October 2003Interview by John Perry of CKDUAnnouncer: "A music studio the size of a closet which doubles as a bedroom. Sound a little tight? Well, it is. That's where musician Rod Marquart is preparing to bring his newest music venture to Fredericton. It's called 'FREAKY SCENE', an electronic cyber-punk project in which he takes a critical look at technology and computers. Radio Room reporter John Perry caught up with Marquart at his studio." John Perry: "...sitting beside a keyboard under a mess of cables, Rod Marquart is staring into his computer. His studio bedroom is filled with music equipment, scattered bedsheets and boxes. He is mixing tracks for his latest music project called "FREAKY SCENE". As an artist Marquart uses computers to compose his sounds. Behind the sounds is a message that takes a critical look at technology and culture." Rod Marquart: "...I find technology to be a double edged sword and it's kind of boxing people in, I'm finding. It's a strange insidious process and so we're putting a big question mark on technology." John P: ".. The FREAKY SCENE project relies heavily on computer generated sounds. Technology, it seems, is at the center of Marquart's music. In fact, Marquart's distorted voice depends on the use of technology." <'BREAKDOWN' CLIP> "How does Marquart feel about his real voice?" Rod M: "..I despise it as much as the next man. John P: "Using multi-track software, Marquart is able to distort, loop and layer various sounds in his computer. " Rod M: "Creating experimental music actually involves intense editing and you're just taking tiny pieces of it sometimes and looping it in other machines within your computer. The technology is there to do anything to any sound that you can imagine." John P: "Last Saturday, Freaky Scene played for the first time at the Halifax Experimental Music Festival. Marquart was joined by two other performers, Hip Hop artist PIMP-T and dancer Shantell Powell. During the show PIMP-T shouted his rhymes and squared off in a dance competition with Powell." Rod M: "It was fun to just play with concepts and ideas, and enhance and embellish the music through antics, schticks, ....a little slapstick here, a little baseball bat there." John P: "That's right, a baseball bat. At the very end of the FREAKY SCENE set, Marquart smashed the computer with a baseball bat and PIMP-T chopped it up with a hatchet." Rod M: "It was my debut destruction of such a machines and I relished every single stroke." John P: "So why destroy a computer? Well it all goes back to FREAKY SCENE's disdain for technology." Rod M: " Well, for one thing, you can be certain that everyone the audience, in their home, has a computer. You can also rest assured that every individual, at some point, got seriously pissed off at their computer. Probably on several occasions. When you become dependant on it and it doesn't work, it drives people insane. I understand that there was quite a bit of shrapnel going into the audience. ...a shriek or two. I was quite amazed how many keys were crushed and strewn all over the establishment from that little keyboard. John P: " Marquart stresses that FREAKY SCENE antics like these shouldn't be taken too seriously." Rod M: " You have to have fun while you're doing it. In life there is always an element of humour, or there should be. There should be lot's of it. Laughing is good for your health." John P: " He says that technology is not altogether bad. Sitting at his computer, Marquart is busy preparing for the next FREAKY SCENE show in Fredericton. He performs with PimpT and Shantell Powell this Saturday at the Elks Club." Rod M: " You don't have to worry. Even though it's a freaky scene, we try our best to shield the audience from the shrapnel. I hope that nobody gets hurt in Fredericton." John P:" For the Radio Room, this is John Perry, in Halifax." |