Foley artists, the invisible percussion magicians responsible for the sound effects and sound design of film, have long fascinated me. Jack Foley, the man who pioneered this concept, and from which the name for this technique derives, found his place as soon as sound was introduced to film: percussive actions in the film suddenly needed a body to stand in line with the music. Foley artists were very creative with their materials and methods to create sound effects for films.

I can’t help thinking that percussionists are so very close to this tradition. One has to be nimble, quick, and have a virtuoso feeling for timing, and a very deep artistry to convince an audience that a pair of gloves is, in fact, a bird flapping its wings, or a telephone book a beating heart. This is the folly of foley, seemingly boring everyday sounds repurposed with the help of a visual image and in the hands of a great performer create a magically new sensation.

In this piece, the performer is not exactly a foley artist, nor percussionist, but somewhere in between – sometimes more one than the other. At the same time, they are also an imitation of the action in the film, or vice-versa, mimicking almost precisely the characters’ actions as they goes about their task – a sort of visual foley.

Gabriel Michaud, 'foley'
Clark Rundell, cond.
ASKO|Schönberg Ensemble

Live Recording, TROMP Percussion, Fritz Phillips Zaal, Eindhoven
20 November 2022
Video Recording: Niec Filmt (livestream) www.niecfilmt.nl

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