With the quality of artists featured in the Syncretism series and the reputation of Room40 in putting on the city’s finest experimental and sound art events, it is no surprise that the tickets for the surround sound performance of New York’s Taylor Deupree soon sell out.

Hailing from New York in the USA, Deupree is the well known force behind the 12k label of what can most simply and economically be called experimental music. An incredibly productive artist, across as many genres in the last decade as forms of creative arts themselves, Taylor brings his minimal live performance to Brisbane in full 5.1 surround sound, with support from Qua, Lloyd Barrett and Joe Musgrove.

What more then a few don’t realise is the prompt start and short set times of the artists, leading to some scolding at the door and escorts into the theatre with a stern yet hushed command of “stay to the outside and keep quiet”. The theatre is set up dark and unadorned, with the surround sound rig peaking out from the shadows. With all three support acts curiously finished by barely after 9pm, Taylor begins his performance. Many lie and let eyes shut as a sub bass tone rumbles through the ground with long drawn out pulses. As a strangely non specific rhythmic effect takes hold, the audiences silence is only broken by the odd mobile phone falling out of a pocket as the owner reclines or the self conscious muted clink of a wine glass.

The performance itself is unique in the absence of any common musicality and flows by with a sparse and somewhat frequency focused subtlety, punctuated only by variations in the ever present and strangely soothing sub bass. Nothing of particular note emerges or features and the potential profundity of the surround sound mix is lost in a simple happy and warm wash of sound. The pulses of bass space out further apart and one can almost hear the audience breathing in time with it, before falling silent all too soon with a very modest and quiet “thank you” from Taylor breaking the spell.

It’s hard to believe such an immersive performance is concluded in approximately 45 minutes yet the audience stirs slowly and happily as if from a long sleep. Pillows are collected and beanbags rustle up into arms as the crowd wanders out for coffee, buses and car parks, while those who arrived late slink out quietly lest further sniffs and admonishments from staff remind them that this niche of audio performance as we know it is quite serious business, and all the better for being in the hands of such passionate curators and promoters.