Inspired by the idyllic, at times kitschy sound and imagery iconic to nature and wildlife documentaries, Music for a Documentary About Butterflies… (and other animals) attempts to wrap the brutal expressivity of raw wilderness inside an inescapable cloak of unapologetically artificial beauty. Bathed in an electronic sound ecosystem, the dancer, enclosed in a small pool of light and feathers, embodies different imaginary creatures while live musicians alternate between rich harmonic textures and gritty sounds emulating animal-like cries and moans through their instruments. Creating an esthetic at the junction of organic and artificial representations of wildlife, this piece is meant to capture an uncanny state of soothing weirdness.

Concept + composition: Jonathan Goulet
Dancer: Alexandre Morin

In collaboration with the experimental music ensemble Aka (Marilène Provencher-Leduc et Tommy Davis) and the guitarist André Pelletier and the saxophonist Antonin Bourgault

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Duration: 30 min

Premiere: 16-17th of May 2018, Salle Multimédia of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal.