Grimes’ breakout album Visions is already a sonic masterpiece of mysterious, swirling synths and bouncy beats; it may as well be a classical work of art. But now, 13 composers are looking to give the 2012 LP a classical makeover for an acoustic ensemble. Montreal-based group Plumes commissioned said composers to recreate songs like “Oblivion” and “Genesis” and will perform the reworked 13 tracks over a series of concerts called “Many Visions: Plumes Deconstructs the Music of Grimes” from March 10 through March 21 in Canada.
“We wanted to see how we could bridge the gap between popular and classical music — we have a suspicion it’s smaller than people think,” Luke Nickel, who works with Plumes, told MusicWorks. “We want to think about interpretation and rearrangement, not only in terms of musical material but also in terms of the spirit of an artist. That led us to Grimes, whose DIY attitude seems to resonate across genres.”
As for how Grimes’ programmed drum kits and layered ethereal vocals will translate to classical guitar, harp, violin and more, it seems like Plumes had their work set out for them.
“Plumes is primarily acoustic so the idea of translating that sound world for a chamber ensemble using unamplified instruments was really challenging but also interesting,” told Monica Pearce told NOW Magazine. “Plumes have a harpist and I had written for harp before. Since they don’t have a percussionist, I ended up using the harp as the beat-making part, so the harpist plays the body of the instrument to get the percussion aspect of it.”
If you’re interested in checking out the shows, here are the dates:
03/10 — Montreal, Quebec @ Rocket Science Room
03/11 — Toronto, Ontario @ The Music Gallery
03/12 — Hamilton, Ontario @ The Casbah
03/13 — Windsor, Ontario @ University of Windsor
03/15 — Guelph, Ontario @ University of Guelph
03/16 — Kitchener, Ontario @ Wilfrid Laurier University
03/17 — Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Cluster Festival
03/18 — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Village Guitar & Amp Co
03/21 — Vancouver, British Columbia @ Music on Main
