WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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By Shane Gebhard
Sounds from the Black Hole is an event created by Ben Myers held at the Orbit Room that focuses on the experimental side of music. By using tapes, keyboards, and unique percussion sounds, they create something entirely its own.
This shows another side to the music scene, a more experimental and unique side of performing and creating which allows the listeners to branch off into the many corners of live music in Bloomington.
This isn’t a show for passive listening. Bloomington musicians here are pushing past traditional boundaries, creating an atmosphere filled with strange, unfamiliar sounds that pull the audience in.
The event features multiple performances, and musicians Dylan Ryan and Nate Lepine shared insight and their secrets into how these sounds come together.
Ryan says their use of repetition is meant to represent change, an idea that moves the project beyond simplicity and into something more artistic and boundless.
“I mean, I think we like repetition as a form of change, says Ryan. “That’s something we like to think about. We like the sound of Brian Eno, Primus, Slayer, and Silver Apples.”
They explain that the key to their improvisational style is listening to each other on stage, allowing the music to breathe. Because of that, no two performances are ever the same, creating a sense of uncertainty. The beauty lies in the fact that you never quite know where the music is headed next, and that’s exactly what they want.
“The live performance is pretty different every time, than the record. The record is the record, and the shows are the shows,” said Ryan.
Ryan and Lepine emphasize the importance of caring about every note played on stage.
“lt’s like different notes. Yeah, every note counts. Yeah that’s good,” said Ryan.
Another performance from Sounds from the Black Hole was from Ben Handel who is a singer-songwriter performing all types of music. He gave a lot of insight into the Bloomington music scene and discusses how this event came to be.
Handel explains the reasons he creates ambient music and what he wants his audience to connect with during his performances.
“I thought that I was, like, a really experimental artist, and then I went to the black hole and realized that what I do is actually not that experimental compared to many of the other artists that are there,” says Handel.
Similar to the other performances, he incorporates a wide range of instruments into his music being intentionally chaotic, which he describes as resembling a Jackson Pollock painting.
“I think the primary thing is just that my primary instrument changes. I have three primary instruments that I write on. One is the piano, one the guitar, and then the other one is the computer. And ones on the computer, it’s more like, I’m just trying stuff around, and then as inspiration hits, as I follow, as I find a sound that leads me to the next one. And it’s just a process of like, almost like Jackson Pollock painting, like you just like a little on the paper at a time” says Handel.
Handel said their performances balance seriousness with personal enjoyment, aiming to create sounds that feel satisfying both to them and the audience. He describes his music as a way of “scratching an itch” shaped by his own neurodivergence, something that can feel soothing in the moment. He hopes listeners experience that same feeling when the sound grooves and feels good.
“I want them to recognize them while playing. So I would think I want the audience to realize that while I have some things that are really serious, I also am doing things more just to entertain myself and hopefully entertain the audience. I’m making sounds that are scratching an itch in a certain way,” said Handel. “I’m a person who has, my own neurodivergences, and I feel like the music that I make sometimes is just scratching a particular itch inside my head, and having this little like thing be scratched, it can be very soothing for me, and I hope that that I can find an audience that has that same experience where my music hits them just in the right spot. It’s like, ‘Oh, this feels good.’
Overall these performances are not just simple ways of copying what has already been put on record, they’re open and ongoing ideas that are shaped as the show goes on. This is just another one of the many hidden secrets Bloomington has to offer. As Nate Lepine puts it, “every note counts” and in a space where the musicians are stringing together a different set of notes at every second, that weight can be felt and applauded.
