Photo © A. Kolkowski

Recorded on 5^th April 2011 in London.

Vocals -Triple Wax Inscriptions

Elaine started singing as a youngster in gospel groups & choirs and graduated from Trinity College of Music, where her interest in new music for the voice began. She currently works in improvisation/semi-improv, fusing together musical influences from gospel, jazz, contemporary new music -extended vocal techniques and everything in between. Elaine has worked with the London Improvisers Orchestra, Steve Beresford, Phil Minton, Max Eastley, Dai Fujikura, Aleks Kolkowski, Lore Lixenberg, Mikhail Karikis, Emi Watanabe, Leon Michener, Sylvia Hallett, Rhodri Davies a.o.In 2009  she joined 7 other singers for the year-long project “Century Songs” directed by Wouter Van Looy and David Moss, produced by Muziektheater Transparant/ ILV .In 2009 she also created the role of Euphrosine for David Toop’s opera “Star-Shaped Biscuit” at the  Aldeburgh Festival.For the 54th Venice Music Bienale, Elaine presented a work based on Heiner Müller’s  “QUARTETT” with vocalist Lauren Newton. In 2010, she was an artist-in-residence at the Fondazione Claudio Buziol, Venice, culminating in a performance of two new works: her own VOICES and “OF LEONARDO DA VINCI…” (with music by David Toop & photographer/film-maker Barry Lewis).Since 2006 she has developed and curated the live music salon ‘Twisted Lounge’.

elainemitchener.posterous.com

 Recording Notes

This recording is from the third of four wax cylinders recorded in my studio. We experimented by superimposing up to four voices on a single cylinder, inscribing new spiral grooves over the existing ones. As the grooves are being overwritten, they are also played back through the horn by the cutting stylus, and although this method is not as precise as modern electronic techniques of overdubbing, it is possible to syncronise parts to some degree. The wax cylinder presented here contains three layers of Elaine’s singing.