Hyper Memory Installation #7 and ESS Performance Video
1) Hyper Memory Installation #7- The Rain of Applause: BLM, 2020
As the final piece as part of Erstwhile Records AMPLIFY online Festival Maria presents a new work utilizing her creative field recording installation series called "The Rain of Applause" (est. 2012). This latest version takes various field recordings of applause from Black Lives Matter marches, vigils and other events and creates a dense new memory of this important movement in history.
Hyper-memory Installations, or HMI for short, refers to Maria's specific composing practice with this project, taking audio memories (or .wav files) and layering them in various audibly dense configurations. The composing act of layering audio snapshots multiple times creates a conceptually jam packed day, hence the use of the word "hyper". By sonically placing multiple tiers of audio documentation, in this case the applause from the Black Lives Matters events, this form of creative field recording practice is aimed to view the sound of applause as a sound source, separating it from the role of applause as a reaction after performance/presentation. As the perception of the listener shifts some may mistake the recordings of applause as sounds from a rainstorm, others may feel the deeper intensity of the applause due to the content the subjects were reacting to. The piece is 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time George Floyd was suffocating for, and is meant to embody the spirit and intensity of the people who came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement around NYC that Maria was able to attend. While the events she was able to attend were mainly in North Brooklyn (due to her fragile condition as she continues to heal from brain surgery), she hopes this piece helps to make those that were not able to participate feel as if they are standing in the middle of 50 New York Cities with all the Black Lives Matter events happening at once.
As a victim of police brutality herself after being unjustly jailed for over 24 hours at the age of 20 in Houston, the murder of George Floyd along with the murder of Sandra Bland (who was unjustly arrested in the same area as Maria was) and so many others is especially triggering. It reminds her that the only reason why she is alive today is because she is not Black. If she was Black when she was thrown in jail she probably would have met Sandra's fate. A reality of her privilege that she is reminded of every day.
2) Experimental Sound Studio Performance Video
Without knowing what will be emitted, Maria Chavez takes on the challenge of reinterpreting
the entire Northern Spy catalogue by blindly performing/ destroying their records & cassettes.
The result is a mix of the unknown, using Maria's abstract turntablism techniques to pull each recording
apart. Recorded live for Experimental Sound Studios- Chicago in Oct. 2020.
Chinita Banana
Recognizable by her colorful costumes, curious makeup, frantic flicking gestures, and pop music soundtrack, the H.Exotic (pronounced hous ig’zädik) is a dancing avatar. Utilizing her shape-shifting powers, she comes to life as the incarnation of a revolving rolodex of superstar U.S. Latina pop-culture icons in order to disidentify with monolithic cultural identifiers. In an act of brown empowerment, she (re)embodies the divas’ often one-dimensional depictions in order to release them from their frozen mythical prisons. In this (re)embodiment ritual, Erica choreographs the H.Exotic into performative critiques, highlighting the undercurrents of social roles Latina iconic legends have perpetuated through media—manipulated and compromised by the industries they work/ed within.
Maguey
Eric Hernandez and Joaquín Tenorio, with Visuals by Connie Pico
This piece stems from close listening of the music of late corrido legend Ariel Camacho who died at just 23. The song contains samples of the singer speaking about agriculture and enjoying spending time with his grandparents and family as well as his song “Ya Me Vi”. The drum programming is indebted to the prehispanic tribal style. Maguey is Spanish for the agave, or century plant used to make pulque or tequila. It is about things that will last a long time. The visuals created by Connie Pico for the track are composed of videos taken in transit between Central Texas and the Tex-Mex border, ranging from McAllen to El Paso. Bridges and water.