about
Lee Noyes (b. 1977) I am an improvising musician working with feedback electronics, percussion, sampling and strings.
Most of my work grows out of close listening. I am less interested in searching for new sounds than in placement, intention and context: why a sound appears, when it arrives, what it interrupts, and what follows it. Playing with others is part of that process. Collaboration puts in motion the examination of instincts or habits, and tests them through tension, contrast, restraint and response.
I am particularly drawn to contrasts: harsh sounds against the fragile, noise against silence, consonance against dissonance, familiarity against surprise. That tension is where the music feels most alive. Results have been described as intimate, awkward but agile, and at times unexpectedly beautiful. The term “Harsh Silence” was once coined to describe it , which has stuck for its contradiction as much as its accuracy.