Private: Morton Subotnick
As I Live & Breathe
Jun 23 2022 - 7:00 PM
Gray Area
Recombinant Media Labs & Gray Area presents pioneering experimental composer and analog electronic musician Morton Subotnick in a special live performance of As I Live and Breathe, a duet of image and sound augmented with the visual work of Berlin-based video artist, Lillevan. Subotnick has described the piece as “a fitting title as, at 88, it may be my last appearance on the road.” As I Live and Breathe combines analog recordings, electronic patches, and live performance on a hybrid Buchla 200e/Ableton “instrument” with live video animation. The work opens with the sounds of Subotnick himself breathing into a microphone: a single inhale, followed by silence, followed by an exhale. There is silence and darkness between each breath gesture, and both sound & image develop in long phrases, simply at first and gradually transforming. Morton Subotnick states, “'As I Live & Breathe' features live and sampled vocalizing along with some of my most advanced electronic performance techniques. At last, some Buchla modules are now digital plugins and Ableton Live has evolved into a form that will allow me to create a technological environment that I never expected, in my lifetime, to experience. It starts with my breath, moves through a vocalising cadenza of vocal gestures and ends with a tender and simple use of gentle rhythms and melodic fragments."