The willingness to push boundaries of what can be executed during an 11-minute drum corps production has been a fundamental tenet to Bluecoats’ on-field identity over the last decade.
Few Bluecoats shows embody that vision more than “Kinetic Noise.”
“In the Bluecoats’ 2015 program ‘Kinetic Noise,’ the oscillating force of kinetic motion, set within an atomic playground, collides with the intense and startling vibrations emanating from the music of five incredible modern artists,” the corps wrote in the announcement revealing the show in 2015.
To put it plainly, “Kinetic Noise” is a show about sound in motion. At first glance, this idea seems fundamental to the concept of the marching arts.
What separated this Bluecoats production from others was how that sound was presented to drum corps audiences.
“I think the thing we’re most excited about with the sound setup this year is that sound is no longer in front,” electronics designer Vince Oliver said. “Now, we are able to create a backdrop of sound.”
2015 Bluecoats | “Kinetic Noise”
3rd place, 96.925
“P-p-performing their 2015 production, ‘Kinetic Noise…’”
The first sound in “Kinetic Noise” is a wave of static interference, initiated by drum major Willie Veenstra’s forceful wave of his arm. Much of the corps proper, organized in pods set in a diagonal line across the field, proceed to squat and kneel in waves as the sound echoes throughout the field.
The show officially begins with sounds of varied length and timbre ringing out. The color guard, staged in a diamond-like shape on the viewer’s left side of the field, begins to move in a frenetic manner.
As the color guard moves across the field, they pass in front of brass performers situated in front of several microphones. Just a few moments later, these brass performers begin playing short musical stanzas. These stanzas are, then, live sampled, creating a joyfully chaotic sonic palette.
The soundscape presented within the first few beats of the production was among the first of its kind. This extensive use of electronics is commonly regarded as an instrumental moment in modern drum corps history.
“From day one, the electronics are a big part of the design process and the design discussion,” Oliver said. “We like to consider it an integral element of the musical fabric and texture of the show.”
The collection of musical stanzas that were reverberating throughout the field eventually come together as the corps reaches its first musical impact of the 2015 production.
The corps navigates out of the orb-like shape it ends the opener in and into the first movement, which is characterized by the ever-present pendulum of kinetic energy.
Performers are constantly moving. Sounds are traveling to all sides of the field. The “oscillating force of kinetic motion” as described in the show reveal is on full display.
“The acoustic sounds that begin on the field are actually overtaken by our amplified soloists and the timbre and the color of their sound changes over time,” Bluecoats brass arranger Doug Thrower said.
Shifting into Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint,” the production now moves into what is widely regarded as a signature moment. The focus shifts to a small group of trumpets situated in the back corner who are reintroducing the musical motif of the first movement — short stanzas that serve as the foundation for a new sonic environment.
With their backs turned to the audience, the low brass filters in with a doppler-like sound effect. Providing support to the trumpet loop, the smooth crescendo is soon juxtaposed upon the sharpness of the battery percussion section.
These small details are what the corps used to combat latency, a stark challenge that came up during the early stages of production. Brief pauses are strategically scattered throughout to create a smooth musical picture.
“One of the goals with the sampled brass sound is we really don’t want the listener to know or to tell where one sound ends and another one begins,” Thrower said. “That’s part of the surprise element.”
The rest of the corps layers in as the sound of those initial six trumpet players still echo out for the crowd to hear. As the corps inches closer to another musical impact, the performers turn to face the right side of the field. When that moment comes, the corps is now fully facing the audience.
What started off as a relatively quiet section is now at maximum volume, releasing the energy it built up throughout the movement.
“I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind.”
A stark contrast to the first five minutes of the show, the ballad creates a barren, hollow soundscape. The audio environments presented prior to this moment were filled with sound and motion.
Now, everything is at a standstill.
With what the corps called a “mantra-like progression” from contemporary composer Michael Gordon’s “Gene Takes a Drink” providing the backdrop, Bluecoats’ performance of “Woods” by Bon Iver starts off with a solemn baritone solo. The soloist stands on a metal bar in an orb, isolated from the rest of the corps.
At this point in the show, much of the show was rooted in rigidity. Given the task to add human complexity to the production, the corps spreads out to breathe a new life into the show, which Thrower attributes to the nature of Bon Iver’s music.
“There’s a certain intimacy and looseness to all Bon Iver’s stuff that makes it really human and honest,” Thrower said. “That’s hard to do on a drum corps field.”
The melody of the song aligns with the theme of repetition in the show. However, each interpretation of this melody adds a new layer to this section. Situated in giant arcs, the corps finishes its journey through the woods and into the fast-paced final minutes of the show.
“Yes, brother, I know…”
The echoes of a muted trumpet trio give way to the percussion feature, prominently featuring “The Animated Description of Mr. Maps” by The Books, a Dutch musical duo whose works of sampled sounds and elements of speech are often categorized as experimental or “folktronica.” Otherworldly precision is the character of this movement as stark vocal clips are paired with bass drum splits and snare rolls.
Soon enough, the sonic environment is interrupted by a cacophony of sounds from the brass section. The last two minutes of the show are defined by speed and based on the piece “Dense” by Belgian avant-garde band Univers Zero. The auditory environment within each section becomes smaller, with less actual time to take it in.
As the show reaches its fever pitch, a majority of the corps splits into five circles, running in that circle either clockwise or counterclockwise. With the tuba and battery percussion sections falling in line behind the circles, the show enters its final moments, which could perhaps be best described as a celebration of sound or as billed by the corps, “a powerful vehicle that galvanizes both listener and performer.”
A new standard
Just as “Kinetic Noise” firmly established the Ohio-based corps as a leader of innovation, the show also reaffirmed Bluecoats’ position among the top World Class drum corps.
In the tail end of the 2015 DCI Tour, the Blueocats had been locked in tight competition with The Cadets. Three days prior to the start of the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis, the two corps tied at an event in Massillon, Ohio. On the first day of competition at Lucas Oil Stadium, The Cadets pushed back ahead by a razor-thin margin of just a half a tenth.
“In drum corps, the name of the game is having an emotional show while having a precise show,” drum major Willie Veenstra said following Bluecoats’ Prelims performance. “I felt tonight that we had a really emotional show, but there were just one or two hairs that were out of place that are normally dialed in that I still feel like we can bring the emotion to while still being precise."
The Bluecoats did manage to comb those hairs back into place, pushing ahead of The Cadets during the Semifinals by 0.275 points. ‘Coats held the third-place position through the Finals, earning their second bronze medal in five years and the corps’ second-consecutive medalist finish.
Despite finishing the 2015 season in a position lower than 2014’s finish, Bluecoats were only 0.725 points away from first place, compared to 2.475 points away in 2014.
Bluecoats did enjoy a string of 10 first-place finishes, spanning from June 22, 2015 to July 11, 2015. Overall, the corps did not finish below fourth, setting the stage for a historic 2016 season.