Armed with an electric harp, loop pedals and her sultry vocal cords, Anactoria has discovered her own world through experimentation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Anactoria is the alter-ego of self-taught harpist, vocalist and songwriter Tamlyn Magee, who along with Grim Tilla will bring her re-imagined tunes to the Candelo General Store and Cafe on Friday, October 19 from 7.30pm.
“I’ve found that when you mention the harp most people fall into one of two categories - they absolutely love it or they can’t stand it,” Magee said.
“To be completely honest I’m not a huge fan myself of the sound of the harp the way it is traditionally played.
“For me it’s too pretty, and I think culturally it’s associated with wealth and aristocracy, which is certainly not where I come from.
“The electric harp, though, is an extremely versatile instrument whose scope really only is limited by imagination, and I love the tactile, visual nature of it where every note is it’s own string.”
Magee taught herself to accompany her voice on the harp by pure experimentation, discovering sounds which work, layering them until a song appears.
“It’s all about reigning in the sound and finding ways to give it a more defined shape, because all those strings vibrating together can create a wall of sound that gets out of control if one is not careful,” she said.
“This tendency in the electric harp has caused me to explore a more rhythmic style of playing, which I’m happy about.”
Magee is constantly pushing her music to new levels, and enjoys the process of writing new and reinterpreting older material.
“I’ve been writing a lot of new material lately, and this show has evolved pretty dramatically since the last one,” she said.
“There are a number of new songs, and most of the ones that you may have heard have been reimagined.”
People can expect to see two very different performances from Grim Tilla and Anactoria.
“There’s a minimalist quality to what Grim Tilla does that distills his considerable expertise and experience into a refreshingly un-ostentatious but artful performance,” Magee said.