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Thursday, February 03, 2005
Pamela Z, A Delay Is Better
Pamela Z
Starkland

height=A Delay Is Better collects pieces written between 1986 and 1997 by the San Francisco-based composer/performer Pamela Z. Despite the lengthy chronological span, the works on the disc (along with the bulk of Z’s oeuvre) are thoroughly united by a focus on the voice, whether that of Z herself, Palo Alto programmers, or riders on San Francisco’s MUNI. The other unifying element of the CD is the persistence of relatively simple uses of electronics. Looped samples and, of course, the titular delays figure in nearly all of the pieces, though “Feral” and “Obsession, Addiction, and the Aristotelian Curve” (which beautifully combines Z’s operatic vocals with harp performed and manipulated by Barbara Imhoff) include more significant processing. In the pieces on the first half of the CD, Z uses loops, often vocal, to underpin her own singing and speech. The second half of the CD shifts the focus to interaction between the samples, which are derived from instruments, urban recordings, and the ever-present voice.

Unfortunately, a few of the pieces do fall flat through their use of electronics. Some of the loops refuse to give up, and some of the processing sounds dated. At its worst, A Delay Is Better sounds like a skilled performer weighed down, perhaps trapped, by electronics. However, at its best, the CD demonstrates the tremendous possibilities available when a composer uses electronic means to augment an instrument with which she is intimately familiar. These moments come when Z explores the intersection of the voice and technology. Pieces like “Questions” and “Bone Music” become captivating when Z manages to slide in vocal samples or processing while the listener focuses on her voice, which remains rich and nuanced whether singing, speaking, or testing the bounds of both.
posted by Lanier Sammons 9:28 AM


 


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