Camilla Sparksss at the Penthouse

Barbara Lehnhoff lived her early life on Native American reserves along the Great Lakes in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Finding her path in life, she moved to Switzerland, studied economy and graphic design, and became a filmmaker. She began playing electronic music, writing songs and singing, and by 2012 had developed an avant garde art pop experiment called Camilla Sparksss. Camilla Sparksss released a debut album, For You the Wild, on September 23, 2014.

Camilla Sparksss is more than an electronic art pop music project, however; Lehnhoff is a performance artist. In an abbreviated set tonight in the Penthouse at the Standard Hotel, East Village, Lehnhoff played throbbing dance beats and thick synthesizer runs while she abrasively shouted and screamed her lyrics. There were hints of mystery and horror in her performance. A young woman danced at her side. In her final number, Lehnhoff began whispering into the microphone, set her synthesizer on loop and walked stalkingly through the audience shouting vulgarities. The song ended with Lehnhoff and her dancer both wrestling  and caressing on the floor. Camilla Sparksss 20-minute set was odd and captivating.

Visit Camilla Sparksss at www.camillasparksss.com.