by Lacy Asbill
Fall 1999
Background:
Laetitia Sonami was born in France in 1957 and settled in the United States in 1975 to pursue her in terest in the growing field of electronic music. She synthesizes advanced technology, original music, and narrative into an intimate, spontaneous art form all her own. She is best known for her unique instrument, the elbow-length "lady's glove”, made out of black lycra, that she plays live onstage, which is embedded with pressure and motion sensors that control electronic sounds. In the last several years, her performances have earned her substantial international renown; in 1997 alone she has p erformed at the Berlin-Musikerinnen Festival, the Lincoln Center Outdoor Performance Series, New York's Kitchen and Bang on a Can Festival, Le Garage in Paris, as well as in Amsterdam, Zurich, and Quebec. In 1996, she was featured in the American Embassy' s Interlink Festival in Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, and Sapporo, as well as in performances in Berlin, Barcelona, Vancouver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Sonami was a featured performer at the Opening Night concert at San Francisco's Center for the Arts at Ye rba Buena Gardens in 1993. In January of 1997, the New York Times described Sonami as "a human antenna searching the air for sounds, like a dancer focused on her hands, or like a deity summoning earth-shaking rumbles with a brusque gesture."
What people, events, and works of art and literature have influenced Laetitia?
Eliane Radigue, a French composer, is the root of Laetitia’s two main occupations: the composition of electronic music and the practice of Tibetan Buddhism. Radigue made it possible for Laetitia to study electronic music by allowing Laetitia to use her equipment at a time when there was very little access to this new technology, and when there was access, it was restricte d to musicians who came out of the conservatory. Radigue also introduced her to American composers who could offer her more opportunities to learn about electronic music. Also, Radigue strengthened Laetitiaís budding interest in Tibetan Buddhism, a religion that still guides Laetitia’s life. Among the works that influenced her, there is David Tudor’s installation “Rainforest”, which Laetitia heard as an eighteen-year-old in Paris. This installation “really baffled” her ; she says that it has stayed at the back of her mind all of these years because she has yet to figure it out completely. Coming to the United States in the seventies, Laetitia was influenced by Robert Ashley and David Berhman of the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music. She describes Ashley as “encouraging, inspiring and charismatic,”and enjoyed the highly creative environment that both he and David fostered at Mills, a contrast from the more tightly controlled music centers existing in France at the time. Laetitia credits their influences with the statement that “most of their students are still active in composition today.”
In what way is her music a reflection of her personal philosophy?
Laetitia incorporates many religious concepts into her composition. “Music is the closest expression to the Buddhist concept of impermanence, it is the one of the most direct ways to experience what I believe in.” Emptiness is another important concept in Tibetan Buddhism, for out of emptiness anything can arise. Laetitia links this concept to technology, because technology was a human creation which continues to evolve out of vacuity. She says, “people place their dreams in machines, like they used to in old rituals.”
What features of her music does she see as uniquely hers?
Laetitia has “a fascination with technology.” She uses the tools of the time, and has no curiosity for old instru ments or technology. She says, “I have no interest in writing for the piano. That has been done.” However, keeping up with technology does not mean that she ignores the sensual, intuitive side of music. Weaving technology in a sensitive environm ent is part of what makes her music so unique and striking.
How has being a woman affected her composition?
Disassociating womanhood strictly from composition, Laetitia says a woman is who she is, and since her music is directly tied to her personal experiences, it thus reflects consciously or unconsciously this basic condition. She observes that sometimes her music reflects wrathful states, probably a consequence of frustrations and obstacles that women encounter. As to her interest in electronic music, she states, “If I wasn’t a woman, I might not have been interested in technology. I was attracted to electronics because they were not part of my world.” Also, she believes that women approach tools dif ferently. While men like to show off their tools, women are more interested in what the tools can do.
What messages do her compositions carry? Are these messages personal, social, or political?
Laetitia states that he r messages are snapshots of her state of mind. She is not openly political or social in her compositions. She tells the story of women, creating music that allows listeners to look into others’ lives. Laetitia tries to make her stories “relevant to others’ realities,” and tries to move beyond her viewpoint into one that will reflect the listeners’ own experiences.
You may notice that her voice is often featured in your compositions. How is this significant?
“Music is storytelling,” says Laetitia. She describes her compositions as “sonic stories”. She goes on to explain that each composition is a snapshot, or a scene. The angles that are used are important. Laetitia uses pron ouns purposefully. She begins her piece “What Happened,” using the pronoun “I”. This gives the listener an opportunity to look into her life as a woman. In a new composition, Laetitia uses the pronoun “you” because she wants listener to feel that they are being inspected. Other times, she uses “we”, to create an alliance with the listener. These pronouns are the “angles” of viewpoint of the camera, which depicts the situation. These pronouns are effective because words are associated with meaning. However, she integrates the use of voice with other sounds, eventually switching completely to sound. This is done to show that sounds can tell the stories, as well. All the texts she has used in her compositions are written by Melody Sumner-Carnahan; their collaboration is now in its twentieth year. Melody’s style is very much a part of Laetitia’s music.
How have the changes in technology affected her music?
“ Completely!” Laetitia says that her music can not be disassociated with changes in technologyóthey are linked, like a marriage, for better or worse.
Has her musical style changed over the years?
Laetitia e xplains that her current music is bolder and stronger. She feels that her earlier works were “aspirations” of loftier ideas and dreams. Now that she is forty, she says that the clarity and frustration that comes with maturity is influencing her musical style. Her music can be “all over the map,” moving from one sound to another “without excuses”. Since she is older, she also feels that others are less likely to dismiss her ideas or her use of technology.
Wh at is her favorite piece that she has written?
Laetitia does not have a favorite piece. Since she feels that each of her works is reflective of her life at that point in time, to choose a favorite composition would mean that she was mer ely validating a certain time or event in her life. However, she says that it is easy to pick out the compositions that she does not like!