We spoke to an audiovisual performance artist Adeline Rozario to gain further insights into her creative practive and driving forces behind her work.
What sparked your interest in combining immersive technology with your music, and how did you begin experimenting with these tools?
I wanted to transport the fantastical stories, landscapes, and creatures, which existed on a different plane, and had emerged whilst I was composing the music, to a live audience. I remember getting very excited when I was writing songs like Velvet Claws, and Hestia as a whole new world was transpiring from the music I was composing. I could see it very clearly in my mind, and it excited, terrified, and left me in wonderment. I wanted to share that experience with others as it felt too surreal to just keep to myself. I wanted the creatures and microcosms in Aves to appear as holographic visuals and entities around me whilst I performed live. I had no idea what technology was out there, that would be able to do this, when I first envisioned it in 2015. However, after a few failed, but exciting experiments, I found a technology I could use to bring the world of Aves into our reality.
How do you think your upbringing has influenced your artistic expression, especially given the constraints you experienced?
I feel the constraints I experienced during my upbringing played a vital role in fuelling my artistic ambitions. When you're caged up, you are required to put in more effort to break free, and when you do, you make sure all your efforts count for something you are proud of.
You mention drawing a significant amount of inspiration from nature and remote landscapes. How do these elements specifically influence the creation of new music and visual elements in your performances?
Being alone in nature, specifically in remote landscapes, I feel allows most people to tune in deeper into their core, by being surrounded by the truest form of beauty and truth; nature itself. For me, it clears my mind, and gives me space to dream, which inevitably influences my musical ideas and creations.
In your piece, "The Forest of Phantasmagorias," how do you choose which creatures and elements from the song stories to transform into holographic entities?
The creatures that transpire from the inception of a song and appear when I'm first tinkling the ivories, the ones that are persistent and don't want to go away, are usually the ones that play a key role in a song's progression and formation, so it's only right they be given first preference to be turned into holograms. They've earned it!
What challenges have you faced when synchronizing live music with holographic technology and how have you overcome them?
The logistics of a venue plays an important role in how well the technology, and holographic visuals impact each performance, and in turn the experience the audience has. I usually either visit a venue in person to scope the space out, or get a detailed building plan from the stage managers. With anything, it takes practice and time to know what works best.
How do you think your music and performances have evolved since you began incorporating forefront technologies?
The holographic technology I use in my life performances have allowed me to transport the world of Aves, in which each song exists as a microcosm, into this world, and unleash it in front of a live audience. It has allowed me to unravel my ideas as a whole new world, as opposed to presenting it solely as music.
You’ve worked with other musicians who are also pushing the boundaries of technology in music. How has collaborating with artists like Tarik Barri and Holotronica influenced your work?
I discovered Holotronica through a band called New Opera Hero who were doing very interesting things with augmented reality technology in their live performances, in 2015. I sent them a message, and met up with them in their studio in East London. When I first started out, there were very few resources on what I wanted to create. It was exciting to try and figure out how to make something I had never seen before, work. I ended up meeting very brilliant and inspirational minds in the process. Steff from New Opera Hero gave me a great deal of tips, and guidance, not just about the tech, but also about being fearless in your creations, taking risks, and the DIY ethos. He directed me to Holotronica, who created the holographic technology we use. I heard about Tarik Barri through his performances with Thom Yorke and collaborations with Radiohead. It was an honour and truly exciting to have an artist who's work I admired, and whom worked with bands like Radiohead perform alongside Tinderdust at our show in Studio 9294 in 2022. I have been lucky to cross paths with such brilliant and interesting minds, and it has spurred me on to attempt to create better work each time.
How do field recordings, like the thunder in "Midnight Fox," contribute to the atmosphere and authenticity of your music?
Midnight Fox is about running away into a dreamscape with a fox as a thunderstorm erupts. The composition of the song started in North London, when I saw the silhouette of a fox on my garden's rooftop shed at midnight. I found myself in the far east a short while later. One evening, as I was working on Midnight Fox, a tropical thunderstorm erupted outside my bedroom. All I had with me was my microKORG, and its vocoder, so I stuck my microKORG's vocoder out the window, and recorded the thunderstorm that was erupting as I wrote the music. I then chopped those sounds of thunder up, and turned it into the drums that are in Midnight Fox. Nature in that moment played an intrinsic role in my music compositions and ideas when I was paying close attention to it, and being one with what was unfolding around me.
With your extensive experience in different landscapes and cultures, how do you decide what elements to incorporate into your music and visual narratives?
I seek out remote, peaceful, and beautiful landscapes as they allow my imagination to flow freely. Landscapes like the Kent coast, and Wyoming don't affect the aesthetics of my music or narratives, however these landscapes play an integral part in affecting my subconscious in their own way, which allows me to be in a dreamy and imaginative state when I write my music.
How have audiences reacted to the immersive elements like holography and virtual reality in your performances? Can you describe any specific reactions that influenced the way you design your shows?
My creations are mostly influenced by nature, the subconscious, and my imagination. One of the nicest audience reaction I've received was a gasp from someone sitting close to the stage, just as our performance started. It felt humbling and riveting at the same time, as it resonated awe, which is what I seek to create in my live shows.
What is your ultimate goal when creating an immersive live music experience for your audience?
The ultimate goal is to leave the audience in awe. For the music and visuals to touch them deeply, and transport them into a different place, and cause reactions and sensations they may have never felt before during a music performance.
You’ve mentioned influences like Radiohead and Blur. How do these inspirations surface in your own music and performances?
They inspired me by showing me what was able to be done in music, their work ethic, and the belief they had in their dreams, and in themselves were truly inspirational with what they achieved and contributed to the music industry.
Finally, with the support you’ve received from organizations like Arts Council England, what advice would you give to emerging artists seeking similar support for innovative projects?
There are lots of amazing bodies in the UK at the moment championing art and technology, and encouraging its convergence, like Innovate UK and Digital Catapult. If you have an innovative idea, spend time researching on the right people and organisations to reach out to. If they end up not being able to help you, they may have a network of mentors and collaborators who could be invaluable to your project. With funding grants, once again do some research into the grant to really understand what kind of projects they are looking to support. It's always a good idea to contact the grant assessors with specific questions relating to your project, and bounce thoughts off them to see how you can strengthen it before submitting an application.
By the REAL Editorial Team | May 22, 2024