Dispatches

DISPATCHES FROM the CHARCOAL FOREST
(working title)

an expanded song cycle for 6 voices and soundscape

Merlin’s newest project is a 40-minute nonlinear sound art contemplation of fire, emergency and aftermath. A quadraphonic soundtrack incorporates recorded stories and found sound, and provides the baseline for a live performance during which six singers surround and move among the audience.

The building blocks of this work include audio interviews collected from firefighters, clean up crews and ecologists as well as clips sourced from 911 dispatch calls and evangelical fire-and-brimstone preaching. 

DISPATCHES FROM the CHARCOAL FOREST will be presented in the round with a quadraphonic sound system and audience in the center.

Merlin is working with a sound engineer, a choreographer, and six professional singers who will learn the piece aurally. Funding and Venues are sought for Summer 2025 and beyond.