Vocalist Amy X Neuburg performs Six Little Stains for solo voice and electronics (2002) at Other Minds 9 at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 2003. You can purchase the studio version of this music on the Other Minds label, http://www.otherminds.org/shtml/Residue.shtml.

Every Little Stain
Stone
My God
The Tattoo Song
Finally Black
Residue

Amy X Neuburg, vocalist

These songs constitute a sampling of the solo repertoire I've been developing over the past two years. They were created as individual works, not as a "cycle," which means you're allowed to clap after each one. Much of my music is loop-based; single vocal lines are "overdubbed" to build up a chorus of harmonies. In performance I use twelve
touch-sensitive drum pads, both to bang out rhythmic accompaniment and to send instructions to my equipment-to start and stop recording a loop, for instance, or to control my digital mixer. The foot pedals can function similarly or can change instrument set-ups between songs or sections. In some cases my actions also control the stage lights.

I'm often asked about my composition process and to what extent the technology dictates the music. I always keep in mind the capabilities of my instruments while composing, but before even entering the studio I'll usually formulate an entire song in my head: lyrics, melody, accompanying vocal or instrumental texture, and the function of each drum pad and pedal. I may then spend hours, days or weeks creating samples, programming synth sounds, programming each pad in one or more drum "kits," and choreographing the performance actions. While I'm fascinated by the ever-growing possibilities of music technology and am not indifferent to its coolness factor, my attraction lies primarily in its expressive potential; "Here is what I'd like to say" is more important than "Look what my gadgets can do." In keeping with this more intimate approach, it is important that on stage I "perform" the technology and let the audience see the process, rather than rely on pre-recorded sequences.
Amy X Neuburg

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