A partita for voice and electronics, Black Snake Root (2019), is an evening-length composition that embodies melody and counterpoint. Black Snake Root synthesizes the human voice with radical music technology; the voice is only heard while filtered through innovative live-electronic processing (ipads/TC-11 and Pure Data); and the electronics are only heard while multiplied by a parallel vocal presence. Through intricate vocoding, the voice, sampler, synths, analog beats, repurposed guitar pedals, and feedback loops, create the sonic tapestry of Black Snake Root. Interwoven and interdependent, the music transverses boundaries of genre and identity, while embracing pop sound aesthetics.
Black Snake Root is composed and performed by Amanda Schoofs and Kevin Schlei.
Prelude: Deep Shade
I. Black Snake Root (58″)
Interlude: White Stargrass (5’10”)
II. Pale Blue Throat (6’03”)
Interlude: Hemlock Shade (12’27”)
III. Hysteria (14’54”)
Interlude: Butterfly Weed (22’31”)
IV. Candle of Fae (23’57”)
Interlude: Sweet Violet (29’28”)
V. Bloom (30’35”)
Composed and Performed by Amanda Schoofs and Kevin Schlei
World premiere videography by Cristina Ossers
Amanda Schoofs and Kevin Schlei premiering Black Snake Root at The Jan Serr Studio on Sensoria: Experiments in Sound and Performance. Videographer Cristina Ossers is also pictured.
photo credit: Paul Mitchell
Amanda Schoofs 