Recording: Bea Labikova

Artist: Bea Labikova - [first piece]

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at Belljar Café (Track Could Bend #33), December 5, 2017.

Bea Labikova - [first piece]

It's always exciting when artists can use Track Could Bend as a platform to explore different techniques or musical approaches, so I was overjoyed to see saxophonist Bea Labikova exploring some new terrain. Seated on a cushion on the floor, Labikova was surrounded by pedals and electronics, treating and expanding her acoustic sound into another dimension. With some deep reverb patches, the sounds from her sax and fujara coalesced into lingering clouds, with vocalisations from a throat-mic adding another element. After setting the scene with this haunting effort (sounding like a ghost wandering on a grey, foggy beach), the fujara's sonic zone crept into something that sounded like an 80's private press New Age tape (a sound now recognized in 2017 to be quite awesome) while the final piece explored some Alvin Lucier-like repetitions.

[Track Could Bend is back at The Belljar on Tuesday (January 2nd) in an especially-tantalizing night mixing Bachelard's modular synths, LUKA's poetic examinations and tendencyitis' no-input mixer feedback sounds. What a superb way to start your concert-going year for 2018!]