SEWING MACHINE ORCHESTRA, PERFORMANCE

By Martin Messier
Sound art performance
Lenght : 28 minutes

Messier doesn’t sew : with a computer and microcontrollers, he reactivates old Singers as to release the luminous and resounding presence of the past.

By narrowly controlling and amplifying the machines’ noises and micro-movements, he carries his public in a dreamlike universe where the old Singers, as singular beings, are magnified.

After years of silence, Sewing Machine Orchestra gives the floor to these surviving objects.

“An Apple laptop processes his twiddlings, engendering an intriguing series of hums, squeaks, yelps and rat-a-tattings, which have a curiously compelling impact.”
— Music Review, 06-13

“The re-animated machines are harnessed for their percussive and even melodic potential, with a frankly unexpected rich and textured form of electronic music the
result.”
— Bidolito.co.uk, 03-12

« Le détournement est fascinant. (...) Messier, en alchimiste de l’électroacoustique, un ordinateur portable marqué d’une pomme lumineuse et quelques boîtes électriques contrôlées à distance se chargeront alors de les faire respirer, haleter et s’envoler. »
— Fabien Deglise, Le Devoir, 29-10-11