Full Spectrum is a sonic visual odyssey of sound and immersive visuals created by award-winning sound designer Anna Whitaker and experimental visual artist Riley Towers.
This creative collaboration is the first time both artists have worked together – with Anna creating lush electronic soundscapes accompanied by Riley’s mesmerising digital art collages. We sat down with both artists to unpack the ideas behind the project and how they both discovered their love for the arts…
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE SHOW
Anna Whitaker (AW): Eclectic, electrifying and experimental
Riley Towers (RT): Immersive sensory chaos
WHAT CAN AUDIENCES EXPECT?
AW: A night of chaos and peace, rawness and ethereality, a journey of experimentally explosive art and music. With live visuals, vocals, surround sound, and multiple projections – Full Spectrum is a collision of eccentricity and celebration.
RT: We’re gonna take you on a journey…we’re going to take you into our headspace as we bounce off each other creatively, and fill the space with sound, light, and colour.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A PERFORMER/CREATIVE?
AW: Loud, unapologetic, and ferocious as well as heartfelt, ethereal, and sensitive.
RT: Curious and experimental. I create with the expectation just to see what happens; I follow my intuition and share the results I like. I can also be a bit of an obsessive nerd, which is one of my main motivations for live programming.
WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY?
AW: Arca is one of my greatest inspirations as an artist. She engages in multidisciplinary performance art, driven by philosophy and political motivations. She is phenomenal at world-building in her music, through bound-defying genre collisions, and close and considered collaborations with visual artists. Her work paints intricate yet elaborate pictures in my mind when I listen, delving into new and unimagined worlds. I hope to be able to create such vivid imagery and world-building in my work as well.
RT: Right now I am super inspired by the artist Joe Boyd, who is passionate about sharing his creative process and always encouraging his audience to experiment and play.
HOW DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR LOVE FOR PERFORMING ARTS?
AW: I have been performing since I was 4 years old. I first started dancing, then learned violin and voice. I have always loved performing, and more specifically the intersections of music and other art forms.
RT: I love the transformative power of bringing people all together into one space to experience art together!
Full Spectrum premieres as part of Metro Arts’ One Night Stand series 15 February, at New Benner Theatre, West Village, West End.
