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DON'T LOOK (single)

by perf. Ava Mendoza, comp. John Dikeman

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Notes by the composer:

"Please sight read this piece.
Do not look at the following pages.
Print on double sided paper.
Ideally, you probably want to start playing
before turning this page.

This is the text on the cover page of the piece Don't Look and it contains the only important instruction: don't look at the material before you start recording it. When I wrote this piece I wanted to find a natural way to force different interpretations from each musician with a main focus on improvisation.

I wrote a piece, based on three simple motifs, however I wrote them in deliberately obtuse ways. Sometimes the notation is upside down or backwards, with staff lines disappearing out of nowhere. There are also footnotes written in random areas of the page which may or may not help the performer have an idea of what to play. None of this really matters though. I was most interested in hearing the process of each musician improvising while dealing with stimulus that didn't necessarily make any sense.

There are many composers who have written music which is so difficult it's impossible to play correctly, forcing the musicians to make choices about what aspects of the music they will focus on. However, usually they have time to study the piece to strategize and try to figure out what the composer intended. I wanted to hear this process in real time." --John Dikeman

credits

released April 2, 2021

Ava Mendoza- guitar
John Dikeman- composition

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Ava Mendoza New York

AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Her guitar work has received acclaim for its technique and viscerality. She is best known as leader of experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer on guitar/voice. Performing/recording credits include work with Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Malcolm Mooney, Mike Watt, Nels Cline, John Zorn, and Negativland. ... more

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