Out of this world performance should stay that way

As the lights began to dim in the Madsen Recital Hall on the evening of Jan. 28, the chattering of students was silenced by abnormal sounds from the future.

The Utah Crosstalk, an electronic collaboration between BYU and U of U, sounded nothing like popular electronic music from, say, Ratatat or Explosions in the Sky. Instead, it was a freakish mixture of beeps and creepy technological noise.

As the music began, those in attendance tried to make out the sounds they wear hearing, which was nearly impossible. Rather than identifying with music, the show was more closely related to soundtracks like “Star Wars”, a malfunctioning robot or futuristic video game.

Flutes echoing in the background gave the first bizarre piece, “Aerospace Plastic & Kernel/Seed”, a sort of “Ferngully” feel to it.

The electronic sounds that Utah Crosstalk had created kept the audience at a loss for words. Most people, confused and slightly disturbed, were looking around as if waiting for something more.

The fifth piece, “Sequenza III”, was exactly what they were not waiting for. It was a vocal piece performed by Margot Murdoch. She was reading the music off a script but what was coming out of her mouth was like nothing human ears have ever heard. Margot made things really awkward for everyone involved.

A variety of clicks, humming sounds and nonsense words poured out of her mouth almost like it was an alien language. The audience was bewildered and relieved when she finished. She received a standing ovation by only one student in attendance.

“Clockwork soul”, by A. Whatcott, was the sole piece with any sort of structure. With bombs going off and what seemed to be the sound of a heartbeat in the background members of the audience listened in warily. It was the only semi-redeeming piece .

Bree Leach, a BYU student, said that the production

“I can honestly say it tingled my senses,” said Bree Leach, a BYU student who was obviously taken aback by the performance.

Although she is not an artist, she felt that the music could most definitely be in a movie like “Minority Report” or on a ride at Disneyland.

“It was most definitely something new and interesting,” said Austin Taylor, a BYU student unfortunate enough to be in the audience.

If you are looking for something out of this world, literally that should never again be performed on this planet, feel free to endure this production. Otherwise, be content with the sounds of planet Earth.