We are proud to share that our collaborator Nicole Lizée is nominated for the Opus Awards for Ultraviolet Blues, a piece she wrote for us and that we created during our Folk Noir concert last May at Bain Mathieu in Montréal. Well done Nicky! See you on February 4th for the announcement of the winners.
ULTRAVIOLET BLUES - by Nicole Lizée
“The blacklight poster was actually a medium capable of mimicking the effects of (a) new wonder drug. With the ability to glow and vibrate under ultraviolet light, the posters could simulate the sensations and visual distortions one experienced during an acid trip.” Counterculture historian Daniel Donahue Sonically, the piece does not reference stereotypical or preexisting elements of the sound of psychedelia. There are no quotes of existing music. It is my sonic interpretation of blacklight art as it exists in the 21st century: ‘Post-Blacklight Music’. The sound world is highly rhythmic, but the grooves stretch and splinter, sometimes disintegrating. The fluorescence, vibrations, and textural fuzziness in the artwork is depicted through a number of sonic techniques. As is the energy, euphoria and the notions of darkness. Melodies (including a main theme) move to the forefront and begin to melt. There is a melancholic component to it all, referencing the notion that this artistic movement - once the expression of counterculture, activism, and ‘resistance to the powers-that-be’ - experienced a number of deaths due to censorship and commodification. Commissioned by and dedicated to collectif9.