Only birds know how to call the sun and they do it every morning
Kaj Duncan David
This piece tells a story of the transition from pure vocal sound to meaning as a musical gesture. Inspiration comes from glossolalia in various forms; in infants who have not yet learned to speak, in states of consciousness where speech takes on a completely new and mystical dimension, and in that found in artificial intelligence, which can speak but still does not understand what it is saying.
"Only birds know how to call the sun and they do it every morning" weaves together these stages in a sci-fi-like concert, created by composer Kaj Duncan David and Brazilian writer and performer Maikon K. The vocal part makes use of vocoder and talkbox to create an artificial song between sense and nonsense, while the electronic sound is performed by a quartet of synthesizer, EWI, MIDI guitar, and MIDI percussion.
The video is made by students at Aarhus University.
Credits
Kaj Duncan David - Composer
This work was commissioned by Scenatet and Frequenz Festival and premieres at SPOR (Aarhus) and Frequenz (Kiel) in May 2024.
Supported by Koda's Cultural Funds, Danish Arts Council, Creative Europa and Sounds Now
ONSTAGE: Kaj Duncan David and SCENATET
Kaj Duncan David - vocals, keys, electronics
Vicky Wright – EWI, electronics
Mikkel Schou – MIDI guitar, guitars Matias Seibæk –
MIDI percussion, synth