Newwave Multiformity and the Experimental: Phonica

Started in 2016, Phonica is a fresh take on combining the art of sound and words. Curated and hosted by Christodoulos Makris and Olesya Zdorovetska, it is a Dublin-based poetry and music night that has found a home in the Boys’ School of the Smock Alley Theatre. It is an event that casts its emphasis on newwave multiformity and the experimental.

As seen by the multitude of diverse acts during the latest event in this series Phonica: Nine on the 8th November, Phonica is a multidisciplinary performance series blurring the lines of sound, music, and poetry through improvisational layered sound textures and the creation of soundscapes.

Acts on the night were singer-songwriter Adrian Crowley, electronic music producer Ed Devane, poets Máighréad Medbh and Julie Morrissy, Iranian-Irish filmmaker Rouzbeh Rashidi and composer and musician Judith Ring

Highlights were the electronic one-woman-choir with just the accompaniment of a loop pedal, lacing together a symphony of layered sounds, the experimental cinematography and poetry and law presented side by side. Arts and politics charted the constellation of these acts.

Phonica leads the way in the exploration and presentation of new ideas, creating a space for performers, writers and musicians from multiple disciplines and across different art forms to converse in an environment conducive to collaborative enterprise and improvisation. Like nothing else in Dublin, it is a mixed bag event that may not be to everyone’s taste but is an event that must be commended for its new wave venture in the arts world.

Written by Melissa Ridge