REVIEW: ‘Industrialising Intimacy’ : Elaine Mitchener

‘Industrialising Intimacy’

Elaine Mitchener

Brighton Dome

Earsthetic Festival

November 29

2015

Industrialising Intimacy is the creation of vocal artist Elaine Mitchener in collaboration with choreographer Dam Van Huynh, pioneer of computer music – composer George Lewis and sound artist, writer and musician David Toop.

Industrialising Intimacy is the fruit of this unique collaboration, using vocal improvisation, movement and sound  to create an original work of contemporary music theatre. Wavering between observer and partaker the audience were invited to share Michener’s exploration of the many facets of intimacy. The performance investigated the loss of privacy in our society versus the strength of true intimacy in the search for one’s centeredness.

It’s a deeply interesting piece of personal perspective, both compelling and disturbing and Mitchener’s compulsive cyclical twitching and deconstructive verbal staccato ticks become hypnotic in their urgency and convince. There is an element of undergoing this type of performance, it’s so deeply of the moment and Mitchener seems to toy with this idea of one-offs and produce something more manufactured, this is part of her point I suspect.

There’s a raw, elemental madness to this work, like a contemplative Diamanda Galas in the shower on loop, it’s strong, beautiful and full of moments of bizarre gripping graphic emotion. The combination of guttural growling threat alongside soaring pure notes and snatches of song wound itself into an aural concoction that certainly made me pay attention and I left full of thought.

My companion, his first time at anything so avant–garde (as he called it), was thrilled by it, he said it was like watching The Ring as a musical mashed with random radio three and crazy Jamaican Grannies on Nitrous cackling and performing an exorcism in the corner. Not the most insightful of reviews but it certainly catches the extraordinary disconcerting but in-your-face engaging work that Mitchener has produced.

https://vimeo.com/134966356

The earsthetic festival is season of live interdisciplinary performance. Meshing together visual art, electronic music and experimental soundscapes, the programme of events aims to celebrate artists who break new ground with their symbiosis of sound and visuals.

The Tiger Lilies are next up, this evening and for more info or to book tickets for any of these events, click here:

For more info on this event see the Dome website here