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The Pioneer Log, April 8, 2011 Arts 13

NOVEL Beats Antique brings a newly cultured “womp” to Portland


when we’re mak-
ing music we’re
The synergy of these disparate elements
gives the final collage a unified value unques-

IDEAS
constantly think- tionably stronger than the sum of its parts.
ing about dance.” “It’s just a fine balance of blending syn-
With natu- thesized sounds with the string sections and
ral string quar- horn sections... we’ve doubled a lot of things
tets fused into a and we’ll mimic acoustic distortions with
synthetic blast of synthesized stuff – it’s like going back and
live electronica forth and trying to create sort of a synthesis.
A book column dedicated to recom-
and an angelic It’s a new kind of sound,” Satori said.
mending good reads belly-dancing fig- What truly brings the show to life,
ure who carefully though, is Zoe Jake’s dance and theatrics,
curves her body to which give the audience a beautiful corpo-
the music one mo- real translation of the live music. While her
ment and picks up ornate costumes and the smooth, symbolic
a bass drum the body movements seem diva-like, her eye
next, Beats An- contact, proximity and the occasional smirk
PHOTO BY NICHOLAS FARLEY
tique’s “traveling reveal the truth of her presence; not as an ob-
Beats Antique perform Middle East inspired electronica at the the Wonder Ballroom. roadshow” some- jectified musical icon, but rather as a partici-
BY NICHOLAS FARLEY how turns nonsense and contradiction into a pant in the collective musical experience.
Staff Writer beautiful aura of audiovisual coherence. “It’s just straight up performance art... her
“You know, all three of us come from influence has really hitched around being a
Oakland-based music trio Beats Antique more of the performance sort of live music choreographer and feeling the dance in her
emerged from their bio-fueled caravan in band world,” said Cappel. “So a lot of fans body [and] being able to bring that out in
Northeast Portland to transform the Won- appreciate that we’re taking the electronic our productions,” Satori said.
der Ballroom into a fantastical playground music to a new level and incorporating all At the end of the show, all the performers
of sound, color and movement last Saturday. the live elements. A lot people aren’t doing flooded the stage dressed in full animal cos-
As Dave Satori, Zoe Jakes and Tommy it and I think it just adds a fuller sound that tumes, prancing around in a chaotic whirl-
“Sidecar” Cappel produced a smooth flow you can’t get any other way.” wind of surrealism that culminated in the
of Middle Eastern melodies to the ominous This clever musical synthesis constitutes a morbid yet whimsical ignition of a five-foot
undertone of a multi-layered bass throb, truly unique musical and cultural pastiche, long confetti machine gun, leaving the audi-
the sweaty jungle of eclectic and colorfully- channeling all of the raw electronic energy ence in a state of simultaneous jubilance and
dressed spectators became an interactive fes- of the West coast dance scene, with elements utter confusion.
tival of music and dance. ranging from electronic glitch to the dubstep “Ultimately, I think we’re just exposing
“The band is totally founded around wobble into the organic tranquility of world people to new types of sounds,” Cappel con-
BY SARA MILLER
Staff Writer making music for dance,” said Satori, “so music. cluded.

