical matters through metaphor or demonstration.

To illustrate, it was important that I communicate to Violet how the overall length of the initial loop recorded onto my looper pedal effects the ‘density’ of the sound, as we record endless layers skipping rope sounds onto it.

After a second, I explained that this was like painting with a small canvas, as opposed to a large one. If we start out with our initial small canvas, and endlessly throw paint at it – the literal thickness and density of the image will occur much quicker than if the canvas were to be bigger and sparser.

This, surprisingly, was an effective metaphor and was quickly understood. We now both had a shared idea of the ways in which we can efficiently build an intense wall of sound.

I also found there are matters that are simply to hard to explain without demonstration:

When I found myself having to explain which frequencies we should consider when performing (we want to create a full, intense sound yet don’t want to create anything ear-piercing) – I found it immensely useful to demonstrate how equalisation works, by treating our generated loop with various EQ ‘cuts’ – highlighting each frequency band one-by-one , showing how each effects our overall sound.

A challenge for me also, is learning the ‘language’ of dance and movement-based performances. In fact, whereas Violet has entered this project with some knowledge of sound arts, I have embarked on this journey completely unversed in the world of dance performance – with little frame of reference for the kind of choices a dancer can make, or how something as small as a shift in weight can completely change the emotive weight of a performance.

I’d assumed (wrongly) that often dance is simply a response to sound prompt , rather than being a fully developed language in its own right, with its own logic, pacing, and intention.

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In order to gain a further understanding of this discipline, particularly Violet’s own -I began to research her previous projects, and would discuss these with her during future sessions:

https://www.sadiecoles.com/exhibitions/krapfen

https://www.miekoshimizu.com/breatheoutvideo

When I was asked to develop a new section of the piece, I set myself one rule:

Nothing comes in from outside. No samples or synthesis. No sounds that don’t already exist within the dance studio. I didn’t want to introduce a sense of ‘artificiality’ into the piece, detracting from the grounded nature of the performance.

I asked Violet to simply move. No choreograph or brief, just the instruction to use the space however she wanted while I recorded – staying completely out of the way. Skipping, running, collapsing and scraping sounds were all recorded over the span of roughly fifteen minutes.

Listening back , the was an incredible ‘kinetic’ feeling within the recording- perhaps due to the raw, unprocessed nature of the sounds. Respecting this quality, I decided that (uncharacteristically) I would leave the recordings untreated (aside from some slight equalisation tweaks) and begin to compile these sounds into a pattern of percussive movement.

Example of some sounds recorded in this session:

In this sequence, I tried to respect the individual qualities of each sound – such as not trimming the long, drawn out tones of floor board creaks.

An example of a sequence I constructed:

The first session with Violet involved a good amount of testing the practicalities of the concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the vague concepts I had imagined , of looping the skipping rope sounds, were easy to actualise, and equally effective. The concept was solid.

For Violet, this was useful – upon hearing these sounds come to life, it was evident that further inspiration had struck. With a sense of the sonic element established , as a foundation, she was able to begin to workshop movements and ideas in relation to the looping skipping sounds we had created.

Again, regarding practicalities, it was important that I established the particular equipment chain I would be using. In my own practice, I utilise an electric guitar and a few pedals, with a four-track looper as my primary source of creating dense layers of sound. Yet, I felt that since this isn’t solely my show, and more importantly since I am not explicitly the performer in this scenario, I should keep my equipment as minimal as possible. My role here is to provide the space for Violet to perform.

We began to discuss what the piece as an entirety would look like.

While we had established the core looping sound of the skipping rope, it was the ways in which we could morph and evolve that foundation into something else that was the intriguing question- How could we remodel such a sonically large presence into a performance that would change over time?

Violet’s solution here was to separate the performance into various ‘segments’. That the initial skipping sound loop would give way to another sonic presence, inviting her to change her performance. It was my role henceforth to determine what kind of sound would suit this new segment.

In the days prior to my first session with my collaboration partner, Violet Savage, I took some time to consider the kind of sonic palette that I could work with, particularly within a modern dance framework.

With the sound of the skipping rope amplified by contact microphones placed on the floor, it became apparent to me that there would contain some sense of ‘pulse’ within the piece, a kind of of percussive momentum at the foreground. This is starkly at odds with my main practice, which sees an absence of time measures or rhythms. I would essentially have to suspend my usual methodology and explore new possibilities.

I described to Violet my initial thoughts regarding the kind of sonic palette we could create together. I felt that not only should the sound of the skipping rope striking the floor be amplified by the contact – microphones, but that they should be recorded and looped – as though the performance were haunted by past dancers, or her own actions.

Violet agreed, stating that failure and exhaustion when skipping is a key idea for the piece- to emphasise and ‘haunt’ the space with the sound of her past failures would be deeply resonant. I noted that through repeated looping and treatment with delays and reverbs, we could accumulate a dense wall of noise constructed through the many repeated strikes of the skipping rope, essentially turning a rhythmic pulse into an expansive drone. This too was met with enthusiasm.

Despite having not yet entered the dance studio space, I felt that the sound itself shouldn’t be too ‘treated’ and stretched beyond recognition. I didn’t want to impose my aesthetic tendencies on what is ultimately, Violet’s spotlight. After all, the piece would involve me and my equipment off to the side of the performance space. I began to prepare my setup, which I believed should be rather minimal.

“Document your progress in forming a group to collaborate with on your blog“

On the 17th February 2026, I was introduced to dancer Violet Savage.

“Violet Savage is a dancer from London. Their work explores movement at the intersection of sonic and visual art, drawing from improvisation to make space for the subconscious to perform. They are interested in visibility and how much we show of ourselves when we dance.”

https://www.lafayetteanticipations.com/en/manifestation/violet-savage-industria-indipendente

While the encounter was brief, Violet shared her interest in my work as ‘monosleep’ in which I perform and record ambient electro-acoustic music, enquiring if I would be interested in collaborating on an upcoming project of hers.

While still in its very early conceptual stages, I was told that the project would be a dance piece revolving around the use of contact microphones, and the sound of a skipping rope striking the floor. I was immediately intrigued and agreed to exchange our contacts.

Later in that day, once at my home, I began to consider the potentiality of this project. Dance was an area of performance I had relatively little knowledge or experience with. In fact, motion or even ideas of performance are not something I particular consider in my own practice. Yet, within this uncertainty (I couldn’t even really picture what this would look like) I found an immense source of inspiration and curiosity.

It became apparent to me that this collaboration would provide, or rather, force myself to expand my practice beyond the kind of sonic palette I have become associated with.