music:  2008 Philip Mantione
video:  2008 Alysse Stepanian
45 minutes. color. stereo
Trumpet, flugelhorn and video performance: Ron Helman

(scroll down for video excerpts)

Live performance: October 2008. Center For Contemporary Arts. Santa Fe. New Mexico

A multimedia performance with computer, live trumpet and flugelhorn, computer-interactive devices, and video projection.

T = 2.7K is a mix of precomposed, improvised, live and automated sounds. Unmanipulated field recordings are from urban environments (Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin) and natural settings, and a chordal drone is derived from trumpet samples. Live improvisations on trumpet includes the use of the Mute of All Evil, a computer-interactive mute designed to expand the instrument via the physical movements of the player.

In the video, time is slowed down and scenes are multilayered. In a sort of visual poem, the altering of the natural fluidity of liquid becomes a metaphor for disrupting the linearity of the time continuum. Saturated colors and slow movements add to a sense of dreamlike timelessness. Similar to the simultaneous live and prerecorded sounds of the player, the manipulated images provide a huge and imposing backdrop to Ron Helman’s visual presence as a live performer.

Watch 5 minute excerpts:

T = 2.7k – excerpt 1 from Alysse Stepanian on Vimeo.

T = 2.7k – excerpt 2 from Alysse Stepanian on Vimeo.