Audiences are invited to experience a brand-new monthly sound series, Untethered, curated by local, avant-garde/experimental musical duo Okapi. Performances of music free from amplifiers and electronics will be held on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Revolve.
Okapi. Photo by Steve Miller
On May 8, the musicians performing will be Sally Anne Morgan, Orches Limita and Okapi. Okapi, featuring upright bassist/vocalist Scott Mitchell Gorski and cellist Lindsey Paige Miller, will debut pieces from a new body of work employing harmonium, cello and voice. “As an ode to Southern Appalachia, these songs explore traditional ‘murder ballad’ themes and other folk elements through personal interpretation and contemporary lenses,” says Gorski. “Each piece illustrates a distinctive story explicitly depicting mankind’s complex, corrupt and unavoidably tethered relationship to the divine feminine of nature, which, due to his harmful ignorance, disrespect and exploitation of her natural resources, inevitably results in his unmerciful demise.”
The series will encompass a diversity of genres. “At its core, we plan on hosting anything acoustic that sounds interesting or unique and highlights the breadth of talent in WNC,” says Gorski. “This may range from more obscure singer-songwriters to avant-folk music, jazz, classical and experimental noise-makers whose instruments are found objects.”
Untethered seeks to highlight the craft in musical performances and to break down barriers between audiences and musicians. “We exist in a world of immediacy, convenience, surface-level interaction and digitally-driven AI entertainment,” Gorski says, “where all that makes us conscious, unique and empathetic is threatened. With this series, we aim to combat these elements by featuring eclectic acoustic music that captures our more profound means of emotional expression, more closely resembles our humanness, represents our freedom from external dependency and organically demonstrates our individual creativity. We value these marginalized characteristics in art, so we hope to inspire others to appreciate them, as well.”
Each performance will showcase three musicians and offer a meaningful and thought-provoking experience. “There are so many different types of musicians in our region to appreciate, and we aim to curate bills that feature their various approaches each month,” says Gorski. “Not only do we want to challenge audiences to open themselves up to something new sonically but to also have these talented artists challenge themselves by momentarily setting aside any electronic tools they may use for performance to generate something more organic and ‘untethered.’ We believe that what we’re doing is rare and necessary, given our dependency on technology and our growing detachment from others and ourselves.”
The arts, Gorski adds, are a means of “universal expression” and an “essential language” for humankind. “They help us confront our challenges and endure our suffering,” he says, “to (hopefully) become more empathetic and healthy creatures, who treat others and our surroundings with greater care, attention and respect, in order to better cope with any hurdles that may lie ahead.”
Revolve is located in RAMP Studios, 821 Riverside Drive, #179, Asheville. Learn more and find out about upcoming shows at OkapiDuo.com. Admission to shows is on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested donation of $10.
