Adrianne Munden-Dixon’s debut EP patterns and cycles features her own compositions and improvisations and uses electronics to heighten the shape-shifting qualities of the violin. She joins Classical Post to discuss the space in between composition and improvisation, the role of location in this album, the influence of fiddle playing on her work and more.

Between Composition And Improvisation

Anna Heflin: The album is comprised of your compositions and improvisations, may I ask which are the most improvisational and which are through-composed? Do the works sit somewhere in between the two?

Adrianne Munden-Dixon: In some ways Lazaretto was both the most composed and most improvised. I arranged the field recordings in Ableton ahead of time, programmed a pedal to trigger grain delay, and knew how I wanted to start and finish. However, unlike the other three tracks, this was the only take I did and there wasn’t any editing of the content after recording besides adjusting levels. Swimming, sinking, floating is probably the most through-composed of the four, with several recorded drafts that eventually grew into the version on the album.

The Violin’s Shape-Shifting Abilities

AH: What is technically happening in “boreal” to make the violin sound like it’s being filtered through a bell/wind-chimes?

AMD: I used an effect in Ableton called corpus (specifically on the “plate” setting). String instruments have incredible shape-shifting capabilities, there are so many possibilities of sounds and they can each seem like an entirely different instrument, think “what’s the difference between a violin and fiddle?”: the way it’s played. This is one of the reasons why I love working with electronics, there are infinite ways to disguise or transform a sound. In this track, clearly this is a violin but the pizzicato and open strings take on a unique identity with the filter.

Integration Of Musical Practices

AH: Your background in fiddle really comes out in “Lazaretto”, while sounding distinctly original. It’s quite the fusion between American fiddle and “new music”. Can you talk about the integration of various musical practices in your works?

AMD: It’s funny you should say that, because it wasn’t at all my intention to mix fiddle with #newmusic, but when I listened back to the track for the first time I thought “Dang! Where’d that fiddle come from?”. It’s interesting how music you play and listen to expresses itself and mingles within you, and that’s one thing I enjoy exploring with improvisation. Following where my ear takes me and asking myself why did I want to do that? I started studying violin in the Western European tradition when I was 4 and that’s the style I have the most training and experience in, but I always listened to other music and became really interested in improvisation in middle and high school, which led me to fiddle and jazz. I had always messed around in my warm up, making up melodies or patterns when I was supposed to be playing scales, but it wasn’t until exploring improvisation in these other mediums that I found out this was common practice amongst composers and performers in the baroque and classical era and that some musicians still did it. At the time I recorded Lazaretto I was listening to and playing along to lots of recordings of Stuart Duncan, Rhiannon Giddens, Kaki King, Sonny Rollins, and also being really inspired by the incredible performances on the weekly Open Improvisations Facebook group.

patterns and cycles

AH: I remember when we played together in the beginning of March you were telling me how you were getting really into your violin/electronics practice. I see that these works were recorded between June-August of 2020, were they written in quarantine? Did your practice shift over the past few months? If so, how?

AMD: Like everyone else involved in performing arts, my life imploded in the middle of March and I couldn’t bring myself to practice violin in the same way that I had been. So much of my work was collaborative, either in chamber music, orchestra, or working with a composer, and all of this immediately felt like a distant memory. I started playing and listening to a lot of music I hadn’t visited in a while and was feeling really motivated by that. There was so much time suddenly with no pressure of a performance for the foreseeable future, and I kind of relished in getting to know my playing and interests without the external force of gigs or deadlines. The pieces on patterns and cycles gestated at different points over the quarantine, some ideas growing out of previous improvs or through experimenting with Ableton, but once I arrived at a concept each work was conceived and recorded within a couple days.

AH: You recorded the works in three different places: New York, Montreal, and Tybee Island. What role does location play in the album?

AMD: These are the three locations I’ve been since March and all places I consider home in various ways. The most notable aspect of existing in a place for me right now is the sounds. Since being stuck inside so much and not going to restaurants, gatherings, or other things I would normally do, I notice the sounds outside that I can hear from within my dwelling are the biggest difference between these places. Montreal and NYC are more similar with typical city sounds, but my neighborhood in Washington Heights was particularly marked by sirens, music, and fireworks over the summer. I grew up in coastal Georgia and was used to cicadas and birds at every hour of the day but this was the first time I had been home for several months and had the luxury of becoming accustomed to it again.

AH: Not only did you compose and perform the music on the album, you produced it too! It sounds incredible and is very impressive. What is your background in production? Do you feel like you hear the music in a different way when listening as a producer?

AMD: The production for this project was really an extension of its composition and having a clear idea of what I wanted the finished product to sound like. As a producer I was just listening for the same things I would when recording another composer’s music or even rehearsing chamber music; balance, timing/space, articulation, etc. I didn’t notate anything and a lot of the compositional editing happened when I listened back to a recording and decided to develop or cut an idea, use a different audio effect, adjust levels or mic placement. However, the magical mixing and mastering came from engineering wizard Mike Tierney at Shiny Things Studio in Brooklyn. He’s so patient and lovely to work with, was totally amenable to my requests and timeline, and always does an incredible job. I’ve learned a lot through taking on the many roles required to self-release an album and am really grateful to have colleagues and friends who gave me feedback and helped me make this project possible.

Looking Forward

AH: Moving forward, what are you interested in exploring in your work as a soloist/composer/improviser?

AMD: Even before the pandemic, I was in the process of producing a solo album of works I premiered or commissioned for solo violin/with electronics. Some of the tracks are already recorded and some are still being written, so it will most likely be another year before it’s finished. In terms of my own music, I’d really like to collaborate with other artists, both in and outside of music. I’m also writing a few pieces for non-string instruments right now and it’s been fun studying another instrument’s repertoire and getting to know their traditions and possibilities. That being said, what I’m most excited about right now is the chance to play with people in person again.

Adrianne Munden-Dixon

Adrianne Munden-Dixon is a New York City-based violinist and improviser praised for her “animated and driven” performances (Connect Savannah). She has given solo performances at Roulette Intermedium, Princeton University, MassMoCA, Columbia University, and SPLICE Festival and premiered works by Tristan Perich, Pauline Kim Harris, Shelley Washington, and Gemma Peacocke. She is a founding member of  Desdemona (“an excellent young quartet” The New Yorker) and appears regularly with the Savannah Philharmonic. Adrianne is also passionate educator and maintains a private studio in New York and online. 

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