Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Orchestra of Sound
Paul Snider
Genre: Multimedia, Music, Theatre
Venue: Greenside at George Street
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Paul Snider’s innovative show features music made by hundreds of sounds – and not the expected musical instruments. It is a multi-media experience, with Snider playing live keyboards to videos of his musical experimentations. Think of it as technology meets science meets music from an entertainer who is an expert in all fields.
Review
Paul Snider brings his one-man Orchestra of Sound show to the Edinburgh Fringe in an international premiere engagement. This innovative show features music made by hundreds of sounds – and not the expected musical instruments. It is a multi-media experience, with Snider playing live keyboards to videos of his musical experimentations. Think of it as technology meets science meets music from an entertainer who is an expert in all fields.
The premise is that an every object can produce a sound. Some objects are musical instruments that emit a recognizable sound, like a flute, a piano, or a violin. But what about everyday objects? Sound is the most basic form of expression and communication. Notice how kids make drum sounds in the kitchen from pots and pans, yogurt containers, or spoons as percussion instruments.
Snider has taken that premise and looked far and wide for his sounds, resulting in an absolutely fascinating sonic study of our world. Snider goes further by inventing instruments made from recycled material and junk, and they actually work to make sounds that go with his film.
There are the bigger objects, like a canoe, a recycling bin, an oil drum, a haystack, the side of a building….the list goes on. He plays drums on the turbine of a 727 jet, a train boxcar, a satellite dish, cars, and the structures of different kinds of bridges. How about a violin made paper mâché and a baseball bat, a guitar made from a pitchfork, a flute made of PVC pipe, or a cello made from a tin garbage can. If he can imagine it, he can play it and introduce the audience to the sounds made by the object.
Clearly Snider cannot bring the objects into the theatre, so he has filmed himself and others playing these varied pieces. He fronts the show on stage with his keyboard, as the audience is mesmerized by the images of Snider with drumsticks in fields, on the tarmac, in the Rocky Mountains, in an auto junkyard, in a cabin in the woods, and even in the belfry of a church. No object is too challenging or off limits for this creative mind.
Snider has composed lovely scores to accompany and accent the vibrant filmed visuals. Each of his pieces has 50 to 60 sounds interwoven. He is an accomplished musician who plays keyboards, trumpet and flute. He is an engaging narrator. The lively presentation is fun for all ages.
The most moving piece is the exquisite finale, “The Sound of the Ocean”. Snider recorded the sounds of a whale and other sea life, then set the music to the rhythm of the heartbeat of a whale. The ethereal scoring combined with the gorgeous visuals creates a spellbinding effect that takes your breath away.
For Snider, a trip rural western Kenya to do some volunteering at a small school inspired him to research creating entire orchestra using sounds from instruments built from found objects. Being quite an environmentalist, he decided to combine his skills in music with his passion for reuse, and try to build instruments from junk and recycled materials in order to give junk a second life. From there he built a new show called ‘Junk! The Musical’. In 2021 he and his wife travelled across Canada to record many interesting sounds, as he drummed on the trusses of bridges, on junk cars, on trains, under water, and more. The qualifier was anything that could make an interesting sound. Soon he had compiled hundreds of sounds and video clips, forming the basis of this Fringe show.
Snider has made and scored several films, wrote and recorded musical projects, and wrote a sung-through musical. Through this company he released a solo folk-rock album called ‘The Letter’.
Acknowledged among the ‘Top 10 Shows to Catch at the Vancouver Fringe’ in Canada, Snider’s Edinburgh show has broad appeal across all ages. It is a fascinating look at sound. It is innovative, entertaining, imaginative, and a treat for the eyes and ears.
