Tonight's entertainment comes in the form of choral ensemble The Australian Voices latest offering 'Boombox'. The tagline of the event online reads "The ultimate skirmish between human voice and machine." Unsure what to expect, we make our way down the Powerhouse steps to the Visy theatre below, ready to begin.

The performance is an experimental mix of sampled audio and choral interpretation/improvisation. The sampled audio covers various and vastly different subject matter, ranging from the light and playful to astute sociopolitical commentary. At times the vocal sound bites are accompanied by sparse electronic percussion and integrated seamlessly with the choir's voices, other times serving to simply segue into the next piece.

The twenty or so young performers on stage in the intimate theatre are dressed in greyscale costumes and set against a minimal black curtain backdrop. This shifts the visual emphasis away from the people themselves and onto the synchronised movements that connect the performers to the performance piece. An old school boombox serves as the central and only prop, symbolising the various backing tracks and interludes that bridge the choral segments.

Led by a conductor, the ensemble's collective voices join to become like one entity, rising in an ecstatic cacophony. At times the polyphonic harmonies are reminiscent of sacred music from the Middle Ages or Renaissance, juxtaposing greatly with the modernity of the content. Boombox manages to cover everything from sharks, music theory, rap battles, German Christmas carols, the poem of an entrenched Australian soldier, sexism in politics and Donald Trump in spectacular style.

Highlight pieces include 'Not Now, Not Ever', 'Total Political Correctness', 'Maria durch ein Dornwald ging', 'Baby Sharks' and an acapella human interpretation of the old dial-up modem sound. Head to www.theaustralianvoices.com to find videos and recordings of these pieces and more, and keep an eye out for future performances.

- Daniel Coyne-Watego