Pamelia Kurstin
Visionary electronics pioneer Bob Moog called Pamelia, “one of the most important innovators of the theremin living today,” and her unique talent has been captured both on recordings and in live performances by a wide spectrum of outstanding artists, including David Byrne, John Zorn, Foetus, Sebastien Tellier, and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Recently, Pamelia was featured in the documentary Moog (2004), where she was shown giving a casual theremin lesson over a glass of wine to Mr. Moog and later delivering a riveting solo theremin performance at a Moogfest in New York City. Currently Pamelia is living in Europe, performing throughout Europe and the United States promoting her debut solo album “ Thinking Out Loud” just released by John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Pamelia has taught and lectured at Berklee College of Music and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Conservatory, and she has given private lessons to numerous aspiring thereminists throughout Europe and the U.S.
Before her career as a professional thereminist, Pamelia had already established herself as a sought after contrabass player since the age of 18, performing, recording and touring with the avant-punk group ‘Geggy Tah’ (Luaka Bop) and also in the Los Angeles jazz scene performing alongside notable artists such as Arthur Blythe (of Chicago Art Ensemble), Gerry Gibbs’ Thrasher project ( including Brad Mehldau and Billy Childs). In the fall of 1997, she was introduced to the theremin and as soon as two months later, Pamelia had already begun performing live as well as recording sessions with Matthew Sweet and the Indigo Girls. That winter, Steven Martin (director of the documentary “Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey”) invited Pamelia to New York to meet and perform for the first virtuosa of the theremin, Clara Rockmore, who had also given Pamelia critical acclaim. One of her popular innovations for the theremin is her unique “walking bass” technique and jazz soloing. Another is her “Theremin-Orchestra” live Improvisations.
“Theremin-Orchestra” is the name Pamelia gives her solo performances. These pieces are complex improvisations using live loops in which she builds, and slowly transforms, multiple layers of harmonies.
These fragments that she creates range widely (and can shift quickly) from beautiful, almost pre-Baroque melodic lines to abstract, distorted blocks of noise full of dissonance. These solo performances often contain a great deal of tension between lyrical and dissonant voice-leading, which only gets resolved towards the end when so many layers have been added that the sound mirrors an orchestra in both power and harmonic depth. After years of intensive performance, Pamelia has developed an extraordinarily diverse repertoire of playing styles with the theremin. Besides her solo performances she improvises with a variety of jazz and electronic musicians, performs classical recitals or as guest soloist with ensembles such as the Wiener Musikverein’s Kontrapunkt Ensemble and XX. Jahrhundert Ensemble (A), and tours often with the pioneering cabaret-punk band Barbez (US) in both the U.S. and Europe.
The theremin is one of the first electronic musical instruments invented around 1919 by Russian physicist, Leon Theremin. It is the only instrument that is played without physical contact. The sound can be similar to a voice or a string instrument, and is most commonly recognized by its use as a sound effect in the old sci-fi horror movies of the 1950s, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still. Pamelia discovered the theremin and its unique and strange history from the excellent documentary by Steven Martin, “Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey.” It’s a good place to start for those interested in this unique instrument.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/pameliakurstin
Website of Barbez: http://www.barbez.com