Ancient Threads

Summer 2018

An experimental live audio-visual performance whereby sounds and melodies are produced from fiber and textile processing tools. Visuals captured at each station were manipulated and projected in collaboration with Simon Alexander-Adams.

The act of weaving on a loom results in both percussive and melodic sounds. Combing through fibrous material with hand tools creates a percussive, crunching sound similar to that of maracas. A spinning wheel for turning fiber into thread emits a steady hum, that sounds much like a drone. The process of dying fabric lends the atmospheric sounds of water. These ancient tools and processes reinterpreted the futuristic sounds of techno music. Through this dialogue between past and future, this experimental set examined the delights and discourse of the now.