[the gathering…the chewing] is Gillian Whiteley and Geoff Bright
[the gathering…the chewing] is a performance practice that works with two related hemispheres: Re-so[u]rceries and Re-sonations, both of which are inspired by the problematic of the pharmakon (the idea that ‘in poison be physic’) highlighted in Dale Pendell‘s wondrously dangerous Pharmako trilogy.
Our practice develops our earlier work as Alchemy/Schmalchemy and draws on the section ‘Existentia’ in Pharmako/Poeia , Plant Powers, Poisons and Herbcraft (Mercury House, 1995). We heard Dale speak to this at City Lights bookstore on Columbus Avenue, San Francisco on a balmy evening in April 2006 and have admired his writings ever since.
Re-so[u]rceries sets up a productive collision between sorcery and source materials brought together in a durational site-specific practice.
Re-sonations is primarily a sonic performance that chews up concepts, words, imagery, texts and clashing musical idioms. Manifestations might sometimes combine both hemispheres or focus on one.
[the gathering…the chewing] will gather, reap, pick, forage, glean, salivate, chew, ruminate, masticate, re-gurgitate, vomit, spit out and spew.
Re-sonations
Re-sonations often involve improvisation on soprano/tenor/bass saxophones, harmonica, piano, piano accordion, melodeon, hurdy-gurdy, violin, viola, shruti box, harmonium, recorders, pixiephone, whistles, toys, voices and speaking in tongues…
See Six Intimacies, a series of short improvised pieces recorded 14 February 2020
Click here for info on our project (August 2019) at Treignac Projet in Correze, France
Click here for info on the Open Improvisation Workshop we ran Friday 18th October 2019 at Loughborough University for the Fruit Routes project and ‘Beating the Bounds’ harvest theme
More recordings of our live improvisations:
Gorbachev and the elephant’s lament listen here
25 mins live improvisation using bass and soprano saxes, violin, hurdy-gurdy, recorder, shruti box, piano accordion, pixiephone recorded 10 April 2019
someone held out his open hand listen here
live improvisation using voices, violin and shruti box recorded on the eve of the Super Blood Wolf Moon 20 January 2019
He’s only moved in next door!
listen here
live vocal improvisation recorded at The Limes 15 March 2019
Biffo’s petite bouffe
listen here
live improvisation piano accordion, bass sax and vocals recorded at The Limes 15 March 2019
kelterment
listen here
live improvisation violin and soprano sax recorded at The Limes 15 March 2019