Trajectories Live at Charlotte Street Arts Centre presented by Connexion ARC
This performance, recorded on April 19, 2024 in Fredericton, NB, Canada, was part of a series of audiovisual events in Canada, Denmark, and Sweden to share our recent works from Quiet on Kökar as well as some pieces from our debut album Blood & Breath. This particular performance was made possible through being invited to participate in Connexion ARC's 40th Anniversary Programming and the generosity of the Charlotte Street Arts Centre for providing the beautiful space to make this happen. Thanks so much to Counting on Downstairs and Emily Kennedy for also sharing their sounds on this bill. It was a beautiful evening in which many new friends were made.
"Quiet on Kökar" is an electroacoustic performance by Trajectories that was developed while attending the Åland Archipelago Guest Artist Residence program, held on Kökar, Åland, Finland. Created during the three-week residency in October 2023, the compositions are crafted from sounds collected on the island, reflecting on its ecology, human impact, and local life. This performance, rooted in the island's serene environment, offers a unique auditory exploration of Kökar's natural and cultural landscapes, emphasizing environmental awareness and the interplay between humans and nature.
Trajectories is an ensemble of electroacoustic composers and interdisciplinary artists based in Montréal and New Brunswick consisting of Charles Harding, Malte Leander, Connor Cook, and the late Michael Pinsonneault. The collective centers its exploration on a vast array of multi-disciplinary projects that delve into diverse and pertinent themes. Through a dynamic interplay of collaborative insights, the collective navigates and reflects upon contemporary issues, events, and research areas, with each member's unique perspective influencing the group's trajectory and vice versa.
Credits
Performance Trajectories, which includes Connor Cook, Malte Leander, and Charles Harding.
Thanks so much to Charlotte Street Arts Centre for hosting the event.
Thanks to Connexion ARC for organizing the event and presenting us as part of their 40th Anniversary Programming.
Video and Audio edited by Charles Harding.
Video recorded by Emily Kennedy, Emily Blair, Carter Boyle, Connor Cook, Malte Leander, Charles Harding.
Thanks to Kökar Hembygdsmuseum for the use of archival footage that was a part of the Trajectories performance.
Quiet on Kókar by Trajectories
The album Quiet on Kökar was conceived of during a recent artist residency undertaken on the small island of Kökar in the Åland Archipelago in Finland, experimenting with a variety of recording set-ups and collaborative compositional techniques, following ideas of the non-anthropocentric positioning of the artist, both at the time of recording, composing and performing.
The island of Kökar is a quiet and serene environment, located in the middle of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, amongst a grand archipelago called Åland that consists of thousands of tiny and large islands. This particular island is home to approximately 225 people who live in a place accessible exclusively by boat and helicopter. Kökar has a deep spiritual history; having been a point on the Nordic Pilgrimage route “St. Olav Waterway” since at least the 14th century. Small enough to walk across in a few hours, the island is fiercely exposed to the weather of the sea. At one point during the stay there was a record breaking wind storm that snapped trees and shook the house. It was a very humbling experience and served as a sobering reminder of the unstoppable forces of nature. Through visits to the Kökar museum and communication with residents of the island there were new lessons learned about the vulnerability of the island’s ecosystem as well as the dutiful efforts the community is taking to maintain conscious sustainability in daily life. Throughout its settled history the island has seen many cycles of abundance and scarcity connected to the amount of energy it takes to sustain human populations. The recognition of this vulnerability was ever present while engaging in creative processes during the 3 weeks of the residency.
Throughout the stay there were efforts made to document expeditions utilizing field recorders, hydrophones and various cameras to become immersed in the sights and sounds of Kökar. The aim was to nurture gradually emerging artistic themes surrounding the island's ecological and historical character and, as a result, engage in new work with personal meaning amplified by the island’s deeper context. Kökar revealed many things, sharing reminders of the fragility of ecosystems and the irrevocably intertwined connections between human and non-human agents in even the most remote environments, awareness of which will be carried forward into future Trajectories work.
Credits
Composed, arranged and mixed by Trajectories members Connor Cook, Malte Leander and Charles Harding
Mastered by Charles Harding
Album art by Connor Cook, original photo sourced from Kökar Hembygdsmuseum.
Thank you to the Åland Archipelago Guest Artist Residence and to Kökar Hembygdsmuseum.
We would like to thank and acknowledge the support of SOCAN Foundation for helping to make this project possible.
An important part of this process was the mentorship, guidance and creative input of the late Michael Pinsonneault, who was incredibly generous with his time and energy, and was an essential part of this group from its inception. Before we left for Kökar, we spoke at length with Michael about the blueprints for what a creative journey like this residency could lead to. We have lost our teacher, collaborator and friend and wherever he is now, we wish him the best, and will keep him in our hearts. The example Michael set will allow us to continue to create with presence, openness and curiosity, and we will do so in his honor. Rest in peace M.P.
Trajectories
Trajectories is an ensemble of electroacoustic composers and interdisciplinary artists based in Montréal and New Brunswick consisting of Charles Harding, Malte Leander, Connor Cook, and the late Michael Pinsonneault. The collective centers its exploration on a vast array of multi-disciplinary projects that delve into diverse and pertinent themes. Through a dynamic interplay of collaborative insights, the collective navigates and reflects upon contemporary issues, events, and research areas, with each member's unique perspective influencing the group's trajectory and vice versa.
In October 2023, Charles Harding, Connor Cook, and Malte Leander participated in the Åland Archipelago Guest Artist Residence program (Kökar, Åland, Finland), a transformative experience that led to the creation of "Live on Kökar," a series of captivating performance videos, and "Quiet on Kökar," an album of etudes released on February 9, 2024. This 3-week period of intense creativity and reflection also inspired an upcoming documentary short, chronicling their immersive engagement with Kökar's history, community, ecology, and environment. This exploration into Kökar's landscape and heritage has opened new avenues for their practice-based research, laying the groundwork for exciting developments in their artistic journey.