The Spark with Tift Merritt: Flutronix
Registration for this event closes at 12 PM EST on December 17, 2020.
Join us for the fourth episode of The Spark with Tift Merritt, featuring Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull of Flutronix. In this livestreamed series, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and UNC alumna Tift Merritt returns to Carolina Performing Arts to take us behind the scenes in artist-to-artist video interviews that delve deep into the creative process.
How do you light a spark? How do you make something true? How does art happen? What is mumbled on the way in the studio and how can we hear it?
Welcome to The Spark.
Tift Merritt
On December 17, Tift will sit down with Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull of Flutronix, ingenious composers, musicians, and vocalists whose original works for flute, voice, electronics, and live drums feature their signature art pop sound.
Longtime friends of Carolina Performing Arts, Joachim and Loggins-Hull have been artists-in-residence at CPA since 2018. While in residence, they are creating an emotionally resonant new work known as Discourse, in which the voices and personal stories of Chapel Hill are brought to vibrant life. Discourse has grown into a community-centered social change initiative and is set to premiere in 2021 after the initial premiere was delayed due to precautions related to COVID-19.
Free and open to the public; registration required. Registration for this event closes at 12 PM EST on December 17, 2020. If you have questions or concerns related to accessibility, please contact us.
This event is generously co-sponsored by Maribel Carrion and Alan Weinhouse.
About The Spark
Based on the series Merritt produced for the acclaimed Marfa, Texas Public Radio, The Spark peels back the polished performance to reveal the elbow grease, risk, fire, and courage behind the art—and artists—we think we know. Each month, Tift will welcome a new artist for a 45-minute livestreamed conversation that gets to the heart of their work, followed by a 15-minute audience Q&A.
About Flutronix
Comprised of two blazing young flutists who are “redefining the flute and modernizing its sound by hauling it squarely into the world of popular music” (MTV Iggy), Flutronix has an original urban art pop sound that’s comfortable in both clubs and concert halls. Their music is best described as “a unique blend of classical music, hip-hop, electronic programming and soulful vocals reminiscent of stars like Erykah Badu.”
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Named official Burkart Flutes & Piccolos artists, Flutronix regularly appears on stages throughout the United States and Japan. Performance highlights include featured concerts at the Brooklyn Museum, Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium, and WNYC’s Greenespace, among others.
The duo has been featured in leading Japanese fashion magazine and an internationally broadcast ESPN super bowl commercial, and have been broadcast on NPR, WNYC, Tokyo FM, and other popular radio stations internationally.
About Tift Merritt
Called “a diamond in a coal mine” by Emmylou Harris, Tift Merritt has been compared to Joni Mitchell and James Taylor in a proud tradition that reaches back to Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry. A Raleigh native, Merritt played local haunts like Cats Cradle and The Cave before her debut album Bramble Rose soared to the Times and New Yorker top ten lists.
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Since then, Merritt has toured world-wide, opening for Joan Baez and appearing on Austin City Limits, the Grand Ole Opry, and NPR. She returned home to make her Carolina Performing Arts debut in the 17/18 season with a sold-out performance. She began hosting The Spark in over a decade ago for Marfa Texas Public Radio, where it garnered instant acclaim from artists and audiences alike.
