Soundscapes of Resistance: Eric Wong and RM Francis

In 2019, an experiment began. At first, Project [BLANK] appears to be a typo; without a name, how can something be identified? But not everything we see fits neatly into lines of code. Project [BLANK], an arts nonprofit highlighting multidisciplinary work, retains the blank space in its name as a whisper to imaginative creations that resist definition. Let’s reimagine the interconnections between performer, music, medium, space, and audience. 

In an “unforgettably salty” lineup, every third Friday of the month, Project [BLANK] takes over 1955 Julian Avenue in Logan Heights, San Diego, at Bread & Salt. It’s called “The Salty Series.” The former bread factory-turned experimental art center welcomes international artists in musical immersion and a transcendence of genre.

The extravaganza promises to be avant-garde on October 17, 2025, headlined by artists Eric Wong and RM Francis and starting at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 or “Pay-what-you-can”.

Musician, composer, sound artist. With many titles under his belt, Berlin-based, Minneapolis-born Eric Wong voyages into the human relationship to sound. A biography hints in enigmatic phrases detailing his practice of “minimal gestures” in “non-linear sonic narratives.”

In a video clip of Wong performing at a noise fest, he wears a pale salmon pink shirt and leans over a table with a laptop and a sprinkling of cords. A sound emits from the screen, an indelible sound that is difficult to pen, and must be heard yourself.

Wong will bring Bluetooth speakers to the October 17 show, scattering them throughout the crowd and venue. Interactive, immersive, this is a decentralized performance.

Seattle-based RM Francis joins, working with computational sound and language that he turns into speech-like sounds. 

In another video clip tinted with shades of aquamarine—almost as if it had been taken undersea—I also get a chance to see Francis performing. It’s a recording of a recording of a recording, with two duplicates of Francis behind a laptop. In the clip, a tinkling noise follows, with an unmistakably robot-like sound, as if one is coming to life. What seems to be organ sounds and static create an extraterrestrial, ethereal harmony.

For the October 17th show, Francis will create a “depopulated opera.” An orchestration of computer-generated voices, the artist dances with the uncanny.

Join us. Experience a resistance of expectation, of classification, of tradition. We’ll see you there.