A Spiral of Earthly Delights and Heavenly Concerns (2022)

In this multi-day interactive event, a god has died and its tomb has been taken over by Spirits bound together by grief over their fallen one. Though these Spirits appear to be torn apart by irreconcilable differences, their internal struggles seem strangely tied to one another. The Labyrinth Keepers, who are attempting to communicate with the fallen god, have become enlightened by its faint whispers. They know they must bring their fellow Spirits together peacefully so that the god may finally rest. Their hope lies with The Messengers (attendees), beings who are able to move freely between the earthly and spirit worlds.

My task as one of the two Labyrinth Keepers was to provide ambient music to communicate with the fallen god. I recorded my fellow Labyrinth Keeper Bao Nguyen’s voice as they sung in tongues to call upon the god, and added effects to their amplified voice in realtime. The vocals were accompanied by improvised solo piano, and various pitch-shifted chords using the feedback from my colleague’s wireless microphone. Sounds changed in real-time to sync with our participants’ actions and my colleague’s reactions. Some key sonic moments are highlighted below.

As pictured above, there were multiple interactive exhibitions featuring elaborate set dressing, costumes, projection mapped rooms, Virtual Reality spaces, quilts, and crystal jewelry. We worked together for 3 months to devise this show as a team.

Created and performed by MICA's Live Immersive Production Class including Gabriel Chez, Bao Nguyen, Chloe Azcuy, Owen Bogle, Gaeun Chloe Kim, Jisoo Lee, Sarah Leiva, Kii Ly, Alberto Martinez Garaulet, Emily Quan