Berlin based musician and sound artist Jessica Ekomane has a unique perspective on sound that she demonstrates through live installations and performances. A key part of her sonic vision is the interplay between psycho-acoustics, perceptions of rhythmic structures and the interchange of noise and melody. Questions grounded in the relationship between individual perception and collective dynamics permeate throughout her work. Yet what fascinates me the most is her ability to turn sound into a transformative element through mediums that ignite thought and psychological response, as opposed to its more traditional roots in feeling and emotion.
Her first record released on Important Records, Multi-vocal, is a prime example of Jessica’s utility of psychoacoustics and perception to play with the capacity of the body to understand complex knowledge. Also interesting to note is her use of quadraphonics to further enhance the spatial imagery and tension of the track.
Serving as a gateway into the comprehension of rhythmic structure and its effects on the mind and body, ‘Multivocal’ was made using 13 metronomes in MAXMSP (a visual programming language for music and multimedia), all tuned to a different pitch and with differing BPMs of 1ms. The listening experience starts with all pulsations beginning at the same point, layered on top of one another in static cohesiveness. However as time passes, the inevitable shift from vertical to horizontal begins as each and every metronome gradually starts to go out of phase with one another, creating an ever-changing rhythmic and melodic structure over the course of 20 unfathomable minutes. The polyphonic maze that ensues does not throw the listener into an abyss of motion however. But rather eases one into a meditative state that feeds off of this sonic organism. Much like the hold and release of consciousness in sleep, without actively engaging between one moment and another, the human brain is wired in a way to glaze over subtle differences that may occur. The beauty of ‘Multivocal’ therein lies in the overall temporality of said situations, where waiting for the next event may be futile in comparison to the appreciation of the process as a whole.
As I delved into it’s contextual meat and potatoes, a specific psychological practice stood out to me as one of the prevailing conceptual forces behind this sound piece. Namely, that of ‘Gestalt Psychology’. The German word ‘Gestalt’ has no exact equivalent in english, and is usually translated as ‘form’, ‘pattern’ or ‘configuration’. It’s proponents define it as the [physical, biological or symbolic configuration or pattern of element so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be identified from a simple summation of its parts]. In layman’s terms Gestalt psychologists emphasise that [organisms perceive entire patterns of configurations, not merely individual components], i.e ‘the whole is more than the sum of its parts’. This opened up a whole new way of thinking for me personally, as someone that tends to overanalyse specific elements in thought, sound and life in general. As I proceeded to listen to ‘Multivocal’ for a second time, consciously losing myself in its overall intertwining nature, I found myself perceiving its complex structure in a way that was much easier to retain and place in memory, and in turn giving me a deeper appreciation of its meaning. Jessica’s ability to summon thought processes in such a way can open up avenues of sound exploration that pave the way to out of the box thinking. At the very least, it did so for me.
Her catalogue of works all give rise to, in some shape or form, important personal and interpersonal questions. One other demonstration of this was her commissioned piece, ‘Citizen Band’ for Ö1 (national Austrian radio station) and Musikprotokoll festival in Graz. Namely, a radio intervention using the space between AM and FM as a [range for short-distance communication between individuals], [Initially thought as the « poor man’s business-band radio]. Used widely by the working class, specifically in this case, truck drivers in the US, this intervention highlights ideas of classism by allowing differing voices and ears on our social hierarchy to meet via the frequency spectrum. However, what i found most interesting about Citizen’s Band is that anyone can tune in, making it public domain. 30 nationally broadcasted minutes of anonymous conversations, that allow us to peer into, what some turn out to be, very intimate conversations. I found that the intrusive and invasive nature of this piece of art gave rise to many questions. Were the voices aware that they were being listened to? Were they asked for consent? If so, would that have taken away from the pieces vulnerable innocence and, as a result, made it less thought provoking. An introspective work that questions the nature of privacy, Jessica shows how, through sonic voyeurism, the act of displacing one context into another can reveal hidden structures.
A heavy involvement in the physical aspect of making and participating in sound, most of Jessica’s work takes place in, but is not limited to, art spaces and music venues. Seemingly, anywhere that fosters creative inclusivisity. Her belief pertains to the idea of social ritualism that takes place when people/ communities engage in music. Actively opposing the class disparities in other forms of art. This idea of inclusivity extends to her extensive use of rhythm in her compositional work. For even without a solidified background in music and its theory, everyone can react to and understand rhythm in their own way, giving it more democratic value. An intriguing concept in which complex ideas can be transmitted through body knowledge. I would personally describe her as an abstract sonic linguist that uses the phenomena of trance, rhythm and open ended imagery to relate to human beings on an entirely different plane than those that we are used to. A refreshing approach to the division between body and mind her work has given me a deeper appreciation of art that i may not have understood before, whilst also inspiring me to give equal amounts of attention to the way I intend to touch an audience, the separate components of my musical work, but most importantly how its overall fusion is a more intricate art than I once deemed it to be.