LIsa DeGrace

I am a sound composer who creates spatial environments that express a ‘sonic perfume’ of people, land, and spirits.

My soundscapes are created from found sounds, MIDI and live instrumentation. My voice frequently calls over: inviting, ethereal, creepy, or guttural.

While my music is inexorably tied to my computer, I work to ensure that the roots remain analog, taking pleasure in the methodical creation of sounds. A field recording of a train-crossing bell, when brought down 42 semitones, is an amazing soothing pulse. I’ve created rattles from metal and plastic bullet casings found on hikes. I recorded the ever-present sound of rainwater dripping through a pipe in our rehearsal space. My cat’s purring is a lovely bass line. There is an intimacy to this process that unconsciously impacts the listener.

A good deal of my work has been live performance collaboration with video and contemporary dancers, especially Butoh. I am drawn to the call and response between sound and movement. My work has strong improvisational muscles, sitting on a skeletal score, allowing breath and conversation between the dancer or video and my sound. Since 2020, I have additionally focused efforts on solo sound projects that address ancestors, death, grieving, and memory. Current projects include:

• AT HOME WITH YOUR DEATH, a series of soundscape remembrances of people who have died as described to me by the people who loved them.

• ARTIFACT, a series of meditative video/sound installations that capture the geological-time-essence of landscapes in sound, light, and time.

• THE ELDER PORTAL, a large-scale project to create a stronger connection to elders/spirits who have died through performance and installation pieces.