Why Eschaton Rules by Monika Hauck
Eschaton
The first time I saw Eschaton, I was naive and unsuspecting. I was new-ish to experimental music, new-ish to improvisation and certainly new to contemporary jazz. I took what little I knew to their performance and came out the other side with what felt like a fully-paid-for education. Eschton’s lecture is delivered wordless, they masterfully navigate measures and scales while balancing dissonance with harmony. Their synergy is palpable and unnerving, you feel every twisting moment alongside them as they make hopeful glances while they steer through the consequences of the chosen notes.
Eschaton’s approach to improvisation and sound creation recalls the most basic reasons for why I love seeing live music. They deliver an energy that cannot be achieved through any form of recorded content, and the exchange between musicians is the type of communication that highlights the best qualities of being human. Best of all, Connor and Aaron share that feeling directly with audience, making for a kinetic performance that leaves you invigorated, fresh-faced and ready to embrace whatever the future holds.
If the end of the world happens to happen while you experience Eschaton, you would have chosen well to witness their performance. Swirling, jittering, and jolting shifts that in and of itself defines the texture of experience. To be in one place, to be present, listening and waiting. Clattering spurts and a shower of sound envelopes you, commands your awareness. Time feels different, you hang between moments of sporadic chemistry and weave together a soundscape that in the sum of its parts, is all of life before the end. Take heed, prepare yourselves, experience Eschaton and hear the chaos of the universe tightly knotted before it’s too late.
Monika Hauck is a Guelph-based visual artist and a member of VERSA. VERSA will be performing at Kazoo! Fest 2018 on Friday April 13th at Kazoo! HQ (127 Woolwich St.)
Eschaton plays Kazoo! Fest 2018 on Friday April 13th with Clairmont The Second and Witch Prophet at eBar (41 Quebec St.)
