Women of Noise Night 1 Recap
May 1, 2024
Women of Noise Night 1
On September 22, 2023, Women of Noise, an online collective of women in experimental and extreme music, curated a special edition of Chattanooga Noise Night. All four featured artists were from Tennessee, which lent to the regional intimacy of the showcase. I was partially in charge of putting the show together, although Aaron first pitched the idea to me the previous June and was a tremendous help in the curation process.
The first set of the night was from Chattanooga’s queen of tape loops, Slow Blink. Amanda used a trunk full of pedals and tape players to create ambient layers of sound, which congealed into a beautifully ethereal listening experience. She has been a staple of the Chattanooga experimental scene in recent years, and this performance further displayed her staying power.
Next up was Nashville’s Stardustinmotion, an artist I wasn’t familiar with before the show but came to greatly appreciate. Dusty’s set began with soft atmospherics that gradually became darker, and just as the audience was starting to drift away, she shocked them back into reality with a series of terrifying screams. The juxtaposition of the still-ethereal music and the harsh vocals acted as great foreshadowing for the two remaining sets.
Memphis’ Whit3corset started her set soon after. Instead of live instruments, Emily opted to use her album Petrushka as a backing track with her live vocals on top. I don’t think anyone in the audience knew what to expect, but the next 20-ish minutes hit everyone, including me, like a bulldozer. The abrasive industrial music, the ferociousness of her vocals, and her almost acrobatic stage presence made for a set that I’m still thinking about all these months later.
Last up was my set as my noise/power electronics project Leperwitch. This set allowed me to test out early drafts of songs I was writing for my upcoming debut album. I pride myself on being a performer who puts their lungs to optimal use, and others seem to pay attention. After five loud, blistering tracks, I was properly pooped and happy for my set to be finished. Overall, it was one of my best Noise Night sets and really couldn’t have gone better.
WONN 2024 Coming Soon!
Chattanooga Noise Night is currently planning another Women of Noise Night event for September 2024. This year's event will be a two-day noise extravaganza. The goal is to give more women--especially female performers around the southeast--a worthy platform to showcase what they’re capable of to an audience that genuinely appreciates the heavy and extreme side of life.
Check out some music from last year's artists!
Stay tuned for WONN 2024 updates!