Tango Mechanique

By Olga Oseth
While searching on google for collaborative works I have found this awesome video of Tango Mechanique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nEXsjxGGr0. It is by composer Hsiao- Lan Wang. She curently lives right now in Montana. She is Taiwanese composer and conductor living in United states. She collaborated with Daniel Zajicek, who is a composer and video artist.  Most interested in beauty and the bizarre, his musical output consists of solo, chamber, choral, electronic, video, and theater music. I really like HLW musical style. I listened to couple of her works  Nouveau Park , Tango Mechaniques and  Made in...(2008). She has collaborated with other artists for her works. Tango Mechanique at the beginning was like with curtain on the stage and I expected the curtains to open up and have dancers come out but it was different, totally not what I expected. In the visual aspect of it there were a lot of pipes and many digital squares type of thing flowing up and down the screen which I thought was very nicely done. The music was very rhythmical its like there was a story being told without words.
This is a link to the website with more workds by HLW
It is pretty cool check it out!
http://www.hsiaolanwang.com/?page_id=83
The second collaboration between Hsiao-Lan Wang and Daniel Zajicek, Tango Mécanique explores the dance of conflict and compromise between visual and sonic elements. Rich symbolism residing in the images triggers memories and impressions, while the music boasts heightened rhythmic energy that makes you think twice about what you are really seeing on the screen.
Lan Wang composes for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and electronic media. Her music investigates the fundamental elements of musical communication through new timbral, formal, and technological relationships.


I actualy found out that Hsiao- Lan Wang and Daniel Zajicek are married and they do quite a bit of collaborative work together.  Daniel Zajicek has some awesome video arts if anyone is interested 
http://tri-jack.org/projects/?p=163.


I think Tango Mechanique music has some interesting digital sounds, sometimes it sounds like there is water running through the pipes or maybe if string instruments are bowing super fast, it gives a feel of anxiety building up that all resolves with new motives being played. I like the bell sound at aproximately 2.17 seconds of this piece,  at aprox. 5.01 the visual part of this piece is building tension, which goes really well with the music.