EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new features this year: Voodoo Productions’ street theater will include roaming graffiti stilt walkers, contortionists and living master works of art. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the first time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. For kids, as admission for those 12 and under will be free, there will be plenty of make-and-take art options in Frozen Spaces in the Art Yard. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 22nd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with the strongest slate of narrative short films in the event’s history. Of course, dance, who wears the empress jewels in performing arts, will be represented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Echoing Spirit Dancers and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, at The Round. For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
LILLITH MAGDALENE (JUNE 20, 8:45 p.m., Plaza Stage)
Lillith Magdalene, Salt Lake City-based producer and DJ, has been a violinist, and part-time drummer. Her drum and bass sound is inspired and expressed through a fascinating, eclectic mix of religious iconography, the essence of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, progressive metal, and the divine feminine.
TUR: Would like a brief account of how you started, decided to set out on its performing and writing music platforms.
LM: Two years ago, I had a near-death experience. The last thought I had before I slipped into unconsciousness was, “I never got to do music”. For context, I’m a lifelong musician, but at the time, I had just started DJ’ing and experimenting with producing my tracks, but had put it aside in pursuit of an adult life. When I woke up and was well enough to go home, I went into almost a manic episode where I did nothing but produce and DJ’ing. What resulted was the groundwork for my debut tracks, EYES and Change.
TUR: What is your musical training and background coming in as a performer and as a group?
LM: Before being a DJ and producer, I was a professional violinist. While I played in traditional orchestras, I specialized in musical theater/pit orchestras. Before I was a violinist, I also played the piano, bells, and attempted to sing in choirs.
However, before classical training, I always loved what I called “big music” as a kid. It’s the wall of sound or music that moves through you. That’s what originally drew me to classical music and the violin; specifically works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and of course, Barber’s Adagio for Strings.
Fortunately, I grew up in a house that valued and cherished music. It didn’t matter what was going on in my parents’ lives, they always had a good sound system and stacks of CDs, tapes, etc. Every Friday night, my parents would come home from work and put on music. Some of my favorite nights were when my mom or dad would put on Depeche Mode or Madonna. As I got older, if they were hosting a party, I would take over as the de facto DJ as the night waned on. If I’m being honest with myself, the energy of being in a party while still being a part of it was intriguing to me at a young age. When I began DJ’ing, it felt like coming home to one of my parents’ parties.
TUR: Who do you consider as role models, inspirations and influences in your music and performing?
LM: Artistically, I look up to Shostakovich, specifically his work String Quartet No. 8. Forced into the Soviet party in 1960, he was commissioned to write a score for “Five Days, Five Nights, a film about the Allied bombing of Dresden. In the ruins of Dresden, Shostakovich composed a harrowing quartet that not only spoke to the horrors of war but also subtly lamented his loss of autonomy and friends who disappeared in the night at the hands of the KGB. Shostakovich found a way to speak through his works, in spite of severe censorship and staggering personal loss. Playing Shostakovich in orchestras laid the foundation for my values as an artist: freedom, expression, and a message.
TUR: If you were to encapsulate your musical base into a simple phrase or tag, what would it be?
LM: Lillith: Mother of All Demons
TUR: What do you consider the most essential elements of writing or performing a song for yourself that not only resonates with you but also with the audiences who have been coming to your shows?
LM: Play for the girls.
The girls who come to my sets have been amazing. They want to hear heavy songs, but they also want songs that reflect their experience. There’s joy and pain; they want to dance and let loose. I want my sets and songs to be for the girls crying in the club, frenetically healing through dance. Of course, that’s not to besmirch the men who have been incredible and helped keep the space sacred. It’s special to help carve out a space for people who may be hearing drum and bass for the first time and watch them take it and run with the sound.