Skaņa, from the Latvian word for “sound,” is a collaboration between French vocalist/composer Muriel Louveau and American composer Charles B. Kim. The album has been entirely produced in cyber space .
Melding haunting vocals, ambient electronics and pulsating rhythms, Skaņa seeks to explore the area between day and night, light and shadow, wakefulness and sleep.
The music of Skaņa is inspired by ancient cultures and far off lands but also draws upon distinctly modern musical elements in order to create a sound that is both contemporary and classical.
In this regard, the past is prologue. This is music that would fit just as well in a modern concert hall as in an ancient Roman amphitheater.
Despite the music having groundings in the past, the production of this album was a very 21st century endeavor.
Muriel and Charles relied primarily on email and the occasional phone conversation to communicate ideas to each other and transferred audio files over the Internet. Thanks to modern technology, the end result is the same as if Louveau and Kim had worked in the same studio in the same city.
Muriel and Charles relied primarily on email and the occasional phone conversation to communicate ideas to each other and transferred audio files over the Internet. Thanks to modern technology, the end result is the same as if Louveau and Kim had worked in the same studio in the same city.
So the concept of staging Skana as a theatrical journey , with compatible , innovative artists who follow the same cyber creative process came as a natural consequence.
We want to make our project evolve from the virtual to the physical world and to get it " tangible" to create an extended format .This is a work in progress , the first step towards a possible "multi dimensional "performance we'd like to develop,including other guests musicians,collaborations and research with artists of other disciplines .
Through the sparse use of new technologies, scenography and creative lightings ,elaboration of a spatial lay out in response to the live elements, we will explore new contemporary territories and together write and perform a new score and story, across many medium
Skana Cultural Awareness and Musical Education values
Varied impacts are present throughout, framed by neo-ethno Franco-Americana cultural elements; reinforcement of 'brave
new world' global networking; cyberspace technology via the Internet;World Music references.
Skana performances will appeal to mature and young international audiences alike, simultaneously on different platforms, due to attractive ultra-contemporary soundscapes, cutting edge post- production standards, and phased blending techniques mixed with with artful sophistication in emphasizing phrasing and harmony.
An awareness to rich cultural references resounds throughout by highlighting ethnomusicological perspectives that are rooted in time, while projecting a hypothetical future musical language.
Practically, Skana contains music education values; teaching all children and adults a potential musical 'melting pot'.The performance also introduces multicultural education to colleges and conservatories, while helping minds to focus on global historical aesthetics, contributing to a consciousness of "reinterpretation" from ancient languages, and musical roots in all mankind.
Skana performances will appeal to mature and young international audiences alike, simultaneously on different platforms, due to attractive ultra-contemporary soundscapes, cutting edge post- production standards, and phased blending techniques mixed with with artful sophistication in emphasizing phrasing and harmony.
An awareness to rich cultural references resounds throughout by highlighting ethnomusicological perspectives that are rooted in time, while projecting a hypothetical future musical language.
Practically, Skana contains music education values; teaching all children and adults a potential musical 'melting pot'.The performance also introduces multicultural education to colleges and conservatories, while helping minds to focus on global historical aesthetics, contributing to a consciousness of "reinterpretation" from ancient languages, and musical roots in all mankind.
