Day of the Dead ceremony / live music from Panther Panther

This performance was commissioned by Popelei Theatre Company to close the theatrical performance of 'Letters to my Dead Mother' by Brazilian artist Ana Borges at PAPAYA Fest 2024.

Villierezz led a Dead of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) ceremony where they explained to the audience the different elements of the tradition and invited the audience to participate in the ritual of remembrance. This was accompanied by Latin-focused ambient music.

Whilst the hardware setup for Electric Balam enabled Villierezz to play slower tempos, this event required a timeless approach better suited to ambient music and much more sparse rhythmic elements. Villierezz used the same instruments but they programmed different sequences and routed audio and MIDI in a way that enabled a simple setup into the venue's soundsystem as well as a fully improvised performance.

This was received very positively and Villierezz was particularly pleased with the freedom with which they were able to manipulate sound in real time.

• https://www.papayafest.com/letters-to-my...