Artist Takeover 8/1: Daniel Corral

Composer, performer, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Corral took over our social media channels on Saturday, August 8. A member of the composition faculty at CalArts, Corral’s unique voice finds outlet in accordion orchestras, multimedia microtonal electronics, puppet operas, handmade music boxes, site-specific sound installations, chamber music, and various collaborations. During the day, he shared his most recent work and what he’s been up to while staying safer at home. In the afternoon, he went live on his Instagram (@spinalfrog) to provide an insider’s tour of his studio, demonstrating his amazing collection of instruments and gear, including his Stellate Hexany Boxes, Requiem for Gyorgy Ligeti (a giant music box), the setup for his solo multimedia performance Comma (which he performed at REDCAT’s NOW Festival in 2016), and more.

 

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While we work to reschedule a new date for the premiere of composer/performer Daniel Corral’s “Concert for Having Fun with Elvis on Stage,” we are excited to announce that the multi-instrumentalist will be taking over our social media channels this Saturday with collaborator Alexander Gedeon! A member of composition faculty at CalArts, Corral’s unique voice finds outlet in accordion orchestras, multimedia microtonal electronics, puppet operas, handmade music boxes, site-specific sound installations, chamber music, and various collaborations. Make sure to follow along as he shares his most recent work, as well as what he’s been up to while staying safer at home. And at 3pm Saturday, join as he goes live on his Instagram (@spinalfrog) to provide an insider’s tour of his studio, demonstrating his amazing collection of instruments and gear, including his Stellate Hexany Boxes, Requiem for Gyorgy Ligeti (a giant music box), the setup for his solo multimedia performance Comma (which he performed at REDCAT’s NOW Festival in 2016), and more. Don’t forget to tune in! #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Jul 30, 2020 at 10:03am PDT

 

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“I’ve been reading a lot of books about man’s effect on the environment. That, mixed with the screen-based lifestyle of the last few months, led me to start developing a first-person video ‘game’ inspired by Charles Gaines’ Gridwork pieces. Rather than being a “first-person shooter,” players walk around an arboretum and look at the trees, which become colorfully pixelated in the style of Gaines’ Gridworks. I’m also making a generative soundtrack for it.” - Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Aug 1, 2020 at 8:33am PDT

 

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“For the last year, I’ve been developing these Stellate Hexany Boxes, which I plan to make a limited edition run of. Since the performing arts (and livelihoods of so many artists) are in a state of crisis, many people are rethinking what the format of their work should be. I’ve been thinking about what an album should be in the 21st century, and this is where my inquiry has gone.” - Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Aug 1, 2020 at 10:09am PDT

 

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“This is a Unity-based video piece inspired by Reich’s ‘Pendulum Music,’ but with a microtonal tuning based on a 1-3-5-7 combination-product set. The fundamental of this tuning is an upper 2/1 partial of the Schumann resonance 7.83 Hz. This Schumann resonance is basically the resonant frequency of the Earth’s electromagnetic field. Last summer during a residency at Djerassi, I made a set of fifteen 2” steel chimes tuned to the same frequencies as 15 Pendulums. The chimes are still up at Djerassi, hanging from a tree along the hiking trails, waiting for people to come play them.” - Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Aug 1, 2020 at 11:12am PDT

 

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“When Daniel first approached me about the idea of making a performance piece around the ‘Having Fun with Elvis on Stage’ album, I was immediately down. He envisioned a Butoh performer as ‘Elvis’, and that sounded right to me. I knew it would take an absurd amount of rehearsal to get the timing of physical movement right, so I proposed to play Elvis. Daniel and I pretty quickly agreed that we didn’t want the character to look like Elvis Presley at all. I began to sense the ideal would be to get it as far away from Elvis as possible, but in the right way. I enlisted X. Hill (@thesinglex) as a costume designer — the first time I have worked with a Black costume designer. We sat around brainstorming. It was a great opportunity to highlight how our racial and cultural perspectives affect why we choose to make things look a certain way. ‘You’re keeping the afro’ were the first words out of her mouth. Exactly, I thought [even though we later ended up tightening the curls]. We started by studying Chuck Berry videos of the 1970s. Conversations led to Vaudeville. One day X. came at me with a high-fashion spread of Black clowns and I thought ohhhhhhh shit we got some THEATER on our hands here! Later, X. brought in Elisa Abend-Goldfarb (@makeupbyelisa37) to design the make-up. When we met with Elisa, I ran my mouth about Chuck Berry and Samuel Beckett and Noh theater. ‘What’s the main thing you want people to take away from this?’ she asked at the end. ‘Fun,’ I replied. And Voila!” - Alexander Gedeon (@alexander_gedeon), director and performer #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand @spinalfrog

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Aug 1, 2020 at 11:47am PDT

 

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Live at Automata LA (@automata_la) on 10/18/19 Music by Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) Movement by Alexander Gedeon (@alexander_gedeon) with the Now Hear Ensemble (@nowhearensemble) Performer: Alexander Gedeon Guitar, Keyboard: Daniel Corral Upright Bass: Federico Llach Clarinet: Brian Walsh #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

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“I’ve been thinking about my 2013 piece ‘Dislike,’ which premiered at the 2013 NOW Festival at REDCAT. It’s based on 24 hours worth of comments on the most-disliked video on YouTube at the time (now dethroned by motivated Redditers). The dark and chaotic level of online discourse that it portrays seems even more relevant now than it did at the time.” - Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

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“Alex (@alexander_gedeon), DaEun Jung (@daeunychum), and I have been having a very stimulating weekly book/video club Zoom. It’s been great building a common vocabulary and hearing everyone’s thoughts on these pieces. Here’s our list so far (one per week): * Paragraphs on Conceptual Art by Sol LeWitt
 * Vertical Features Remake by Peter Greenaway
 * Fase by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
 * Paramodernities #6 by Netta Yerushalmy
 * Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith
 * Watchmen, season 1
 * Chernobyl, Season 1
 * Einstein on the Beach: the Changing Image of Opera documentary
 * Hamilton * Inferno by Romeo Castellucci” - Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) #calartsredcat #REDCATondemand

A post shared by REDCAT (@calartsredcat) on Aug 1, 2020 at 3:06pm PDT