One year ago, more than 40 local artists transformed a nondescript, beige alleyway in uptown Charlotte into a colorful, immersive gallery of otherworldly murals.
The project was part of the annual Charlotte SHOUT! arts and culture festival. This year, the festival adds a new layer to the alley known as “Luminous Lane” — a musical soundtrack.
Charlotte-based singer and songwriter Emily Sage was asked to compile a soundtrack for the space near Tryon Street, featuring an original composition inspired by the art. She spoke with WFAE's Nick de la Canal.
Nick de la Canal: Have you ever composed music for a specific space before?
Emily Sage: Yes, actually, I have. Last year I had the opportunity to compose a 15-minute piece for Serenity Garden, which was an activation for Charlotte SHOUT! So it was cool to do it for a completely different type of space, because that was a green space. And now this is very much in the city. It's an alleyway.
De la Canal: How acquainted were you with this alleyway known as Luminous Lane before you started on this project?
Sage: Well, last year I got to see Luminous Lane. And I actually know Sydney Duarte, who curated this space and brought the artists together, and organized the whole thing. And she also is an artist, and so she added to it as well.
De la Canal: So you pieced together this soundtrack for this space, which includes an original piece, which is titled "Luminous Lane," and it's inspired by the art. Tell us about how you went about composing this original piece.
Sage: Yeah, so I started off with doing a little bit of research. So I went and I spoke to Sydney. She actually gave me a personal tour of Luminous Lane. And we went really early one morning, and she told me a lot of stories about different people who had done different art pieces there, and then also what some of the murals are about. And that is sort of what set the tone for what I would create sonically. And there aren't really any lyrics in this piece.
De la Canal: Well, it does have, like, some snippets of dialogue and laughter.
Sage: Yes. So the laughter in it was background from this audio that a new friend of mine sent to me and allowed me to use in this piece. At the beginning of one of the audio clips that he sent me, you could hear people laughing in the background. And it was actually people who were out there spray painting and talking and having fun creating art together, and I was like this (sound) captures the spirit of the space.
De la Canal: It is very atmospheric, and it's one of I believe 44 pieces that you selected for this soundtrack?
Sage: Yes.
De la Canal: And that is about how many murals there are in the alley. I have to ask if you matched each mural to, like, a piece of music?
Sage: No that was not intentional. I feel like I should have lied right then and just been like, 'Oh yeah. Exactly the same number.' No — the reason why there are so many pieces is a lot of the pieces are really short. And a lot of my favorite songs are just really short, because sometimes you can say a lot with a little bit.
WFAE wants to hear from you! Amid all the conflict in the world, what activities are bringing you joy, comfort or happiness? Find out how to share your story with WFAE by clicking here.
De la Canal: One of the themes of Luminous Lane when it was being created was bringing light to dark places. How do you think that this soundtrack adds light to this alley, so to speak? Or what do you hope it adds?
Sage: Yeah, so I think it's really beautiful when you can hold sorrow and joy in the same hand. And it's something that's really hard to do, and I feel like this space does that. There's a lot of pieces that talk about grief and joy or hope. And hope and sorrow kind of go together in their own way. And so I hope that it connects what the artists are saying with the people who are experiencing it and viewing it. I just hope that it helps as a form of connection.
