Ghost in the cell

AMPLIFIED CELLO, ELECTRONICS & FUTURO-REPTILIAN TRANCE
LIVE IN PROGRESS

Winner of the “V.O.” program in 2020, proposed by Art Zoyd Studios, Césaré CNCM in Reims, and La Muse en Circuit, CNCM in Alfortville, Pénélope Michel initiated a new “set in progress” centered around the cello, with a first step presented on November 4, 2021, at the Césaré Musical Creation Center in Reims during the “V.O. Voltage Overdrive” evening, alongside Lukasz Szalankiewicz, alias ZENIAL, and Romain Perrot, alias VOMIR.

In December 2022, a CD edition of the three projects was released, initiated by Art Zoyd Studio and mastered by Kasper Toplitz.

“As part of the ‘V.O.’ program, a residency for research and experimentation with RIM Oudom Southammavong at Art Zoyd Studios, followed by a concert at Césaré Musical Creation Center in Reims in November 2021, allowed me to inaugurate the first movement of a series of live performances where the cello is at the core of the composition, under the name Ghost in the Cell.

This title, freely borrowed from and adapted from the cyberpunk manga, refers to the framework in which the musical composition finds its constraint. The cello is amplified by a device that reacts to the vibrations of the instrument, and the transmitted sound circulates through effect networks with multiple pathways.

Through this setup, gesture becomes an integral part of the score and evokes the ‘reptilian memory’ I have of the instrument. Ghost in the Cell is a long-term project of composition for the cello in an electronic setup, where the modalities of sound emergence question the instrument’s heritage and its cultural projections.”— P.M.

(Live excerpt – December 2020 – Marché de Noël Électronique #1 – Art Zoyd)