Abigail Hebert

As music today is enjoyed in increasingly private settings, often siphoned off to the insular world of AirPod Maxes and solo car rides, Bowdoin is opening its doors to a new kind of listening experience. On Wednesday evening, gathered in the newly installed Center for Experiential Multimedia Art (CEMA), community members opened their eyes and ears to experience “Give Way,” the debut album of Director of Jazz Ensembles and Lecturer in Music Kate Campbell-Strauss.

“Give Way” is a collection of jazz sounds released in January, co-recorded during the pandemic by saxophonist Campbell-Strauss and trumpeter Emily Mikesell.

Given the album’s Covid-19 roots, the listening party at CEMA brought a healthy dose of in-person community to celebrate the release of “Give Way.”

“This concept of listening to the recording in a group is an exciting act of trying this space. It is such an amazing sounding space, and so I encourage you to get comfortable, if you want to even stand up or move around, sit on the floor—it’s all cool,” Campbell Strauss said at the beginning of the event, emphasizing the cozy, acoustic space provided by CEMA.

Beyond the lush melodies of “Give Way,” CEMA’s vibrant space served as the centerpiece for the event. The room’s white perimeter was lit up with dreamy pink and purple lights, covered by a visual effect in which spots of white light swayed slowly across the room.

After taking off their shoes to protect CEMA’s marley floors, attendees piled into the space and took seats in chairs and cushions on the ground. Assistant Professor of Digital Music Badie Khaleghian, who helped prepare CEMA for the event alongside Campbell-Strauss, explained the rationale behind furnishing the space with cushions.

“Especially for a listening party, it feels really good when you’re on the floor. The biggest reason is because of the sound system. We have two very powerful subwoofers. When people are on the floor, they can feel the vibration,” Khaleghian said. “And that’s, in my opinion, another way of listening, because when we are listening,… we are feeling the vibration of air molecules, but when we are attached to the [ground], we can also feel the vibration of sound in our body.”

“Give Way” spans just under 24 minutes, allowing attendees time to get comfortable and soak in the album’s inquisitive sound. As saxophone and trumpet ebbed and flowed through the stereo, the projectors continued to create a near-psychedelic effect across the room, showing white light bubbles morphing slowly with the music.

Campbell-Strauss discussed the role of technology in creating such an indulgent listening experience.

“The room has incredibly high-quality speakers, so it is sort of a dreamy space to be able to listen to an album that was so carefully recorded and mixed.… It felt like it was close to how it should sound, whereas if I listened to it on my iPhone, I’m not hearing all the details,” Campbell-Strauss said. “We were listening to it in a standard stereo format, where each right and left side is represented by opposing speakers. So, wherever you were in the room, you were getting both sides and everything in between of what was happening in the soundscape.”

Wednesday’s crowd was largely made up of Campbell-Strauss’s students, friends and fans. Visiting Assistant Professor of German Rebecca Jordan, a friend and colleague of Campbell-Strauss, echoed the importance of technology in creating both music and musical experiences. She added her excitement with CEMA, noting its fruitful pairing with “Give Way.”

“I’ve never been in this space.… It’s fascinating. It lends itself well to listening to music,” Jordan said. “It really made the experience visually interesting.”

Campbell-Strauss reflected on the event in an interview with the Orient, hinting at what may be next for them and Mikesell.

“After listening to it [on Wednesday], I’m like, I want to make another one. That’s sort of where I’m at,“ Campbell-Strauss said. “This is awesome and I’m excited to make more.”