I saw a rather fascinating vocal performance on Friday night at Two Moon Art House and Cafe in Brooklyn. This is only the second OMOO SOLO VOICE concert by the young Swiss singer-songwriter Emilie Weibel, and there is doubtless much refinement to come.

What is striking about her show is that she travels light, just her voice, a looper, a sampler, a few essentials to connect the devices to the speakers, a book of poetry by Mallarme, and a homemade music box with a player strip she punched herself. She uses the looper to accompany her own voice with itself and build layers of sound live and mostly in the moment. The effect is exceptionally delicate at times, playfully idiosyncratic, and sometimes stirring, a sort of musical bricolage that reminded me of everything from the Symbolist poets, to Dada and the Futurists, the onomatopoetic conceits and childlike fancies of the “Banquet Years”, and – given the technology she was using – the eccentricities of more recent artists in the vein of Bjork.

The fruitful irony of all these associations is that they add up to something original rather than borrowed. I look forward to what the future holds for this very intriguing project.

For more on Weibel, click here.