INSIDE LOOK | The Sound of CIRCLES: going in / September 20, 2021 by PearlArts Studios

“I can make this just this and then I can distort it./I can add effects.

Echo reverb.

And that's just one sound./So then here's my other sound.

There's my little hi hat, little noise that I have with different tunings.

8 clap ride move dub easy

better, better, better, better…”

In RE: A Ride Through Lovecraft Country / October 22, 2020 by Kitoko Chargois | PearlArts Studios

If you’re looking for something spooky to watch as we delve deeper into October, look no further than Lovecraft Country! While incredibly terrifying at parts, Lovecraft Country is much more than a horror show. LoveCraft Country is an examination on Race in America. This month in In Re: our team weighs in on Lovecraft Country.

Eko Chamber Collective: Music for the Times / August 13, 2020 by Kitoko Chargois | PearlArts Studios

Where many of us take the acoustics of a space for granted, Herman “Soy Sos” Pearl sees potential. In February 2020, Soy Sos, co-executive director of PearlArts Studios and founder of Tuff Sound Recording, launched the Eko Chamber Collective in the lobby of the Warhol museum for the Warhol Sound Series. The collective is a live electro-acoustic 6-piece ensemble that utilizes spatialized performance techniques that cater to reverberant spaces. If the February performance left you wanting more or you didn’t get a chance to attend, The Warhol has just released a virtual performance of a new project by the Collective, featuring Soy Sos and Eko Chamber Musicians Brittany Trotter (Flute) and Paul Thompson (Bass). Titled “Layer, Rinse, Repeat,” the musicians put this project together from the comfort of their own homes. The project was presented as part of the Warhol’s "at home" Silver Studio Sessions.

In RE: Holding Space for Black Trans Lives / August 5, 2020 by Guest User

Welcome back to In RE! This week, we all dedicated our time to watch DISCLOSURE, a Netflix documentary that dives deep into Hollywood's representations of transgender people and its impact as described by trans creatives, actors, directors, and more.

In 2019, the Human Rights campaign called fatal anti-transgender violence in the United States "A National Epidemic." Last year, 91% of transgender people fatally killed were Black, 81% were under the age of 30, and 68% lived in Southern US states. It is still a national epidemic today. (Source: HRC.ORG)

In RE: How Do the Arts Survive Digitally? / July 9, 2020 by Kitoko Chargois | PearlArts Studios

Welcome to our new blog series! Every two weeks, we’ll be picking topics pertaining to movement, sound, art, and current events and discussing them! We invite you to join the discussion in the comments below. This week, we will be discussing an article from The Conversation by Caitlin Vincent: Giving it away for free – why the performing arts risks making the same mistake newspapers did. As COVID-19 continues to force the necessity of social distancing and bans on large gatherings, the dance and theater world is still scrambling to adjust. When Allegheny County went into lockdown in early March, the move was sudden and unexpected. All of our live engagements with STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos and planned events at PearlArts Studios were cancelled or postponed. It’s been 5 months since that lockdown, and while the county went to green phase and cautiously began reopening, it was not long before we slid back into the yellow phase due to rising cases of Coronavirus. It has been important to us to keep moving, creating, and setting the groundwork for the future. With social distancing, utilizing outdoor spaces, masking up, and running admin remotely, we have been able to make space to adapt to a digital reality. In this week’s in RE: our team weighs in on Caitlin Vincent’s article on how offering digital content for free is affecting our industry.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #8 / June 5, 2020 by Guest User

Illuminated by soul and funk music during the 50s and mid 70s, Staycee and Herman Pearl premiered the production sol. at the first pearlPRESENTS Dance Festival in summer of 2019. sol. echoes the emphatic sounds of the musical phenomenon and exceeds it with powerful and elegant movement. The sumptuous vibes fill the space to the brim, abundant with dancers embodying the relentless energy of the era in overwhelming floral and retro patterns. This week we wrap up the 10th anniversary of STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos and the birthday of co-founding artistic director Staycee Pearl, reflecting on the innovative sounds and enduring memories of joy that soul music made and continues to move generations in this Q&A and our Spotify playlist expertly curated by STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #7 / May 27, 2020 by Guest User

In the 2019 production of sym, STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos tunneled through the paradoxical universe of vampires and humans to navigate symbiosis, gender identity and race inspired by Octavia Butler’s “Fledgling.” Transcendent, fixed, and changing, Staycee and Herman conjured a deep naturalism with live experimental music by musicians Sadie Powers, Bonnie Jones, & Soy Sos as well as artwork by acclaimed visual artist Barbara Weissberger.