In this new work, composer Kaj Duncan David explores a wide range of sound worlds.
Like his own personal background – growing up in Turkey then moving to England and later Denmark before ending in Germany – the artistic practice of Kaj Duncan David faces the challenges and possibilities of working with different cultures and practices. Boundaries between experimental electro pop and chamber music are blurred, and different music genres and styles, concepts of AI-reality and Internet cultures from all over the world set the scene for new perspectives of what contemporary music is and can be.
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; infants who have not yet learned to speak, states of consciousness where speech takes on a completely new and mystical dimension, and 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.
Kaj Duncan David (composer) – vocals, keys, electronics
Vicky Wright – EWI, electronics
Mikkel Schou – MIDI guitar, guitars
Matias Seibæk –MIDI percussion, synth
Read more about the composer here and explore the programme here
Only birds know how to call the sun and they do it every morning is also presented within Sounds Now by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival