A Live Sonic Performance That Embraces the Glitches of Digital Communication

In the live, improvised performance Call, artists Justin Allen, Yulan Grant, and S*an D. Henry-Smith manipulate the constraints of a Zoom video conference call to create a shared sonic, musical, and visual experience. As each artist calls in from a different location, the trio layers sounds and builds rhythms using instruments, electronic production technology, nearby household items, and their own voices. The lo-fi set-up of the performance, with materials assembled from what the artists had on hand while working at home, turns the challenges of digital communication into an opportunity for collaboration and sonic experimentation. While at this moment the whims of our Wi-Fi connections determine whether or not we can share time without interruption, Call pushes the boundaries of real-time performance, video lag time, and digital connection.

Before the spread of COVID-19 necessitated social distancing, the three artists and friends had collaborated on previous projects, including Allen and Grant’s work on the zine BDGRMMR with Brandon Owens and Grant’s work with Henry-Smith on a sound performance. In 2019, Allen, Grant, and Henry-Smith all performed at The Shed as part of Open Call. In July, Grant presented Buss Demon Choat, a site-specific performance about non-linear time in the diaspora. In August, on The Shed’s Plaza, Allen performed Explain Totality (version 4), a set of cover songs with altered lyrics about his teenage years, with Henry-Smith on guitar.