Annabelle Chvostek + Anna Friz
The Automated Prayer Machine
The radio is often a harbinger of bad news i.e. wars abroad, wars at home, hate-filled official speeches etc; and the listener response to this aural bombardment is often not one of action but depression, fear, and political apathy. The Automated Prayer Machine repositions radio as an antidote to despair. We create an expansive radiophonic sound environment by manipulating signals rebroadcast through a low-watt FM transmitter to multiple receivers in the audience. Digital video projection, live accordion, violin and voice complete the circuit, activating the metaphorical prayer machine.
Annabelle Chvostek
Annabelle Chvostek is a Montreal-based composer, videographer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Her audio creations range from abstract electroacoustics and sample- rich grooves to contemporary folk songs. She has created multi-media performances and soundscores for dance in New York City, Montreal and Toronto and has made award-winning short videos aired at festivals like Chicago's Geoconference and Vancouver's Edgewise Electrolit Videopoem Festival. Annabelle Chvostek tours North America incessantly as a singer/songwriter and her recent self-produced album "Water" has earned widespread critical acclaim.
Anna Friz
Anna Friz is a sound artist and radio pirate living in Montreal. She has presented installation and performance works incorporating low-watt FM transmission in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal, as well as at the Third Coast Audio Festival in Chicago, PS 122 in New York; Ars Electronica 2002; and at the Akademie der KŸnste, Berlin. She has produced numerous original radio works for Kunstradio, Austria, as well as for campus/community radio stations across Canada, and national radio in Canada, Austria, Denmark and Spain.