Myth/Science Dubcology at the Experimental Sound Studio

Saturday, October 11 (8 p.m.)

Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Chicago, IL  60660

$10 donation

You are invited to attend Myth/Science Dubcology, an electro-acoustic improvised performance event that features Norman W. Long (field recordings, samples, electronics), Angel Elmore (piano, clarinet), Avreeayl Ra (percussion), and Dan Godston (trumpet, small instruments). Curated by Norman W. Long. 

Myth/Science Dubcology is a tribute to Sun Ra on the centenary of his birth, as well as Washington Park, reflecting on the creative and cultural space that Sun Ra and the park creates. Myth/Science Dubcology follows Norman’s practice of gardening, collecting and creating as a way to connect people to history, space, ecology and community. This practice fulfills a need for us to understand our ecology, history and sense of place through sound. Through this understanding we can improve our communities. Norman will be improvising and processing my recordings live with Dan Godston and Angel Elmore. This performance will be in the spirit of creativity in using sound and space as Sun Ra and the park’s designer Frederic Law Olmsted had in composing and designing. It is also important to note that he will be working with the Creative Audio Archive and their archive of Sun Ra recordings.

Concert attendees are invited to come early and check out Untitled (expeditions) by Alice Hargrove in ESS's Audible Gallery. Untitled (expectations) is a series of images exploring moments on the periphery of the chaos of daily life. The work brings to the fore images of memories or reflections on the passage of time, and wanderings of not only place but mind. The photographs are an amalgam of moods, colors, and emotions—images steeped in the tones of memory, loss, and a visceral sublime. Hargrave injects the work with subjectivity through the liberal manipulation of color and color processes, investigating how fugitive photographic substrates literally color memory. Curated by Sandra Binion.  

 Myth/Science Dubcology happens during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival. Chicago Calling is a multi-arts collaboration festival; during the Ninth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival people in Chicago work with people outside of Chicago -- both here in the U.S. and abroad. These collaborations include a range of art forms, such as music, dance, film, literature, and intermedia -- and they are prepared or improvised. Some Chicago Calling events involve live feeds between Chicago and other locations. 

The Chicago Calling Arts Festival is part of the 19th Annual Chicago Artists Month, which highlights the work of hundreds of artists throughout Chicago with performances, exhibitions, open studios, tours and neighborhood art walks. September 27 – October 31, 2014, Chicago Artists Month (CAM) will invite residents and visitors to meet artists and see their work at venues across Chicago. The 2014 theme, “Crossing Borders,” showcases 20 featured programs and artists in neighborhoods ranging from Avondale to Andersonville, Lakeview to Little Village, West Town to Wicker Park and Lawndale to the Loop. 

CAM is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and numerous community partners. 

Links:

• "André Vida and Max Dax talk to Marshall Allen of The Sun Ra Arkestra" (Electronic Beats, 3/31/2014)
• Art 50 2014: Chicago's Artists' Artists (New City)
• "Brother From Another Planet: The Cult and Culture of Sun Ra" by Adam Shatz (Slate)
• Chicago Artists Month
• Chicago Calling Arts Festival
• Angel Elmore (soundcloud)
• Experimental Sound Studio
• Alice Hargrove: Untitled (expectations) in ESS's Audible Gallery 
• In The Orbit Of Ra: Arkestra Reflections On Sun Ra (Strut Records)
• Norman W. Long
• Norman W. Long: Electro-Acoustic Dubcology III (Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2009)
• MythScience Dubcology (3 Arts Club)
• Pathways to Unknown Worlds: Sun Ra, El Saturn & Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground, 1954-68 (Hyde Park Art Center, 10/1/2006-1/14/2007)
• Avreeayl Ra (AACM)
• "Saturn Still Swings: Celebrating Sun Ra At 100" by Joel Rose (NPR, 5/22/2014)
• Space is the Place: The Life and Times of Sun Ra by John Szwed (book review by Matthew Muethrich at allaboutjazz.com) 
• "The stars move in for Chicago Jazz Festival" by Howard Reich (Chicago Tribune, 8/20/2014)
• The Sun Ra Arkestra
• Sun Ra/El Saturn Collection (Creative Audio Archive)
• Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (dir. Robert Mugge)
• "Sun Ra's 100th Birthday to Be Celebrated By 100 Sax Players" by Sam Cholke (DNAinfo Chicago, 5/21/2014)
• "Two Beats from a Different Drum: Avreeayl Ra" by Josh Abrams (Stop Smiling, 3/13/2008)
• "Why Sun Ra Is Dominating Chicago’s Culture Scene" by Matthew Hendricks (Chicago Magazine, 4/30/2014)