Crash Ensemble - Crosstalk video
Crash Ensemble have released a beautiful film by Laura Sheeran of Crosstalk, performed by Susan Doyle (flute) and Larissa O’Grady (violin).
This piece was commissioned as part of the [REACTIONS] series, and released on the album of the same name.
Programme Note:
Crosstalk attempts to capture the feeling of trying to communicate across distance, both physical and experiential.
As an Irish person living in Japan, my experience of the Covid19 pandemic is one of feeling split and pulled between two worlds: that of my own real lived experience of the reality in Japan, and that of my friends and family in Europe. While staying indoors during the State of Emergency, the online world became sometimes more real, and venturing out led to sensations of extreme cognitive dissonance. Communication between these two worlds was sometimes easy, oiled by the shared stresses and cares of the situation, and sometimes jagged, broken by the different on-the-ground experiences of it in different places. Imagine the now-ubiquitous problems of digital conferencing, with crosstalk, connection difficulties and misunderstanding, but applied to the process of communication itself.
The piece takes the form of a kind of conversation, moving between these broken fragments and smooth easy chatting, punctuated by moments of an agonising pull between two places.
More on [Reactions] from Crash Ensemble
From November-December, to mark their 25th year, Crash Ensemble will present a special anniversary programme that encapsulates all aspects of their current work - live performances, commissions, non-live formats of film and installation, and a limited edition double album release titled [REACTIONS].
Amidst the onset of the global pandemic, Crash Ensemble commissioned Irish and international composers, from a range of musical backgrounds, to write new works for duos within the group.
Building on existing collaborative partnerships and cultivating and nurturing new relationships, seventeen composers were invited to create a musical response to their experiences, the current state, and their thoughts for the future.
The [REACTIONS] composers are: Amy Rooney, Anna Mieke, Anna Murray, Anselm McDonnell, Bebhinn McDonnell, Bekah Simms, David Fennessy, Deirdre Gribbin, Diamanda La Berge Dramm, Éna Brennan, Jonathan Nangle, Rachael Lavelle, Rose Connolly, Seán Ó'Dálaigh, Sebastian Adams, Siobhán Cleary, and Stephen Shannon.
Each piece was workshopped, rehearsed, and recorded in 2020/21/22.
Each composer documented their creative process with text and imagery, offering a fly on the wall view of their studio spaces, visual imagery, and text, journaling during the creative process. Audio visual material was combined with these recordings to make an accompanying film by Crash’s resident filmmaker, Laura Sheeran, which will be screened at The Irish Film Institute, Wednesday 30th November 2022.
[REACTIONS] will be released as a limited edition double album on Friday 25th November 2022.
Crash Records Label Manager, Rob Kearns, says “The [REACTIONS] album release marks a very special moment at the end of a year-long tour of live performances across Ireland, as we celebrate our 25th year. The 17 works on this album are a response to the tumultuous times of the global pandemic. Extraordinary art from which we can derive meaning. An honest human response for now and for the future.”