The show starts at first with silence, followed by the sound of a single breath. Then another.
And so began the performance of electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick‘s latest piece, entitled As I Live and Breathe. An appropriate title as the bulk of the piece was made up of the sounds of Subotnick’s own breath and various other vocal utterances spoken into the mic and then, through some sort of synthesizer magic, transformed into something else entirely.
Billed as Subotnick’s final live performance in Canada, this was a unique and memorable show, with the 90 year old synth legend joined onstage by Berlin media artist Lillevan, who provided live video accompaniment during the set.
Starting out slowly, the music evolved throughout, beginning as an ambient drone before building to an epic and cathartic release in its final moments, with Lillevan’s visuals acting as a perfect accompaniment.
I overheard someone saying afterwards that they felt like they’d been transported to another world during the show and that’s as good a way as any to put it. Simply put, this was a brilliant performance.