In 2023, the Dutch harpist and self-described “music journalist” Andrea Voets has interviewed women about their struggle to achieve equality, especially in parts of the world where they are still seen as second-class citizens. (Women’s minority status is debatable in our own DEI-enabled society.) She and her team at Resonate Productions have combined recordings of these interviews with live music and electronics, resulting in the “live podcast” FOR REAL, which came to the BAM Fisher space last week, part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Appearing together with recorder player Sarah Jeffery and violist/guitarist Geroge Dumitriu, the three performed in the round, playing music while taking turns interviewing volunteers – all of whom were women – about their experiences.
There were things to admire and not like about FOR REAL. On the positive side, the music – which seemed to be at least partly improvised – was effective at evoking a variety of moods, alternately ethereal and dissonant, ominous and upbeat. And, the recorded interviews, with women from a variety of cultural backgrounds, felt genuine, edited and arranged to evoke maximum outrage, or hope. Less successful were the live interviews: aside from a heart-tugging story from a middle-aged playwright who once was told she “no business being a writer”, most of the interviews meandered, or veered into pattern grievances. In general, the experience, while often impactful, felt a bit loose and would have benefitted from the oversight of a director.
For those who’d like to hear the interviews, they are being released as podcasts at this link
