alone-a
alone-a is my solo exploratory sonic project. It explores the limits of memory and moment through vast tapestries of voice, digital delays, and densely rich signal processing.
Every audible sound that is generated comes only from my voice, transformed through an ever-evolving Max/MSP instrument to surprising, chaotic, and ecstatic ends.
No two performances can ever be the same. Every environmental factor from the size, shape, and dimensions of the space, the sounds, bodies, and presence of the audience, and the peculiarities of the involved circuitry influence the emergent output of sound, centering the community of listeners at the core of the practice.
Photo: Blake Nellis
Tamarack Land Co-op
In 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.
This footage captures a live performance held for Tamarack residents and invited guests on October 21st, 2023.
Video: Michael Wellvang
Envelop Deep Listening Series
Recorded live on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at Mirror Lab in Minneapolis
Video: Charles Hainsworth
Drone Not Drones 2023
A benefit for Doctors Without Borders, Drone Not Drones brings together 50+ musicians from across the musical spectrum for a continuous 28 hours of drone music. One set flows seamlessly into the next, overlapping with the sound from the previous act at the beginning and end of any individual performance.
In 2024, I performed at 7:00am, the final act before the sun rose, to dreamy crowd tucked into sleeping bags. The result is one of my favorite live performances ever.
Recorded live at The Cedar Cultural Center on January 25, 2023.
Elapse
I’ve recently been experimenting with using the arpeggiator function on my keyboard controller, and figuring out how it can work within my set. 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)
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
An excerpt from a longer improvised piece. Headphones recommended.
Recorded at home on June 17, 2019.