Alex Nowitz / Pieter Verstraete / Xiao He – Public Sound #2: Vocal Extensions [10"/Printed Matter]

"This publication offers another platform – that of sound carrier – to further spotlight the collaboration between DE PLAYER and ODR. It features live recordings and an essay that addresses technical research in the field of sound as it relates to the ODR’s programming, namely, the use of both the virtual and analog voices during the Who’s Afraid of Modern Opera performances.

The technical questions that productions of this sort face are addressed in Pieter Verstraete’s essay Vocal Extensions, which also lends its name to this issue of Department of Public Sound 1#2. The essay is further, which is subtitled: “Disembodied Voices in Contemporary Music Theatre and Performance”.

This publication includes a 10” vinyl record, which consists of a selection of recordings of two performances during the Who’s Afraid of Modern Opera events. Alex Nowitz and Xiao He presented their improvised performances on location exclusively for the ODR. These recordings are presented as works in their own right, but they can also serve to illustrate Pieter Verstraete’s essay and add further nuances to the material he describes in his essay."

De Player, 2011