Noé Cuéllar is a sound designer, photographer, and curator originally from Laredo, Texas who currently lives in Chicago. Recently I talked with Cuéllar about his influences, collaborating with other artists, and recent projects he's been working on. 

DG: How long have you been performing music? Who are some of your influences?

NC: I've been performing music and presenting sound work in Chicago since 2008. I enjoy the work of local musicians Haptic and Tiny Music; I also admire choreographer Julie Mayo/Dim Sum Dance, whose work I find very musical. 

DG: You just mentioned Dim Sum Dance... I know you've done several projects with dancers and choreographers. Would you describe one project you recently did with dancers / choreographers? How would you describe your process in that interdisciplinary context, as opposed to working within a context that’s focused entirely on sound?

NC: Last year I composed music for choreographer Adam Rose's solo and ensemble performances. I think it's exciting to decipher someone else's vision and try all possible to manifest it with mixed aesthetics; it's an opportunity to speed up possibilities of trying things we wouldn't necessarily come up with on our own.

One of my favorite things is that you get immediate feedback by seeing dancers react to sounds – which speeds up composition. Rehearsing with live music has an impact on their energy, and it's affirming that a choreography with original music is something very special.

DG: What would you say are some types of compositions that you find most interesting? 

NC: I'm interested in sound and music with a strong sense of nowness, in a way that must be heard and experienced in person -- something I try to uphold in my work. Compositionally I'm particularly struck by structures that are minimal, precise but also intuitive. Baudouin Oosterlynck, László Sáry, Meredith Monk, and Mika Vainio and important composers for me.

DG: You just mentioned Meredith Monk. What do you like about her work? Several years ago I saw her performance of “Mercy” at the Atheneum, which was amazing. 

NC: One of the many things I gather from her is that music has an inseparability to the act of performance, which is portable and fundamental; and yet it still has adaptability to become graspable by other mediums and performers. I'm very curious of all the different shapes her music takes while maintaining the core intact. I value the specificity of her performers for making present musical qualities that are wholehearted beyond the understanding of a score. Many new instrumentals of her vocal music are being interpreted now, which I find very gratifying as her own music is also becoming more instrumental. I could go on… I feel very lucky to have seen her perform live. 

DG: How long have you been composing? Who are some of your influences, in terms of composition?

NC: I've been composing for a few years, but lately with more focus on performance, and performers. I recently composed a piece for trombonist Jeb Bishop, accordion, and sound installation playback. I've always appreciated Jeb's character and fluidity with improvisation. Also recently I composed collaboratively with Joseph Clayton Mills, who I find a very influential interdisciplinary artist.

DG: Jeb Bishop’s a great artist. How have you been working with him? How did that project evolve?

NC: I went to several of Jeb's performances before I asked him if he would be interested in performing something I would write for him. Months later I was working on a sound installation of speakers inside a toolbox and a grill, and many of the resonating timbres of these objects resembled the trombone, so I wrote his part along to the playback, and finally added a very minimal accordion part. To me, the composition has a quality similar to that of repelling magnets. I called the piece "Kilter" because it's a word which has an undefined origin and it doesn't quite stand alone. 

DG: How did you first get involved with curating?

NC: I first co-curated a screening at The Ice Factory back when it was open. Later I realized it was important for me to gather performance artists to show new work. 

DG: How would you describe how curating work relates to other aspects of your work, such as sound design?

NC: I like the concept of composing while integrates the very specific styles of performers that also make their own music. I have explored this a little bit. In this case I think composition can be somewhat curatorial. 

DG: Recently you spent a few months in Ireland. What kind of work did you do while you were there? How did that experience affect you?

NC: Writing and drawing mostly. I built some cabinets with a friend. When you're in a place that sustainable and clear, it makes little movements very significant and the ratio between you and almost everything else seems to fluctuate. You can hear the different sounds of different types of trees since it's constantly windy. Being there was a very concentrated experience, but I can still feel it resonating even now... I hope to return sometime.

DG: How would you describe the project that you’ll be performing tomorrow at Brown Rice?

NC: Joseph Kramer and I have been composing music for bellows and electronics for a few months now. We call our duet Coppice. Our performances have been generally quiet so far, but we're slowly expanding in instrumentation and amplification. This Friday we'll perform a new piece with accordion, and a pump organ version of "Brim," which we originally composed with a shruti box. You can learn more about us on our website. 

DG: You mentioned that you'll be playing the accordion tomorrow. How long have you been playing the accordion? What do you like about that instrument? 

NC: I played accordion a lot when I was a teenager, until I sold it and forgot most of the songs. Now I play it as it ties to my fascination with bellows and breath-related instruments. I like things that expand and contract. 

DG: What are some other ongoing projects that you have been working on?

NC: Composing an accordion solo and fixing a mid-19th century pump organ...so when that's done I'll have even more bellows to compose for!

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