alone-a

alone-a is my solo sonic project. It explores memory and moment through tapestries of voice, digital delays, and signal processing. Every sound comes from my voice, transformed through an ever-evolving Max/MSP instrument to surprising, chaotic, and ecstatic ends.

Liveness is at the heart of this project. The unique quirks of the instrument ensure that no two performances are ever the same—each is a distinct moment shared with listeners in the room.

I was honored to receive the 2022 Minnesota Music Creator Award from the American Composers Forum.

“She creates choir-like harmonies with sinister undertones like a chamber of echoes... The echo takes the voice, repeats, and returns the voice to itself as different, as other.”

— Livy Snyder, Sixty Inches from Center

EXP/VOX (2024)

EXP/VOX, organized by Anna Johnson at TriTriangle as an exploration of the voice, featured alone-a along with Anna Johnson, Paige Naylor, Maya Nguyen, and maoϴ.

Livy Snyder wrote a review of the performance for Sixty Inches from Center. You can read it here.

Video: Anna Johnson

Video of my performance starts at 8:04.

Tamarack Land Co-op (2023)

I collaborated with experimental filmmaker Michael Wellvang, who explores early internet-era aesthetics using found video as well as his own footage shot on first-generation digital cameras. Over the course of several months, we crafted a series of visuals to accompany alone-a. Our collaboration culminated in a residency at Tamarack Land Co-op, where we installed TVs throughout their chapel.

Video: Michael Wellvang

Envelop Deep Listening Series (2023)

Recorded live on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at Mirror Lab in Minneapolis

Video: Charles Hainsworth

Elapse (2022)

An experiment using the arpeggiator function on my Arturia Keystep. With how the alone-a instrument is set up, the insistent beat of the arpeggiator can only exist when I am singing. My voice, and the limits of my breath support, become a parameter in themselves.

An excerpt from a longer improvised piece recorded at home on December 16, 2022.

Untitled (Living Room) (2022)

Trio improvisation featuring alone-a. Headphones recommended.

A. Horton: Max/MSP, Voice
M. Stahlmann: ECB+, Osc., Sampler
W. Statler: Drum, FM, Voice
P. Marschke: Engineer

Recorded live to tape on May 19, 2022

Lament (2019)

An excerpt from a longer improvised piece. Headphones recommended.

Recorded at home on June 17, 2019.