Posted by: Justin Grotelueschen on May 31, 2008 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

Hello, now from up north! After a night in rural solitude in central New York state, our Boston/NYC crew rolled in to Ryerson University just in time for the kickoff performance of the RWB weekend.

Thirty-some deep listeners circled around a mock stage that showcased an impromptu stomping session and a composition for four performers who encircled the crowd. The perfomers fired right into Portraits in Sound 1 (interspersed by two pieces that aired in the conference room, Dogs Say What? by Marjorie Chan, and Requiem for a Boxer by Tristan Whiston), a radio play that took us inside the minds of those on stage and those in the sea. We were treated to silhouettes of squid and fish dancing on the ceiling, (kind of) seen below. That transitioned nicely into the spotlight of the night: a sound and video excursion by Anna Friz and Glenn Gear, an abstract look into the first ship to shore communications in the early 1900s. Transmitting to thirteen radios hanging above our heads, Anna used her voice, radio static, and processed sounds to accompany video splashes of the traversal of transmissions to new lands. The audio experiments encircled the room via Darren Copeland's 12-speaker audio system, and a separate audio track intermittently sprang forth from each speaker; this nontraditional setup almost dizzies the listener, pulling your attention all around room as you guess where the next sound will come from.

This whole weekend can be heard on free103point9. We as conference attendees are in the studio, in essence, watching and hearing the DJs keep the weekend rolling.

This first night (and the conference) has unfolded quickly, too quickly for us to really get into full-on conference mode. Since the conference will be more abbreviated than years past (only two days, 9a-5p), we'll have to stick our ears right in and get involved. Unfortunately I magically lost a cable somewhere across the border which enables me to upload original pics/audio/video to this site -- I'll hit up Mr. Nick or the local cabling shop for on of those cords in the near future for more multimedia action on these pages.

Comments are open for you to add your thoughts, if you were/are in attendance, and to pose your questions about the weekend.

(Past RWB performer Eric Leonardson will also be commenting on and recapping the weekend, if you need more insights into the proceedings.)

More from Deep Wireless 2008 :
« Prepare to Listen (by Listening) | The Morning with Chris Brookes »