"Attention Span w/ Colleen Iversen and Conrad Sobieraj" is a never-before seen neo-classical/electronic performance. hundredmillionthousand's new album "Attention Span" was performed on a 7-city European tour in 2022. For its debut performance in North America, Iranian-Filipno composer hundredmillionthousand (Noel Fanaeian) has teamed up with opera singer Colleen Iversen and cellist Conrad Sobieraj. The trio will perform a impression of the critically acclaimed experimental album along with unreleased material.
The concept album "Attention Span” digitizes human intimacy into a warped commodity. Sounds in the album were obtained via consensual field recordings of couples, who met on online dating platforms, having sexual moments. These recordings were processed into samples, then harmonized with cello, double bass, voice, and choir chants. This sonic dehumanization mirrors the state of modern courtship in the digital era, painting a bleak picture of contemporary relationships that have been subsumed into a culture of consumption and disposability, reduced to short-term iterations.
"Fitting between the likes of Olafur Arnalds, Jon Hopkins with a splash of Lapalux."
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- Simon Lucas-Hughes
"Designing an artistry that has stretched across the globe hundredmillionthousand has established himself as an act who can engage and intrigue anyone listening.
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- Malvika Padin
hundredmillionthousand is the moniker of Noel Fanaeian, a Canadian composer of Iranian-Filipino descent. He is known for highly compositional experimental electronic and neoclassical--hybridizing sound design with voice, cello, and concert bass. At any moment, his sound can be dark and suspenseful; ethereal and emotional; or playful and danceable. However, even with such wide breadth, his music retains a strong stylistic unity. In recent years, Fanaeian has studied under Laurel Halo, supported Loscil, and toured North America and Europe. His aesthetic combines sound installation, film composition, and contemporary dance score.
Colleen Ainslie Iversen is a Soprano from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She started singing with the Calgary Children’s Choir in 2007 and attended international tours with them in England, Spain, Hawaii, and France. Colleen has sung with many choirs since, including the Alberta Youth Choir, the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, and the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, and was featured as a soloist within these choirs as well. In 2014 she released the CD Familiar Faces with the vocal jazz group Vocal Group Kiva, as well as the 2015 Christmas EP called In My Arms He Lay with Talitha and Rachel Peacock.
She completed her Diploma of Music at Red Deer College, with a Major in Voice Performance. Recently, she studied with Elizabeth Turnbull and Shannon Hiebert and completed her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Alberta. Colleen has performed with the Cowtown Opera Company, the University of Alberta Opera Workshop class, and the Edmonton Opera Chorus. In addition to her classical role studies, Colleen composes choral music as well as jazz charts and is an active songwriter.
Edmonton born cellist, teacher, and composer Conrad Sobieraj began playing cello at age 4 under the instruction of his mother Grazyna Sobieraj. In preparation for university he studied with Silvia Buttiglione of the Vaughan String Quartet, and went on to complete his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Alberta under the instruction of Rafael Hoekman, and is expected to begin his masters degree at McGill University in Montreal in September 2023. Conrad is one of the founding members of the early music group Convivencia Canadá, and Bossa-nova trio Rei Rei Rei. He currently plays in the Vertex String Quartet, which has gone to perform at the 2022 Edmonton International Jazz Festival, and recently recorded string sections for Indie-Rock band Rare Americans. Conrad has appeared on numerous indie albums including Daniel Martin and the Infamous’ The Pursuit of Heaviness, and Sol Viator’s self-titled album Sol Viator. He is the principal cellist of the River City Orchestra, and - along with his partner, Em Friesen - organizes and performs cello and lute concerts in Edmonton. During the first two years of his degree, the Vertex String Quartet premiered both of his string quartet compositions in 2017 and 2018 respectively. He continues composing pieces for his students and peers. Conrad teaches cello privately, and also teaches improvisation and cello classes at Society for Talent Education. When he is not performing, Conrad enjoys teaching, composing, improvising, painting, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.