“Set
Upon a Curve” by Demarnia Lloyd and
"Balloon Adventure" by John White
Performance at The Physics Room
Saturday 6th July, 2002, 9pm
Demarnia Lloyd is one of New Zealand’s foremost female underground
singer/songwriters. Residing in Dunedin for ten years, and currently
working from Wellington, her early work included singing in the
high energy ska-skate band Munky Kramp, and with the revolutionary
Dunedin electro-pop band Mink. Her main focus for the past eight
years has been as the singer
and songwriter for the ethereal and orchestrally delightful multimedia
ensemble, Cloudboy, working on a number of highly received mixed
media tours and two outstanding albums.
For the last three years Demarnia has been also developing an interesting
solo career, creating such personas as Cloud Coupe, a peculiar casiotone
based solo act, and her first solo album “Trace” (released
in 2000 through Arclife).
Her most recent concept, “Augur”, was a play with music
that explored the ancient Roman practice of augury, which is divination
through bird flight.
As the inaugural artist in residence at Smiths Grainstore in Oamaru
in February 2001, the proposal Demarnia put forward to the Whitestone
Community Artist's Trust was an interesting one. She wanted to use
the top floor of the huge old building as a live-in studio in which
she would sleep and dream, and upon waking transform her dreams
into lyrical and melody ideas, which she would then record using
a digital recording studio.
At the end of her residency Demarnia had completed a cluster of
nine songs, a peculiar collection that somehow captures the elusive,
chaotic and unexplainable feeling of her dreams. At one moment gently
hilarious, the next hauntingly lonely, this EP is a curious glimpse
inside a world difficult to describe at the best of times.
To present the music of the "Set Upon a Curve" album,
Demarnia has enlisted the help of musicians John White, Lucien Johnson
and Anton Wuts. Essentially a multi-layered melody based performance,
the players will be overlayed with a specific filmscape by Demarnia,
and embellished with costumery and properties courtesy of Donna
Demente and Jef T Mitchell.
John White is a Dunedin singer/songwriter, who plays guitar and
violin. Mostly known for his poprock band, Mëstar, John also
plays with Cloudboy and The Zoo Polluters, and has played in traditional
celtic legend Marannan(Blackthorne), and worked with Jay Clarkson.
His latest creation "Balloon Adventure" is a whispery
and moving solo album of quaint guitar songs. It was recorded during
the making of Mëstar's latest album with the
help of John's old violin teacher, Alan Starrett, who contributes
viola, cello, trumpet and piano accompaniment.
Anton Wuts is a charming gentleman and a versatile woodwind instrumentalist
playing clarinet and bass clarinet. He also works with The Letterbox
Lambs, Box of Birds, and Urban Taniwha.
Lucien Johnson is a startling new phenomenon in Wellington's jazz
scene. Primarily a saxophonist, he is known to heavily indulge in
the piano accordian, flute and clarinet. Alongside composing for
Box of Birds, he also works with Urban Taniwha, The Lucien Johnson
Trio, The Teen Idols, The Family Mallet and The New Razorblades.
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