Alexis Weaver
Mineral Disobedience
TX:
Friday, 13th November, 6pm – 6.30pm
Saturday, 14th November, 12pm – 12.30pm
Mineral Disobedience is an experimental soundscape inspired by an unofficial war waged in Sydney, Australia. Known for its natural beauty, the Emerald city is experiencing a period of rampant development; mirroring the wider world. Industry leaders must increasingly engage with environmental concerns raised by the public, as has been demonstrated by the ongoing climate change protests. For the latter group, this is a deeply personal issue which must affect the way we all interact with nature forever; for the former, it seems climate collapse is an administrative nuisance rather than impending reality. I use this context as a starting point to explore how Human, Machine and Animal might interact if the machines and tools we use in our taming of Nature were given anthropomorphic voices. Field recordings of construction sites and the natural world intersect as the machinery rattles to life. How would the diggers, jackhammers, trucks, the frames of the skyscrapers themselves, interact with their surroundings if liberated from their day jobs? The minerals from the ground, re-moulded into the building blocks of humankind, would surely have some things to say.
The piece charts a loose journey through the life of such machines, including the monotony of the construction site, hearing the dazzling voices of many humans, a flirtation with the natural world, and an inevitable return to ordained duty. The natural resonances of these field recordings inform the melodic content of the piece, including the recurring, poignant melody.
Alexis Weaver is an electroacoustic composer based in Sydney, Australia. Born in the Shoalhaven, Alexis grew up learning flute, voice and harp before commencing study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2014. Now, she draws on her classical music upbringing in a slightly different way, creating whimsical and adventurous electroacoustic works which celebrate the emotive capabilities of sound. While her principal interest lies in composing fixed-media acousmatic music, she has also composed soundtracks for animations, short stories, radio, dance and theatre, and exhibited audio-visual installations.
Alexis is also co-founder of female composer collective lost+sound, who in 2018 launched a series of concerts celebrating established and emerging artists working in experimental music fields.