To appropriate something involves taking possession of it. In the visual arts, the term appropriation often refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of new work.
The Dirty Projectors new release Rise Above, due out in September, is a conceptual tribute and not a cover release. The Rise Above tour presents interpreted compositions stimulated by memory of the band Black Flag's influential 1981 album Damaged. Remembering this record from his teenage years, Dave Longstreth's composed Rise Above by accessing his subconscious using a technique called automatic writing that was embraced by the Surrealists. They used it to expand their creative possibilities.
Lucky Dragons AKA Luke Fishbeck is a digital music composer, who applies a distinctive homage to the category of happening and performance art, utilizing digital music, and video installation. Within the realm of digital music composition he has appropriately titled his latest recording Windows. Luke Fishbeck music is created with instruments, voices, and sound discoveries that are transposed digitally. His self awareness has enabled him to be an open receptor to the world around him, guiding his music composition to reflect inference and sound visuals.
It was very fitting to see Lucky Dragons in a museum setting. The focus of his performance is to create a dialogue with the audience that fluctuates between voyeurism and direct participation. He set up a large screen on the side of the stage, and on the floor a laptop connected to audio extensions that lengthen outward into the space. Much like an extension cord or that of an octopus with musical tentacles, these receptors convert sound through touch and movement. The screen displayed portrait images whose lips opened to receive and release animated color, nature patterns that formed connective metaphors, and geometric sequencing like a universal code all synchronized with the music.
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