Earsthetic: Mira Calix – The Sun Is The Queen Of Torches

Mira Calix, the South Africa-born maverick performer signed to cult electronic label Warp, opened Earsthetic, the week-long celebration of the interplay between music and art. Embodying the season’s ethos of multidisciplinary creativity, Calix’s trio blended contemporary dance with violin and avant-garde beats, telling what was apparently some Dante-esque folk tale of an angel falling from the light into shadowy depths. Whilst Calix herself ripped a screen apart to form a kind of incrementally infernal light sculpture, Daniel Pioro’s violin shrieked above distorted, squalling samples and Ella Robson Guilfoyle’s convulsing body. An unique experience, the piece’s stormy climax was a masterclass in controlled chaos.

Studio Theatre, Brighton Dome, 10 December 2013

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