Asemic Front 2 Review: Underground Psychotic Asemic Songs (Until 2019) by Tatiana Roumelioti
By De Villo Sloan
In a 2016 article entitled “The Viewer has the Freedom,” Tatiana Roumelioti (Athens, Greece) gives a context for her current asemic writing and performance career.
Roumelioti writes that her work is inspired by ancient manuscripts. In 2012 she “began to create an aesthetically similar variety of my own imaginary writings and hieroglyphs” (March 2, 2016). Roumelioti goes on to say her work “holds no intentional meaning. However, it appears enigmatic and the viewer has the freedom to make their own sense of [it].”
Roumelioti discovered she shared her language-textual passion with others in the asemic writing community. While coming from many different origins, they are united by the concept of asemic writing and exploring its possibilities. Roumelioti embraced the asemic community; and in turn, she has received a warm reception.
Roumelioti has established herself as a pioneer in asemic soundpo (sound poetry) and asemic performance art. In my own exploration of her work, shared here at Af2, I will look at her asemic recordings at venues including Youtube, bandcamp, Soundcloud and elsewhere.
To gain perspective on Roumelioti’s asemic soundpo and music, you can listen to her album Asemic Multi-Verses 2020-2021 (bandcamp). (The collection even has a track titled “Asemic Writing.”)
Link to Asemic Multi-Verses album:
https://tatianaroumeliotimusic.bandcamp.com/album/asemic-multi-verses-years-2020-2021
Tatiana Roumelioti brings an intuitive, creative, meditative and ultimately spiritual approach to asemics. I believe her art is rooted in automatic writing, asemic writing, speaking in tongues and many other traditions that invoke and involve the non-rational. I also believe she represents a rising current in asemic writing and art.
Far from being in the mode of DaDaist sound poetry, Underground Psychotic Asemic Songs is a collection of remarkable vocal performances by a singular talent. Released January 30, 2022, the album provides an overview of her earlier asemic performances and soundpo. Most of the songs (15 tracks total) range from 1:00 to 3:00 minutes in length, shorter yet similar in format to pop tracks. Roumelioti experiments with various song genres and beats that bring further illumination to the asemics.
She performs asemic scat singing over an engaging postlit avantpop. The best asemic performances on the album, for me, can be found in the chants that coalesce organically in the second half of most tracks.
My favorite tracks are #6 – “Basa” – for its minimalism and tracks #8 & #9 – “EUDAI” and “Exposition (Project 6)” because the production has depth and allows Roumelioti to use the full range of her voice.
The asemic movement is producing increasingly successful sound poetry and performance art. Tatiana Roumelioti is a figure of importance in this area. Her audience will be rewarded by pursuing her work.
De Villo Sloan
August 17, 2024
Elbridge, New York
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