What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette C omposer and musician Anna Meredith built the foundation of her career through commissions for orchestras around the world. In 2016, she took a chance on her own work, releasing her debut album, "Varmints," and made waves with her genre-defying music. A pair of well-received EPs and continued compositional work kept Meredith busy until she dropped her sophomore effort, "FIBS," in October. Now, the artist Pitchfork calls "one of the most innovative minds in modern British music" kicks off her North American tour March 14 at the Momentary in Bentonville. Here, Meredith answered a few questions for What's Up! ahead of her visit. Q. Your second album, "FIBS," is described as "technicolor maximalism." What does "maximalism" mean to you as a composer? A. I feel like maximalism is one of those words that gets bandied about a bit, but no one (including me) is exactly sure what it means! I think it could mean music that shares some of the repeated pattern elements of minimalist music but amplified and exaggerated? I think I just try to write "strong" ideas in whatever shape that takes! Q. How did your background in working on commissions influence the ideas you wanted to present in your own work? A. Making "Varmints" felt like a real gamble in terms of having to turn down the commission work I was doing at that point and carve out time to make an album. But I do think my background as a composer totally informs the way I'm writing for these albums — all the tracks are notated on classical music notation software and all the detail goes into getting the musical ingredients and building blocks right at that stage before I do anything involving electronics. Going into making "FIBS," I used lots of the same approaches, but I think I felt more confident. Plus, I used more input from my amazing band, who are all brilliant players, and thinking about them really shaped specific moments in the album as I pictured what each person could do. Q. Your videos involve so much visual engagement — will we see that at the performance as well? And what do your best interactions with the audience look like? A. We do have visuals for our performance, designed by Ewan Jones Morris. We've tailored them to complement the tracks but hopefully not be too distracting as there's a lot of pretty amazing (mostly from my incredibly talented band mates!) playing going on! We've played together for quite a few years now and really enjoy working together, and I think something of that really comes through in our performance. I love it when audiences come with us on the journey of our set! When they're able to get lost in the energy and power of the louder stuff and then focus down for the quieter parts. I like to make it all as informal and chatty as possible, so hope it's a fun performance regardless! MARCH 8-14, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 11 FAQ Anna Meredith WHEN — 8 p.m. March 14 WHERE — The Momentary in Bentonville COST — $16-$20 INFO — 367-7500, themomentary. org, annameredith.com Three Minutes, Three Questions Musician Anna Meredith 3X3 "It's a special thing getting to play somewhere that feels brave and exciting," musician and composer Anna Meredith says of beginning her North American tour at Bentonville's new art space the Momentary. Meredith's innovative work straddles the worlds of contemporary classical, art pop, electronica and experimental rock. (Courtesy Photo/Gem Harris) Best Meat in NWA Deli Fresh Produce Areas Largest Selection of Natural Foods allENsFoodmarkEt.Com Open 7 days a week ButChErs oN duty Nightly uNtil 7pm 60 Sugar Creek Center • Bella Vista, AR 479-876-6190