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I went to a concert last night that was part of the High Zero Festival. It's basically a gathering of free improv musicians from Baltimore and the rest of the world to play together.
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The concert started with Dutch musician/vocalist Jaap Blonk performing solo. His voice is an amazing instrument; one piece using his "cheek synthesizer" was in stereo- each cheek creating different sounds simultaneously. I was moved by his performance of a Dadaist poem where he shouted the German word "brĂ¼llen", meaning "to cry" about a hundred times.
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The second piece involved several artists who had there own custom made instruments. They were accompanied by a vocalist and a dancer as well.
The third set included contrabass and 2 theremins, one of which, by Italian musician Massimo Simonini, was prepared so that it produced presampled sounds from piano to what sounded like an Italian disco song.
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The fourth set featured former Wolf Eyes menber Aaron Dilloway on tape loops accompanied by a cellist, a violinist, and electronics.
Due to a computer now working, we were lucky to be treated with Jaap Blonk again, this time in a set featuring beat boxer Shodekeh and amazing local percussionist Dan Breen. I think this was the best set of the night.
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