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High Voltage Wires

Early Features & Airplay from WKCR, a Jazz Noise, dublab, WPR, Mana'o Radio, and Clean Nice Quiet

High Voltage Wires (by Dr. Sal Brancato!) is the energetic debut single of electroacoustic duo Persephone & the Phoenix. With a genre-bending groove that’s both electric and eclectic — lavishly layered with synths, samples, extended techniques, and a quirky homage to orthodontia — Teagan Faran & Nicole Brancato transform their violin / prepared piano duo into a fantastical dance party.

Persephone
& the
Phoenix

crafting curiosity through electroacoustic experimentation

"equal parts playful as profound"

— Calvin Hu, culture critic

about

The NYC-based duo Persephone & the Phoenix taps into the synergy between composition, curation, and curiosity by expanding the boundaries of genre, stage, and storytelling.Together, the extensive credits of Nicole Brancato, keys, and Teagan Faran, strings, include Guggenheim Museum and Lincoln Center (NYC), Bellas Artes Centro Cultural (Mexico), The Fulbright Program (Argentina), and the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C).

Performance

The duo's performance credits range from the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Canada) and the 2023 Re:Sound Festival (Cleveland) to Columbia University and Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre (NYC).

Curation

P&tP is committed to serving their audiences through multiple senses. Their most recent installation, 9 Ways to Destroy a Violin, features visual arts, theatrical performances, and culinary pairings.

Education

Frequent guest presenters of workshops, masterclasses, lectures, and residencies, Nicole and Teagan have presented at the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg (Germany), Indiana University, and the Sphinx Organization.

9 Ways to Destroy a Violin

Repurposing discarded violins past the point of repair, the multi-instrumental duo explores social issues of value and conservation in nine multimedia miniatures, ranging from live performance, immersive video, and hands-on audience interactions.

Each experience consists of prepared violin/piano scoring inspired by deep listening, utilizing improvisational frameworks while stretching the sonic potential of each salvaged instrument.

Fire in which we Burn

Structured into 5 seamless movements and introduced via a poetic prelude, Fire in which we Burn is a boundary-breaking evening that combines electro-acoustic improvisation, theater, and live processed visuals. The 45-minute piece explores the full spectrum of emotion and sound, including the most intimate and barely audible as well as the raw and cathartic.

Using the life cycle of fire as its narrative, the immersive performance takes the audience into the creative process. From the initial plugging in of instruments to the costuming of performers, and from live-processed sounds and visuals to the gradual addition of new sonic worlds, the audience gets to hear and see the performers build a piece of music in the moment.

With music inspired by bird song, reggaeton, and deep listening, Fire in which we Burn traces a powerful emotional arc from the fire and struggle of our present moment through hope and resilience to continuous renewal.