BY CHLOE SANGER
Songs and Strings
Xani Kolac and Richard Vaudrey
Melbourne Recital Centre, 7 April
Xani Kolac and Richard Vaudrey teamed up to present some original music arranged entirely for violin, cello, voice and electronics in Songs and Strings.
Their works relied heavily on looping tech and improvisation, and this was their first time performing together, uniting extensive backgrounds in similar music-making. Vaudrey’s years of classical training culminated in his own compositional project that his biography oddly labels “post-chestral-indie-dub-folk-pop”. However, they mention “stringer-songwriter”, a new term to describe both their current projects – a sleek name for a genre that is becoming more and more widespread in pop.
It opened with a reconceptualisation of a duet by baroque composer Guiseppe Colombi. It was technically grounded in the baroque tradition through the exposition, before shifting gear towards the end with a contemporary adaptation featuring a driving ostinato bass groove. A unique start to the evening, the setlist thereafter fully immersed Xani and Vaudrey’s contemporary performance practice.
Some songs were highly emotional, some humorous, but mostly they shared a similarly uplifting tone. In fact, Xani’s and Vaudrey’s songwriting complemented each other a little too much – there were definite shifts in content and style but many elements were repetitive, such as the song structures and harmonic material. However, this is often a problem with utilising looping technology in live music. The audience listens to each layer as it builds up to its full texture: it can be interesting for some people, but predictable for others.
Their music contains some highly creative uses of the cello and violin. Singing into the body of the cello to record a distant sounding backing vocals, using reverse looping and delay to make pizzicato and circular bowing of harmonics to create ethereal soundscapes were just some of the interesting ways they utilised their instruments. The most exciting and satisfying moments in the performance, however, were the improvisational sections of these songs. Xani’s improv performances are particularly engaging – she leans fearlessly into musical ideas with a considered balance between control and spontaneity, and her energy and charisma make her a real pleasure to watch.
Vaudrey and Xani’s voices and styles blended well together for an overall engaging performance, full of uniques moments combined with high quality improvisational skills and musicianship.
Have you read Xani’s top tips for improvisation?
Images supplied. Credit: Michelle Grace Hunder.
