In recent years, conceptual electronic music has come a long way, with young artists using their tweaked computers to rearrange traditional sounds. But it's often a lonely business, with laptop jocks building this nascent genre mostly alone, in home studios.
But the FIU Laptop Ensemble reveals the music to be more than just a solitary pursuit. Directed by Brooklyn-based composer Paula Matthusen, the five members of the company use their laptops in unison to create impromptu minisymphonies. These hypnotic compositions depend on the simultaneous improvisation of all group members, making for a fascinating, unpredictable listening experience.
For the second half of Saturday's show at Harold Golen Gallery, New York City composer Sam Pluta will hook up his laptop to traditional instruments and create strange, new hybrid sounds. It's as far as you can get from mainstream electronic music, and after the recent onslaught of Winter Music Conference, a night of soothing computer clicks seems like an excellent idea
