The Voight-Kampff Music Collective is dedicated to exploring music through spontaneous improvisation.
In the 1982 movie Blade Runner, as well as in Philip K. Dick’s 1968 book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep; the Voight-Kampff Test consisted of a series of questions intended to provoke emotional responses that Replicants, or Androids, have difficulty emulating.
Similarly, the music of the collective aims to trigger subjective emotional responses in its listeners.
There is no distinct message or meaning behind the music. The Voight-Kampff Music Collective encourages listeners to free associate the music with personal mood, memories, and imagery.
The music is completely improvised, with little or no indication ahead of time where it will go.
At times, vague structure and a few rules of constraint may be used to set up a certain relationship, but in the end, as in all performed music, it’s up to the player. The result is a collage of dynamic, well-phrased ideas that come together to trigger subjective images in each listener’s mind.
Voight-Kampff was founded in 1996, getting it’s start in Nashville, TN at visual and performing art shows. The current line up includes Brady Sharp on guitar, Matt Hamilton on guitar with pedal effects and other electronics, along with Andrew Mays on computer, woodwinds and drums. Over the years the lineup has included rotating members and guests including frequent players Drew Rydberg on bass, synthesizers, or drums, and Stephen Seifert on synthesizers, laptop, iPads, and other controllers.