When deciding what to read next, I rarely


turn to science fiction. After many years of
skirting the genre, I finally picked up Ender’s
Game by Orson Scott Card.
Showcasing musical seniors
There is no doubt that this novel falls un-
der the sci-fi category, but I was almost im- In order for Music majors to graduate, they must perform a senior rectial, open to students and the public. Here
mediately swept up in the story. are a few previews of the many recitals coming up in April.
Set in a hypothetical future after an at-
tempted invasion by an alien species called BY DYLAN DISALVIO voice. So, in regards to this theory, Theora Karl Schultz Senior Recital
Formics, Ender’s Game tells the story of a boy & Moench (‘11) and Courtney Williams (’12) Karl Schultz’s music is avant-garde in
name Ender Wiggin. JERRED BLANCHARD have used their voices to pay homage to a a nuanced, sophisticated way, and with its
After the Formics nearly wipe humanity Staff Writers myriad of different musical styles and have showcase of seven pieces written over the last
out, the governments of Earth jointly create named their concert “Class and Jazz.” Mo- three years the event is sure to be spectacular.
a battle school to train the next generation of Chris Anderson Senior Recital Preview ench, a graduating Hispanic Studies major, The recital features an octet includ-
military commanders. Graduating pianist Chris Anderson’s (’11) and Williams, a junior Voice Performance ing many student performers, notably Erin
Young children with the aptitude to suc- senior recital looks to be an exciting show of major, are both students of adjunct faculty Ohashi (’11) on oboe, Spencer Suffling (’11)
ceed at the school and in battle are selected classical mastery and modern improvisation- member Sue McBerry. on trombone, Marian Kidd (’12) on violin,
and sent to the battle school space station, al technique. Anderson is an adept pianist; They decided to explore their love for Anne Koenning (’12) on bassoon, and alum-
where they are trained. this is his fourth headline recital in Evans singing in the best possible fashion: a perfor- nus Nik Walton (’10) on cello.
The training takes the form of classes and Auditorium, a culmination of four years of mance. The work is a slow adagio, melancholy
a “battle game” that pits one student army focused study. The beginning half of their concert will be and whimsical with a relatively free texture
against another in a simulated battle envi- Anderson’s focus this time is on collabor- a conglomeration of different classical songs for the different voices to move in multiple
ronment. ative music, and will feature several small en- in Italian, Spanish, French and German in directions.
Ender Wiggin is singled out as not only sembles. Notably, Anderson will be perform- order to display the linguistic capabilities of Schultz calls himself a post-modern neo-
having the aptitude necessary to be at the ing Beethoven’s first published work, a piano a classical singer, and will be accompanied romantic: post-modern, he explained, be-
school, but also as the most promising stu- trio, op. 1, no. 1, that features Marian Kidd by Elizabeth Goodenough, a resident Port- cause he incorporates and explores formal-
dent yet. The book focuses not only on (’12) on violin and Sage Coy (’14) on cello. lander. istic and stylistic elements from all periods
Ender, but his two siblings back on Earth Anderson began at Lewis & Clark as a pia- One of the tunes, The Flower Duet from of Western classical music; and neo-roman-
and various leading army and government no performance major and last year switched Léo Delibe’s Lakmé,  is a sensual, accessible tic because he finds intellectual common
officials. to Music Education to persue a career as a and well-known duet thanks to a number ground with romantic composers and phi-
In this classic, Card has created an incred- music teacher—but he’s still got great chops references to pop culture and advertise- losophers.
ibly intricate society of people, technology and is a wonderful classical player. ments. Also included is the “Letter Duet” Schultz, who was very interested in phi-
and governments. This recital, like all three of Anderson’s from  The Marriage of Figaro  by Wolfgang losophy before he discovered classical mu-
However, the complicated politics were a previous recitals, will feature an improvisa- Amadeus Mozart, a straightforward classical sic, often finds inspiration in places unusual
bit confusing at times because of the limited tional piece; this time, though, since Ander- duet straight from the opera. to most minds. The title of one of his most
background information. son’s focus is on collaboration, he’ll be ac- After the intermission, the texts will dis- notable works, “The Pleasure of the Text,” is
Card gives just enough information from companied by Liliana Urbain (’14) on the solve into our home country’s language of based on the philosophical ideas of 1960’s
characters looking at Ender from their per- drums. English. They will be performing four tunes French post-modern philosopher Roland
spectives to place him and his actions in Anderson described the improvisation as from the American Songbook and two origi- Bartes, and references, in Schultz’s words, “a
context without giving away any major plot a kind of jazzy journey, from blues to rock nal arrangements: a Duke Ellington tune kind of intense, almost erotic enjoyment in
points. and back. and Sara Bareilles tune in A Cappella style. creating.”
As the reader, I knew just enough to fol- It should be a wonderful afternoon of These tunes will be energetic before the The piece, which will be played by a pro-
low the plot without ever knowing what music in Evans from one of the music de- finale, which features a jazz trio accompa- fessional, non-student ensemble, is a quartet
would happen next. partment’s greatest players. niment. With the trio, the ladies plan on for clarinet, bass clarinet, violin and double
The story moved along at the right pace singing such classic tunes as “Blue Skies” by bass and makes use of advanced, 21st century
and had more than enough twists to keep me Saturday, April 10, 12 p.m., Evans Audi- Irving Berlin and “Over the Rainbow” by compositional techniques of Schultz’s own
guessing. torium, free. Harold Arlen. invention.
If you have already dabbled in sci-fi and With the many different styles of singing
found that hypothetical futures, technolo- Class and Jazz: Courtney Williams and and the sheer depth of the recital’s content, Thursday, April 14 at 8 p.m., Evans Audi-
gies and aliens are not your cup of tea, I Theora Moench’s Senior Recital this concert will showcase an eclectic array of torium, free.
would still suggest giving this book a try. Through the history of musical evolu- talent that is fun for the jazz lover, classical
The novel really focuses on people and tion, there has been an ebb and flow of mu- lover and pop lover alike. For a full schedule of the recitals (in-
never gets super technical. Ender’s Game was sical tastes and propensities that propel it cluding ones not listed here, please visit
a fascinating political and psychological ex- forward. Yet through all of the changes one Saturday, April 10, 8 p.m., Evans Audito- http://lclark.edu/college/departments/
ploration of the future. thing still remains: the purity of the human rium, free. music/events/

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