Time travel is one of the more well worn science fiction tropes and it is one that remains immensely popular today. It is not hard to see why. We are a species whose curiosity about the past and speculation about the future drives much of what we do in our work and leisure time. While the technology may not exist to physically transport us backwards or forwards in time, the Arts have long been our personal WABAC (Wayback) machine, able to deliver us imaginatively, emotionally, to the time of our choosing.
Music is one such art that can lift us from the place we are at and deposit us in another time. Alex Steyermark and Lavina Jones Wright are showcasing their own version of time travel with The 78 Project. The project is inspired by the work of Alan Lomax, who traveled throughout America in the early twentieth century, capturing folk music in its raw form. The pair has been marrying the vocals of contemporary musicians with decades-old technology to create something special.
“With just one microphone, one authentic 1930′s Presto direct-to-acetate disk recorder, and one blank lacquer disc, musicians are given one take to cut a record anywhere they choose. What we have found is that the film, music and feelings that result defy space and time, living music inspired by ghosts.”
