Ode To Gravity:
The Eventide Harmonizer and Henry Kaiser

From a program recorded on September 14, 1981, Charles Amirkhanian gets a demonstration of the Eventide Clockworks Harmonizer from Laurie Anderson. The Harmonizer is the piece of equipment that Anderson has used, with such great effect, to lower the pitch of her voice in real time, during her concerts. Amirkhanian then interviews Richard Factor, the co-inventor of this ingenious device, in his busy New York City office. Amirkhanian also presents brief interviews with Margaret Jory, Director of the American Music Center, the United States’ official information center and repository for contemporary classical music; and with Phill Niblock, composer and director of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation, and who was preparing to broadcast his, “Concerts for Composers,” a collection of live performances recorded in Niblock’s New York City loft. Interspersed among these interviews are engaging musical interludes from Anderson, Philip Glass, Stephan Von Huene, and Meredith Monk. Henry Kaiser then joins Charles Amirkhanian in the KPFA studio for the second half of the program. Kaiser's introduces "The Shadow Line" and other selections from his album "Aloha" on Metalanguage Records. The two discuss Kaiser's album, his approach to the guitar and use of electronics, free music vs. free improvisation, and their gripes with the digital technology of the early 1980s. Kaiser also explains how Derek Bailey, Korean music, and the Blues influenced some of his playing.