Zeena Parkins

Zeena Parkins, multi-instrumentalist, improvisor and composer, is a leading light in European and North American 'other music' circles. A frequent guest of Festivals covering the broadest spectrum of musical activity, she is not only one of the pioneers of the electric harp, but a composer with a unique vision of how to meld acoustic and electronic processes, in pieces such as Isabelle, Pan-Acousticon, Mouth=Maul¾trayer and VOU-Valley of Unrest.

Zeena has performed and or recorded with (among others) John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Butch Morris, Jim O'Rourke, Elliott Sharp, Fred Frith, Lee Renaldo, Nels Cline and Pauline Oliveros. Her last solo record, No Way Back, has completely re-defined the possibilites of harp in contemporary music. Recent collaborations include scores for choreographers Neil Greenberg, Emmanuelle Vo-Dinh, Jennifer Lacey and video artist Janene Higgins.

“$Shot, an evening length performance/installtion is an ongoing collaboration with choreographer Jennifer Lacey, visual artist Nadia Lauro and composer Zeena Parkins.
    Conceived by Lacey, $Shot probes the nature of physical expression and the images it generates. Lacey explores [exploits] [examines] the relationship between the aquisitve sexual gaze and the comtemplative gaze.
    Lauro's set uses gigantic, slickly shiny and slippery tiles for a floor. The flooring consists of neatly fitted, clear plastic panels filled with about an inch of milky-white liquid. The walls surrounding this floor are covered with a faux wood paneling. Cushions and clogs are strewn haphazardly in this set, used at various times by the dancers.
My sonic environment is generated live from a work-table just outside this strange room. Using a tamboura, a CZ101,Memory Moog, pulsing sine/square wave generators, filters, ring- modulators, delays, leather, plastics [of all varieties] , ropes, belts, broken records and rocks, I contribute to the thick luxurious atmosphere and decadent humor of the piece. Aided by mulitple speakers, surrounding the audience, [double stereo], I can tint, and on a few occasions assault, the room with my sounds.”