Frequencies

Live-streamed as part of Pi Theatre’s Provocateur Series
No more performances

Posted February 21, 2021

In a word, trippy, like a Physics 200 lecture on acid.

In the words of Aaron Collier, solo performer and co-creator (with Francesca Ekwuyasi and Stewart Legere):

“In early 2018 I was writing techno music that was based on the frequencies of nature. I set out to create music that would give me access to new perspectives. I would get curious about some kind of natural phenomenon that occurs in milliseconds or over millennia and then work to manifest it as music. The music I was making ended up being about time and perspective, two things that most of us can agree have changed greatly in our lives. I wanted to find ways to see the world differently, and I did. I discovered a lot. I discovered the music the earth plays over millions of years, I discovered the harmonious relationship of the planetary orbits in our solar systems, and I discovered how a bee might experience time. What I didn’t expect to discover was an unanswered question I’ve had since childhood, and a desire to finally seek the answer.”

The mystery at the heart of Frequencies is the death of Collier’s older brother David who was tragically killed when he was an adolescent. Collier was too young to know David (or perhaps not yet born) but his death left behind a dark hole in the heart of the family. David’s death was never discussed and Collier grew up with a “sad place” in his soul – a sad place he doesn’t clearly understand but that comes out in his music.

Collier goes off on a myriad of tangents – all interesting and full of fascinating detail. Consider the life of a bee, two hundred times shorter than a human life. But, to the bee, is that experienced as a whole life? Or think about the harmonious sound of the planets circling the sun; consider the sounds we can hear and those we can’t – although sound is being made.

Woven throughout Collier’s story is his music, his relationship with his lover, Richie, and the eventual healing of his family. As it is in Collier’s life, family is Frequencies’ touchstone.

A world premiere produced by Halifax’s Heist and presented by Pi Theatre, Frequencies is dreamlike and meditative. A trip.

 

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