Gabriel Dharmoo winds and twirls his hands as if conjuring delicate hums and coos from the air rather than from his mouth. The composer-vocalist’s fingers caress the space in front of him, plucking sounds and effects from the atmosphere over the mild hiss of wind coming through the speakers. He twists invisible dials and flicks percussive sounds from his fingertips, a spattering of vocal percussion. Each physical movement effects the soundscape.

This performance forms a prologue to Anthropologies Imaginaires, a showcase of the music and vocal performance practices of imaginary peoples, in which Dharmoo draws on his vocal flexibility to create a diverse array of fictional musical cultures. The first scene – showcasing a culture whose music consists purely of sounds that don’t engage the vocal chords (kissing, popping and clicking sounds) – sets the mood. Dharmoo performs in front of a screen on which a panel of experts appear and comment, documentary-style, the sound of insects filling the theatre. The disconnect between the anthropologists and the cultures they study are immediately and uncomfortable apparent, and this sense of discomfort only increases as the show progresses. References to the various culture’s diets and migration patterns...