Aquasonic

For an underwater concert that allows the spectators to remain completely dry (except for the slight rain that fell during one morning’s performance), the experience is surprisingly immersive.

Few performances showcase how water transforms sound as powerfully as Between Music’s Aquasonic, and even the spectacular experience as an audience member fails to account for the multi-layered complexity of the show’s meticulously calibrated set (the aquariums must be installed and filled a minimum of 24 hours in advance to allow sufficient dissipation of the tiny air bubbles in the water). The percussionists must double as their own sound artists, manipulating the hydrophones in real time to catch the undulating sound waves of each instrument they play. The positioning of the instruments is also of paramount importance, as a reverberation a degree closer to the center changes the scale register. The instruments themselves took five years to craft, and the intricacy of playing in an ensemble whose other members are in their own separate aquariums is inescapably underestimated by those of us simply enjoying the show.

Compelled by curiosity, I signed up to attend their workshop in the city pool to learn how to sing underwater. Discovery: I cannot. The ability to emit sound at all, much less melodious sound, without letting air bubbles escape requires incredible skill (feel free to try this at home). The attempting and failing increased my awe of Laila Skovmand’s seemingly effortless and breathless vocalizing, as smooth as the silk she is wearing floats weightlessly in the water.

Attending an Aquasonic concert is akin to watching an otherworldly miracle flow through a wrinkle in our space-time continuum as we listen, transported to another dimension. – A. Street