TECHNO music shall be seen, but not heard, from a church tower in Dorset next week, in a live-streamed performance by the church musician and electronic artist Richard McLester.
Performing as RMCL, an abbreviated version of his name, Mr McLester plans to play electronic music live from the highest of the tower of St James’s, Poole, a Grade II* listed Georgian church near Poole Harbour.
The event is scheduled to happen at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, but shall be postponed within the case of bad weather.
Mr McLester and his team go to great lengths to not disturb the environment during which they perform — which, prior to now, has included Corfe Castle and Agglestone Rock, each in Dorset.
“People assume it’s like a rave party . . . nevertheless it’s not quite like that,” he said. While Mr McLester shall be performing live, nothing shall be audible from the tower. Instead, the sound is fed to his earphones, and to a live stream that shall be playing contained in the church and online.
Mr McLester was director of music at St Peter’s, Parkstone, for 13 years, until last summer, and doesn’t see a tough border between traditional church music and techno.
At St Peter’s, he “tried to push the tremendous line between more traditional things and mixing it with modern tech”, he said, and he emphasises the similarities between the organ and the array of synths, computers, and mixing desks he uses in his techno sets.
“When you make techno, it’s actually pretty just like making organ music. . . A pipe organ is strictly similar to a synthesiser,” he said. Unlike some electronic music artists and DJs, he’s creating the entire sounds live, after which sequencing them to construct a posh, interweaving soundscape.
The act is basically improvisatory, and due to this fact influenced by the space during which he’s performing. Factors corresponding to the weather and wildlife impact the music, and Mr McLester expects to include some choral elements into his performance at St James’s.
Each performance can also be a team effort, he said, with a drone pilot, camera operators, and technical support. Mr McLester is the founder and lead artist of the collective One City One Light (OCOL), which is organising the event.
Previous shows include an art installation in Salisbury Cathedral, during which a big illuminated sphere was suspended within the spire crossing (Arts, 18 January 2019).
The broadcast director for OCOL, Toby Gardner, emphasised the challenges of performing in “unconventional places”. “It shall be an extended climb up the tower with all our kit, but we now have done worse,” he said.
