Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, in a small town so desolate that any radio station can be hard to tune into, even on an FM dial, a number of radios can easily be combined to have a theremin-like effect, with layers of static dominated by a haunting, choir-like synthesis of frequencies.
Match this approach with an already well-established tendency for people like paranormal investigators to find otherworldly sounds, or “electronic voice phenomena” between stations, and there'll be an additional promise to these easily accessible, but somewhat nebulous devices.
Then imagine a young lady in her early 20s staying up all night, alone in her bedroom, prior to any knowledge of a “noise scene”, screaming into a machine that apparently has a way of broadcasting her voice through these radios, along with any number of other gadgets and effects to augment it. Walls of sound bounce in a spiraling motion, with each movement feeding into the next as a part of what she would call “entity transmissions”.
In 2003, Leslie Keffer had her first release issued on Heresee Records; “Dielectric Lull”. This was because she was in a rock band and did booking at a bar. According to Leslie, a “weird” band came through town, and she decided to open for them doing what she'd been doing quietly at home, without any knowledge of an audience for it. This is what landed her the first opportunity to do an experimental release, not any involvement in a pre-established genre.
In a sense, Dielectric Lull became a thesis statement on what she would do for the next several years, both as a recording artist and a performer. For Keffer, radios have an unavoidable ghostly channeling effect that has never been too far from the scope of her creative output.
One such case in point was captured and released on a split seven inch with Jason Zeh. According to the recording, Keffer couldn't figure out where a certain sound was coming from, and so she turned off her mixer as her set was just beginning. She allowed patrons and onlookers at the venue to mess with her knobs on her mixer to little effect; The sounds apparently just came out of the PA speakers on their own, somehow emanating from her radios.
Says Leslie:
“I can hear entities projecting themselves into me through it and channeling their energy into sound waves. Complete communion with the aether.”
During her initial onset of productivity, Keffer later found that she had recorded hours of material straight to mini-disc, with no overdubs or edits. When it came time to send material to Heresee for her debut release, she sent more than two hours of audio. The label took what they would fit on one disc, and Leslie continued to produce constantly, leaving behind the excess of her precarious beginnings.
Then Keffer went on to tour a considerable amount, play larger experimental music fests, collaborate with key figures within the realm of noise and experimental music, and eventually join Laundry Room Squelchers. The latter is a touring act known for layers of modified radios and mobile amplifiers on wheels being thrusted by several members of the band into the audience.
“I was obsessed with radios because I could channel the energy and frequencies of the room, people's energy, the surrounding energy and radio transmissions from all over– energy and frequency. I could really tune in to the emotions of the room, and I think that resonated with people.”
“Reverie”, then, is a nice little hidden gem; An historical document finally unearthed almost 20 years later, for people who may not have realized the spiritual potential of errant radio signals at night. Keffer's recordings can make the listener question whether it is her own voice they are hearing, or something else from the radios, and this particular type of strange fusion is unique to the ongoing narrative of noise artists, serialists, and avant-garde composers using radios in an experimental capacity.
LESLIE KEFFER – REVERIE
Bandcamp Link:
https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/album/reverie