The title of Canadian composer and improviser Meredith Bates’ new double LP is often associated with quantum mechanics, a field of physics that explains how tiny objects can act like both particles and waves at the same time. The Observer Effect, which lands today on the phonometrograph label, describes how looking at or measuring something can change it.
In the album’s notes, Bates describes its theme as “about witnessing and being witnessed — the quantum, emotional and political consequences of that exchange.”
This beautiful new recording was on my mind this week during a visit to Miami, where I attended a conference in the city’s South Beach district. At dinner one night, I watched three early-20-somethings pose for pictures with one another for as long as it took me to dismantle my ahi tuna burger.
I’m not going to suggest that this is a behaviour unique to young people. We’re all aware of how mobile devices have distorted the way we interact with the world around us. And we’ve all taken a selfie.
But there’s a difference between awareness and understanding. To really understand why our photo apps are so full of ourselves, we need to admit that it’s about more than a desire for attention.
The observer effect has been turned inward (like so much else). We have become both observer and observed. We are no longer satisfied to document the places we visit. We must document ourselves in that place. Our presence in that place matters more than the place itself. That feels unhealthy.
Bates’ LP is a lushly contemplative invitation to think about all of this a little more deeply. The material progresses with a kind of delicious slowness that makes the listening experience immersive.
Another Bates quote from the notes: The work “examines coherence and dissonance within both the self and society — how our internal states of balance and resonance are shaped by the energies, emotions and systems surrounding us. It asks how we might perceive those exchanges and how they are altered or silenced by power, by history and by the act of being seen.”
Clocking in at just shy of 140 minutes, the album is spacious enough to allow you to luxuriate, and complex enough to keep you from disengaging. It’s an approach to composition that invites an observational listen, and rewards a healthy attention to detail.
Her strings are more often unconventionally performed than not, which complements the electronics. Some pieces come off as advanced ambient; others as minimalist chamber works.
Bates performs violin, viola, field recordings and electronics. Scott Morgan (a.k.a. loscil) contributes electronics on two works. Chris Gestrin and Curtis Andrews are featured on one piece each, on synthesizer and percussion, respectively.
More new music
The Matthieu Mazué Trio feat. Diego Hedez and Francisco Mela – Turn of Events: Pianist Matthieu Mazué is on piano, with trumpeter Diego Hedez and drummer Francisco Mela. That’s right — no bass. Their debut as a group platforms each of them in fine style. Check out ep. 410 of The Moderns for the 30-minutes-and-change “Revirements.”
Válek Merta Tarnovski – Punctum: Two delightfully meandering long-form pieces, one of which also features Isabelle Duthoit and eRikm (who call themselves SunDog). Think Neubauten without all the angst.
The Moderns 