Daughter of Horror

For those that are interested, here are the technical details:

Audio: Moog Etherwave Theremin directly connected to the line-in of a Mac Pro. Multi-tracking and digital processing (on-board effects) with Logic Pro. Mixed-down and exported as an aiff file.

Video: Public Domain from www.archive.org - The piece was originally issued in 1955 as "Dementure", and then in 1958 as "Daughter of Horror". Original mpeg file converted to dv with VisualHub. Very little post production done, just a few edits from the opening ten minutes. I wanted to avoid a processed mash-up for this one.

The Theremin allows for expression unbounded by the limitations inherent with traditional instrumentation. Frets, keys and any standard intonation put the player in a box he has to break out of. While capable of creditable emulation of some more traditional instruments (violin/viola/vox humana), the Theremin stands out (to me) as an instrument of exploration.

Inspiration... www.thereminworld.com is undoubtedly one of the best resources on the net for the Theremin-curious. I must single out one of its members, Gordon Charlton, as someone whose work I keep returning to ... working as "Beat Frequency", his new album "The Chordless Chord" is now available on iTunes.

Gordon, I'll try to make my next piece less derivative :)