{"id":8552,"date":"2024-06-01T08:59:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T13:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=8552"},"modified":"2024-11-13T16:42:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T22:42:52","slug":"physical-expression-steph-richards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/physical-expression-steph-richards\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Expression: A Conversation with Steph Richards on ‘Power Vibe’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Far too often, people perceive music as a solely auditory experience, something heard but which does not affect the rest of the listener’s body. The reality, however, is far more complex. One can physically feel the energy of acoustic waves. It is a large part of why the audibly impaired still appreciate music, even when they cannot technically hear it. Musical vibrations also have significant psychological and physiological benefits as well. Listening to music releases neurotransmitters and hormones that can trigger emotional reactions and memories. Musical therapy has built upon this base to provide relief to those suffering from anxiety, depression, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, and more. Despite all this, many generally understate the physical aspects of music. Seldom outside musical therapy are such elements discussed. Trumpeter Steph Richards, as most recently seen on Power Vibe<\/em> (Northern Spy, 2024), has been attempting to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing its name with a platform that applies high-speed vibrations to parts of the body to allow chiropractors to pinpoint sources of pain, Power Vibe<\/em> is an album built around sensory electronics. These electronics, controlled by Max Jaffe, are triggered not by other sounds but by physical movement. They are subtle additions to the otherwise quartet ensemble – Richards with pianist Joshua White, bassist Stomu Takeishi, and drummer Gerald Cleaver – but viscerally move the record to somewhere beyond merely something you can hear. Throughout Power Vibe<\/em>, one perceives they are experiencing something more than just a listening opportunity. The recording is consistently keeping the listener in motion. Hence, the urgent title track gives the listener the sensation of being thrown around the room. “Reculez” is much more subtle but feels like you are on a steadily rocking transport passing through changing terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richards has a unique take on the intersection between the audible and the physical, partly because of her own bodily struggles to make music. Health issues caused muscular freezing, requiring her to relearn how to play her instrument in ways that would not use the damaged muscles. However, her interest in the interdisciplinary explorations of the sensory elements of music predates such setbacks. Richards’ SUPERSENSE<\/em> (Northern Spy, 2020), honed in on the connection between smell and sound. Her duo record with White, Zephyr<\/em> (Relative Pitch, 2021), examined the relationship between visually observing water movement and hearing sound. The boldness of Richards’ expansive scope has made her not only a composer to watch but also a go to collaborator for many greats of improvised music, including Butch Morris, Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, and John Zorn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: Before this interview, you mentioned you were researching something about [Miles Davis\u2019] Bitches Brew <\/em>(Columbia, 1970). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steph Richards: Yeah, I teach a class on electric Miles. I wanted to dig into his whole electric period. My next lecture is on Bitches Brew<\/em>, so I was digging deep into the editing space for the record. It was so rad that Miles was into the idea of recording an almost free-flowing super-long session and remaking it into something else. It is something that many musicians do now, but it’s so cool to nerd out on the record’s actual timings and production aspects.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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