The Chicago-based artist plays an August 19 show presented by Tone Madison.
Lykanthea, the project of Chicago-based musician, multidisciplinary artist, and academic Lakshmi Ramgopal, explored a mix of ambient music, carnatic music, and a healthy bit of pop on the 2014 EP Migration. But since Migration came out, Ramgopal has been working on all kinds of different performances and installations, including “A Half Light Chorus,” a project at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Conservatory that used multi-channel audio inspired by birdsong.
Themes of death and rebirth are prominent throughout Migration, but the new recordings Ramgopal is working on focus on more personal matters, including losses and new arrivals she’s experienced within her own family. In a Tone Madison-presented show on August 19 art Arts + Literature Laboratory, Ramgopal will join cellist Erica Miller and violinist Hanna Brock to perform a set of music inspired by the Tamil lullabies that Ramgopal remembers from her childhood, and in turns sings to her niece.
Ahead of the show, Ramgopal caught up with Tone Madison about the complex role of memory in her work, how her research as a classics professor connects with her music, and what she has planned for the future.
Give the conversation a listen here, or subscribe to the Tone Madison podcast on Apple Podcasts. If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and consider supporting us financially with a one-time or recurring donation.
