Drone Day: 'a different type of sound' comes to Yk
Concertgoers should find themselves in a hypnotic state during art installation and experimental music collaboration
Joseph Tunney
Northern News Services
Friday, May 27, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two local artists are hoping to put their audiences in a trance with a day of celebration for drone music on Saturday.
Harrison Roberts, left, and Ashley Daw are the two main artists spearheading the Drone Day events set to take place at the YK ARCC on Saturday. - Joseph Tunney/NNSL photo |
"I think the experimental music scene up here is fairly small," said Ashley Daw, who along with Harrison Roberts is spearheading Drone Day.
"It's definitely an unique event."
Daw is organizing the main show, which is a concert of five drone musicians at the YK ARCC at noon.
According to Daw, the main idea behind drone music to have continuing looping rhythms which creates a hypnotic wall of sound. However, she also said there is more than one way to play drone music and it takes influence from several music genres.
Roberts is creating the space that will surround the show. He has been salvaging different pieces of technology from the dump and is making an art instillation called "Hello,World!" using the electronic components he's collected.
"What I'm trying to do is make it an interactive space to try and bring light to these forgotten devices," Roberts said.
He said he's been extracting images from these hard drives and, while concealing most of the identities of the people on the drives, is planning on displaying some of the forgotten photos.
"We're basically droning around his exhibit," Daw said.
While these two pieces may seem disconnected, Roberts said there is a line between the two.
"A lot of the music being played is electronic music so there's the direct comparison between the electronics and electronic music," Roberts said.
Roberts said he's in the process of creating the installation as of Wednesday and it will be on display for the week following the actual event.
"I just want (the audience) to realize the amount of e-waste we're throwing out in Yellowknife," Roberts said. "And the potential it still has."
Daw, who, along with Roberts, is actually one of the musicians playing the show, said the intention is for people to feel free to wander in and out throughout the day.
She said Drone Day events are happening in every province and territory nationwide in collaboration with WEIRD Canada, a website that features experimental art.
For Daw, the main point of the event is for people to experience something new.
"I would like for a lot of members of the community to come and check out a different type of sound," she said.
