Letter to Love Cry

This new exhibition arises musically from a universe identical to the sounds and physical layout of Poly-Free, presented at MAAT in 2022.


The title of the piece (Love Cry) refers to an album by Albert Ayler, the last one he recorded with his brother, trumpeter Donald Ayler. Their relationship seems unique to me, with Albert being a tutelary figure and providing some emotional and financial support to his younger brother. The album is from 1968. Donald would leave the band after a short time due to his worsening psychological state and Albert would drown two years later in the East River in New York.


My songwriting process has changed since producing the sounds and system for Poly-Free. The sounds of this new Love Cry were mostly composed outside the studio, during trips to and from concerts, in vans, planes, or trains, using the computer with Ableton (music software).


There was a process of transferring the sounds I use into new software with different capabilities than what I was used to, causing unusual composition modes for me. Perhaps the fact that they were made on a trip shaped them sonically, in an unconscious attempt to merge them with the surrounding landscapes. 

Its physical representation also underwent some changes. The presence of synthesizers, after presenting Poly-Free, changed my plastic perception of the set. That large volume of modules and connections that I presented no longer made sense to me as an image of this abstract idea that I am interested in exploring: a musical instrument that I use both to make music and to perform, or even to present an installation with autonomy for beyond my physical presence.

I'm interested in a certain idea of ​​portability that, for me, is present (I think) in these new boxes/bags I'm using.

In Bueño, the replica of the Western Electric 15A appears in this new context. Perhaps its condition as a column that projects sound, utilitarian, far from any sculptural reading that can be made (I have nothing against other sculptural readings that may appear/exist), will perhaps be more explicit.

For me, much of this sound projector's imaginative power comes from its ability to play multiple timbres, to accompany me and to surprise me with its rigidity, by the transformation/submission it subjects me to when I move from my studio speakers to space, through that iron system.

In my mind, this emotional relationship is on the same order as the erotic connection we have with our home sound system, where we sit listening to records and let the stereo come through our walls. 

From another perspective, the mythological idea (or not) is always present that Jimi Hendrix's sound is made by a body physically and emotionally linked to certain cultural references and experiences, translated by a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall Plexi amplifier.

Now that I write, I realize that, in this piece, the universe moves in pairs.

João Pimenta Gomes

12.08.2023

Love Cry - Performance

For Two Voices

First Instrument:

Create a sound bank filled with voices featuring different tones and textures.

Utilize this sound bank as a source for generating new harmonies, ambient sounds, and as a foundation for the second instrument. It should be captivating enough to stand alone yet subtle enough to serve as background music.

Second Instrument:

Apply a modulation technique to the sounds produced by humming. You can achieve this through a chain of effects or by using the surrounding space as your modulation source.

Blend the sounds to either fill the room or create a more stripped atmosphere.

Introduce distinct sections, and incorporate complete silence between these sections.

Do it at least for 15 minutes

João Pimenta Gomes 12.09.2023