Betreff: Exploring anonymity, intimacy and estrangement in the COVID era
Datum: Fri, 16 Oct 2020 13:05:26 -0400
Von: Gord Dimitrieff <[email protected]>
Organisation: Aporia Records / Aporetic Music Publishing
16 October 2020
Aporia is proud to announce the launch of *Morgan Doctor*’s *STRANGERS*,
a telematic and transmedia art project that reimagines the traditional
definition of the ‘album’ together with the traditional role of the
‘record label.’ /Telematic/ art uses computer-mediated
telecommunications networks as the medium, while /transmedia/
storytelling is the technique of expressing an experience across
multiple platforms and formats using digital technologies.
*STRANGERS* is perhaps best described by Roy Ascott’s neologism
/Gesamtdatenwerk/, as outlined (with more than a small nod to Richard
Wagner) in his 1990 essay /“Is There Love in the Telematic Embrace?”/
In what now seems like a prescient depiction of the smartphone and
social media, Ascott foresaw the emergence of what he called the
“interpersonal computer,” suggesting “that we do not think, see, or feel
in isolation. Creativity is shared, authorship is distributed…” For
Ascott, this level of distant collaboration and unification is promoted
by the universal principle of love.
Recontextualized in the era of COVID, the question of love and the
telematic embrace is more relevant than ever. Distance has now become
the new normal, and our newly habituated physical habits estrange us
from even our dearest friends. Indeed, we speak to the very people who
gave us life via Zoom chats only, afraid that normal acts of affection
will result in severe illness. On the flip-side, once normal
interactions in every day life that could lead to life-long friendships
are a thing of the past, and strangers that might become friends, now
remain unknown to us.
We begin all relationships as strangers, and, despite forming intimate
connections, we leave many feeling as though, once again, we don’t know
each other. Or, we can form intimate connections with people whom we
don’t know at all and might never see again. We are all strangers in
this world, yet we have a deep capacity to connect.
*STRANGERS* explores the actions of connecting and disconnecting, and
the fragile boundary between intimacy and estrangement.
Presented within an introspective and enthralling environment that
combines music and images with the web, text message and voicemail,
participants are invited to leave a loving message for a complete
stranger. It might be an open letter to humanity, perhaps a confession,
or the verbalization of one's heart's desire. For every message
received, a machine-learning algorithm selects from the submissions of
previous participants, and performs an exchange — rewarding the
participant with their own special message from a stranger. Everything
is designed to be anonymous, creating a sense of intimacy among strangers.
Experience it yourself by visiting
https://morgandoctor.com/strangers/
*Morgan Doctor* herself is no stranger: she's a Juno and Dora nominated
performer perhaps best known as the drummer of one of the incarnations
of The Cliks. But she's equally known for collaborating with Andy Kim,
Jill Barber, Amanda Rheaume, Chantal Kreviazuk, Ron Sexsmith, Kevin
Drew, Alex Lifeson, Feist and others. Her session drumming can be heard
on countless TV and Film soundtracks and more albums than you can shake
a stick at. Strangers is her fourth studio album with Aporia.
--
Gord Dimitrieff
Aporia & Future Shock Records
Toronto | Los Angeles
T: +1 416-944-8034 | +1 213-423-0530
M: +1 416-835-5454
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