Praise Poem for the Music and Musicianship of Marian McLaughlin and Heterodyne: Mariya Shesiuk and Ted Zook

The Venue & the Principals

At Baltimore’s impressive Four Hour Day Lutherie, a multi-purpose establishment where the practice of making stringed instruments meets the practicing musicians who make stringed and other instruments “go forth to song”, guitar player and singer Marian McLaughlin shared the bill on November 2nd with the improvisational project Heterodyne, formed by Mariya Shesiuk (keyboards, synthesizer, voice) and Ted Zook, basscello. Since Heterodyne invites an extended family of guest performers to join their appearances, I eagerly joined as “words.” In my experience, small performance spaces often facilitate some of the most indelible displays of musicianship, and this event at the Lutherie would hardly derail such a theory.

Marian McLaughlin

Marian McLaughlin might describe herself as an experimental folk musician, and to that, I’d add a few humble thoughts about her indigenous connection to guitar as well as her kindly relationship with audience. One could ponder the mastery of technique when watching Marian play and one could ponder the inevitable well of her abundant discoveries. I’d wager on the inner life of the artist, the sincere weights of her process, the implicit prevalence of her storytelling and imagery. What devotee of Debord would fail to register her travels through numerous stations of keen hypothesis? Marian’s beckoning voice can be observed in a constellation that clearly unifies audience members, the enviable concertgoers who thirst for this warmth of communion. 

Heterodyne: Mariya Shesiuk and Ted Zook

Heterodyne doesn’t simply certify a state of urgency. The consequential partnership between Mariya and Ted establishes itself in a vaulting appraisal that situates listeners amid dilemma, some parts nocturnal, some parts urban-nocturnal, some parts the fluidity of human resourcefulness attempting to achieve salvation, boot-sock, boot-sock. Even as our social contracts wobble, even as alarms signal the absence of meaningful doctrine, the music of Heterodyne proposes the kind of ambient elasticity that can enroll all the wayward bodies who might otherwise drift toward despondency. Optimism, we are reminded, cannot be the province of superficiality, but could accompany the exacting genesis envisioned by Mariya and Ted.

For a free recording of Heterodyne (plus “words”) at the Four Hour Day Lutherie, click [here]

There Will Be Additional Ruckus

The very same lineup will renew the ruckus on November 16, 2017 at The Dewdrop Inn, at 8:00 p.m., in Washington, D.C. Come see Marian McLaughlin and Heterodyne (plus “words”) as we stamp our sawing & yodeling, etc., onto worthy square footage of metropolitan terrain. Huzzah!

resurrection week editorial schedule:

Notes (for Sonnet)

“Great White Water” (Shaker)
“Cozy’s Mambo” (R&B Shaker)

Marian McLaughlin & Heterodyne

Sonnet (for Clarice Lispector)