WHIRLWIND SMOKES THE SOUND WAVES
New work by Laura Ortman
RIVERS PIERCING TWIRL
Premiere song release from the developing album WHIRLWIND SMOKES THE SOUND WAVES
All music written, performed and recorded in Brooklyn, New York by Laura Ortman
**Amplified violin and electric guitar
Photo by Laura Ortman
2020
From the rosined-out beast of Ortman’s tough stained violin emerges deranged crumpled wings twirling in starlight and oil slickness and shininess; bearing heavy use of amplification and effects, she also incorporates over-rosining to add smoke, dust, wind and slow-motion grittiness in her scored / improvised compositions for amplified violin, Apache violin, whistles, tree branches, slides, guitar picks, bells, and tuning fork. Re-imagining a series of performances she was going to bring to life during her onsite Plymouth occupation with these components, new episodes of stories, adventures, and emotional stillness now will be realized in the form of a feature-length album. The entire album will be made as much as possible on her four-track cassette tape recorder in Brooklyn, New York where she has lived since 1997.
A violinist of 40 years, Laura Ortman has customized her style and strength to bring to life the transfer from instrument to sound that approaches, lingers about, and then cohabitates in spaces to represent her specialized displays of mass, exuberant dark, and light. She also plays the Apache violin, electric guitar, amplified Helpinstill piano, sings through a megaphone, captures field recordings, and plays a variety of percussive instruments that will also be incorporated into the album. Collaborating with other STTLMNT artists on this album in music, sound, artworks, broadcast, conversation, movement, and beyond is very important too. Encompassing ideas of the intention to express a story and soundtrack of STTLMNT is a circle that is going to be heard. Making this album throughout the occupation helps capture times that enlivens worlds that creates beliefs of where we are, where we are from and its ingrained messages of existence.
Ortman will release a new track every two months, along with updates on collaborators and their input, and documentation of where field recordings were made for the album. Check our Winter Program for confirmed track release dates.