I am a free-improv cellist. My art is about taking risks and putting myself in situations where I feel a powerful vulnerability. Nothing is ever planned, nothing ever written. Contrasts, deconstructions, juxtapositions, a constant search for new sounds and a strong pull towards unified propositions all fuel an approach that refuses binary opposition. My playing is based on the body: its limits and reflexes shape abstract scaffoldings of time while my breathing is at the core of every move. I am into sonic sensations-textures and complex structures in time. Inspired by my work with dance, I am a creator of relationships. My music is understood through the relationships I create between sounds, notes, gestures; relationships with the people I’m playing with (musicians, dancers, poets, etc.); relationships I create between people as an events organizer; relationships between odd music and queer identity. As a model for drawing classes, I consider posing (with or without the cello) as an extension of my practice in which I “hear” the poses and fill the room with my presence.
As a free-improv cellist who places corporality at the core of his process, my approach has been to play “from the inside out”. That is, sounds coming from within are materialized through the mediation of my body – moving, breathing, connecting with the room. For Naked State, I will explore a reverse process, playing “from the outside in”. I will use my body as sensor/amplifier of external stimuli that I then transform into sounds on the cello. The idea is to give up control, to use my body not as the “maker” but as the “transducer”. How will this be achieved? The wind might push and pull on the bow; the sun on my skin might create sound textures; passing of clouds might puncture rhythms; the feeling of the ground under my feet might bring unforeseen sounds forward. As I need to expose my body—every cell, every hair—to exterior stimuli in order for this “from the outside in” approach to work, I see Naked State as the perfect vehicle for this work. I thrive on collaboration. Outside my daily mind/space/time cello sessions, I hope to collaborate with other artists and arts. At the end of my stay, I will “perform the outside” for my peers and the public.
Free-improv cellist Rémy Bélanger de Beauport’s artistic practice as an experimental musician dates from his teenage years. Influenced by Stockhausen and Nirvana, his approach is based on the body, intuition and interaction, sound textures, and an intense focus on unfolding structures in time. Based in Québec City, Rémy earned degrees in composition, music theory and mathematics. He has recorded prolifically, and has played over 200 concerts in settings such as FIMAV in Victoriaville, and Kunst und Kultur Forum in Berlin. He performs alone and with others, from trios to the large ensembles of Ensemble SuperMusique, GGRIL, and the Berlin Improvisers’ Orchestra.
More on Rémy at RemyBelangerDeBeauport.com