London’s Eternal Series is a relatively new addition to the city’s contemporary and experimental music scene. Curated by Sasha Elina, who originally founded the series in Moscow in 2014, the program offers a space for limitless experimentation and tenderness, bridging the gap between multiple forms of artistic expression. This month’s iteration of Eternal Series featured sets from the duo of Irish composer Timothy Cape and violinist Mayah Kadish and interdisciplinary artist Ecka Mordecai at Central London’s Swiss Church on March 11th.
Built on years of collaboration, Cape and Kadish’s set explored improvised and dissonant spaces, beginning their performance with a co-composition, ‘The Pull,’ seated opposite each other with instruments in their laps: a guitar for Cape and violin for Kadish. Connected by a single thread woven through their fretboards, each pulled the thread in circular motions, creating fragile and washy sounds.
The ritualistic repetition of their bodily movements enhanced the sound coming from the string itself, cultivating a deeper timbre only as a result of shifting hand pressure. Their synchronicity was tested when Kadish ultimately got up and walked towards the center of the room. Cape continued to pull the thread through the strings of Kadish’s violin, controlling the music in a way that was mesmerizing to see and hear.
‘Flindling (by me, feat. Both of us improvising),’ their second piece, was an improv-based work by Cape, moving from a delicate ambient space into loud, bird-like vocalisations. Thick, responsive brushes and col legno bowing from Kadish moved into long meditations on individual notes, allowing Cape to form words, sentences, and frustrated repetition of syllables.
The piece was wild and raucous in its structure and performance, nearly tricking you into thinking the story could end but Cape and Kadish reeling us in for more. It was clear we listeners were in the company of performers who listened deeply to one another, allowing them to create bold, uninhibited work that borders between theatrical and noise. The duo closed out with ‘Bloodstone, by Mayah,’ a piece for violin and electronics by Kadish, featuring stiff overpressure along the violin’s bridge that expanded into breathy, blurred lines between the instrument and the electronic filtered effect.
Ecka Mordecai’s set brought us back to the idea of ritual that opened the concert; but this time through the world of scent. The audience was greeted with small yellow mimosas, an essential oil diffuser, and a cello at the center of the room. Mordecai paced around the middle aisle in sync with hollow pulses, lifting a bundle of flowers along with a bottle that she sprayed towards the back and front of the room. The scent was gentle, creating a dream-like state as she lay down the flowers and grabbed small speakers, swung rapidly on their fabric handles as she paced down the aisle.
Small, hypnotic waves were created as they moved through the air, almost blending into Mordecai’s eventual reach for the cello. Even moving from swinging speakers to cello involved a sort of ritual towards getting there. Each element of performance – from object to sound; from soft hums alongside deep and airy pizzicati to folk-like strums and swaying melodies – was easy to get lost within, a beautiful testament to Mordecai’s captivating performance.
Eternal Series was carefully executed and beautifully curated. It facilitated an openness between performers and audience members that is tough to find in London. Ultimately, Cape, Kadish, and Mordecai urged us toward creating a space that is eternal: where we may always hone our own artistic work; where we may also find a community. This series gives hope to the future of London’s music scene.
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