Threnody

Overview

In Threnody (2016), Webb explores tonality, virtuosity and authorship through the transformation of a pop song. He isolated Paul McCartney’s vocals from The Beatles’ proto-heavy metal track Helter Skelter (1968) and then reversed the recording to create a backwards speech set adrift from its musical accompaniment. This sonic artefact was scrutinised and then used to guide vocalist Zami Mdingi’s singing. Webb worked with Mdingi and ethnomusicologist Cara Stacey to transcribe the inverted phonetics, melodies and lyrics—occasionally reimagining new words in an isiXhosa framework to accentuate Mdingi’s articulation. The collective rearrangement of the music produced a glossolalic lamentation quite opposite to the tumultuous hedonism of McCartney’s original. The new musical arrangement is broadcast from a series of speakers concealed by a black, circular canvas that is backlit, visually echoing an eclipse.

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 13.