Sonic Twist® Video
(Below you will find video created by Michal Shapiro for the duo Sonic Twist®. The music for all of these videos is “composing in the moment” except for “My Neighborhood” which is a composition by Judi Silvano “with our collectively improvised arrangement”). Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold who make up the duo “Sonic Twist®” hope you enjoy the videos on this page. We feel that Michal Shapiro did an excellent job of taking these soundscapes and creating videos that highlight the spirit of our music.
Back Country from “Cloudwalking” CD.
“Back Country” is a video inspired by the soundscapes of Sonic Twist®, the duo of vocalist Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold. The flurry of snowflakes were a visual match to the crystalline sounds of the guitar, and the vocals also seemed to re-enforce the sense of a remote and windswept place for videographer and editor Michal Shapiro . The outlines of roots and branches gives the video an almost “Japanese woodblock” feel. Against this background, the shadowy, translucent figures of the musicians drift in and out, sometimes single, sometimes doubled, echoing their own musical and physical gestures. Overall this music video gives a sense of calm and a gentle space in time with its soothing images and musical ambience. The video will transport you to a tranquil, relaxing and uncluttered place, and quiet your mind.
Cloudwalking from “Cloudwalking” CD.
“Cloudwalking” (so called due to the atmospheric feeling of the track) is a hypnotic journey into the sky that is a pleasure for the eye because of its kaleidoscope effect. The visuals seen in the video created by Michal Shapiro are controlled by the movement of the musicians Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold of the duo Sonic Twist®.
They are not visible, but their physical movement while creating the music is triggering the fascinating images you see throughout the video. The music is also kinetic, as if you are passing from one aerial situation to another, with dips in temperature, cloud shapes, wind and color; thus the interlocking, symmetrical motifs, and shifting color palettes. The calm shifting of energies is reminiscent of the music of Terry Riley with a floating energy. “Cloudwalking” takes you on an entrancing journey of moving fragments of color and shapes that morph and dance before your eyes and into the heavens.
Have and Hold from “Cloudwalking” CD.
“Have and Hold” is a slow pensive “music with dance” video with music by Sonic Twist® the duo of Judi Silvano (Voice) and Bruce Arnold (guitar) and dancer Maria Mitchell, shot and edited by videographer Michal Shapiro. The jazz-inflected music is calm and peaceful, but with a hint of sadness or loneliness. The vocal is wistful and bittersweet with the music ending in a way that seems unresolved. The dancer wanders alone in a world of her own, until something makes her express a yearning and an attempt to connect with someone else who is invisible to us. She uses the scarf she holds to try to make that connection, but no matter what she does, in the end she starts as she begins, holding the scarf in her hands, alone.
024 Alap from “Cloudwalking” CD.
Enter a tranquil gallery of light and color with “024 Alap,” a meditative “composing in the moment” solo guitar piece by guitarist Bruce Arnold; one half of the “composing in the moment” duo Sonic Twist®. It is a visit to the unique city of Pondicherry, India, where the people of this seaside town are captured as they rest, play or labor.
The hypnotic music is the perfect backdrop for the calm and beautiful streets with their brilliantly colored houses and lush vegetation. We see people going about their lives; children horsing around; emanating wonderful charm and mischief, even chickens and goats! Women chat in the doorway of a temple, men hover against the dusky sky on fragile scaffolds. There is also movement in the patterns of bicycle riders, three wheeled taxis and motor scooters. The video comes to a calm close with the lighting of votive candles, and a lingering look at a roadside shrine with the Virgin Mary festooned with Christmas lights, and looking like an Indian goddess.
“FlutterBy” a Video from a Forthcoming CD by Sonic Twist®.
The music in this playful video recalls the many circuitous patterns of butterflies in flight —something vocalist Judi Silvano has long appreciated as she gardens—and hence its name, “Flutterby.” The video uses the motifs of these beautiful insects as Judi Silvano and guitarist Bruce Arnold (the duo of Sonic Twist®) “compose in the moment” some whimsical music in front of a green screen. The background videos are all shots of butterflies, some highlighting the beauty of their wings, with the most intriguing and architectural being microscopic magnifications of wings and antennae. Videographer Michal Shapiro had fun playing with the images of the musicians, creating light-hearted, layered effects. The result is a happy, fun loving outing.
“River Crossing” is part of a series of videos where dancer Maria Mitchell reacts to the “composing in the moment” music of Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold, the duo of Sonic Twist®. Their music and the dancer’s interpretation give a visual and aural sense of the movement of water and a dream-like state created by this interpretive dance. Arnold’s guitar motif runs very much like a current, with recurring waves of sound, re-enforcing the concept of a river, and videographer Michal Shapiro uses watery images and the feeling of a boat pitching on waves. Silvano’s vocal bursts resonate with textures of daily life and Mitchell’s image embodies the spirit of humanity. The musicians appear almost as ghosts trying to influence the action throughout the video which creates an overall feeling of mystery. The video is a haunting, echoing reverie.