On thursday 28/09 I will perform Fripp and Eno's "An Index Of Metals" from my project "No [more] Pussyfooting" in a support act to the Ictus ensemble, who will then play Fausto Romitelli's "An Index Of Metals". It is known that Fausto Romitelli was influenced by psychedelic prog rock by the likes of King Crimson and others and knew the work of Fripp and Eno very well. The fact that Romitelli's mesmerising video-opéra bears the same title as the track on the b-side of Fripp and Eno's second studio album "Evening Star" is no coincidence. I'm very excited that both "Indexes" finally meet!!
Oh Mensch in Mexico City!
[ UPDATE ALL EVENTS CANCELED DUE TO THE EARTHQUAKE OF 19/09
We're relieved to report that we're safe and unharmed. ]
I'm currently in Mexico City with my duo Oh Mensch with Matthias Koole. We're preparing for a workshop on extended techniques in the music of Helmut Lachenmann and Arthur Kampela for the Music department of the University of Mexico City on tuesday 19/09 as well as a concert as part of the TonalÀtonal series organised by Goethe Institut Mexico on wednesday 20/09. We'll play music by Helmut Lachenmann, Matthias Spahlinger and Arthur Kampela. Hasta Luego!
Meakusma 2017
This weekend I'll be playing another "No [more] Pussyfooting" set, this time at the wonderful Meakusma festival in Eupen! Only at its second edition, this festival received a lot of international acclaim, not in the least from the Guardian naming it one of the 10 best festivals in Europe. It's an honour to be part of this year's fantastic program!
Our Ears Felt Like Canyons - Ruhtriennale Premiere
Zwerm's latest project "Our Ears Felt Like Canyons" will have its premiere monday 21st of august at the Machinehaus concert-series of the Ruhrtriennale!
'And we played until our awareness became embedded in the canyon and summoned a ghostly, floating train, an apparition of metal meeting metal, reflected doubly, triply, endlessly from the canyon, from the mind, from the flickering passenger windows, the rumbling ties, our ears felt like canyons. We didn't speak until morning.' Pauline Oliveros.
“Acousmatic listening”, as described by Pierre Schaefer, refers to hearing a sound without seeing what it causes - in it's original sense “acousmatique” refers to the disciples of Pythagoras who listened to their master from behind a curtain, without seeing him, in complete silence.
Pauline Oliveros' “Deep listening” is an album recorded in a large cistern under the ground with a 45 second natural reverb. It also refers to a very intuitive and encompassing attitude of listening.
With Our Ears Felt Like Canyons Zwerm proposes an immersive concert setting where the four musicians are in the center, obscured – using adapted lightning - facing each other, with the audience surrounding them. The electric guitar, allowing to create complex sounds with little movement, acts as a sort of “pythagorian curtain”, stripping the performers from most of the visual theatrics that go with a live performance and shifting the action more towards the ear and the act of listening.
Zwerm asked composers Joanna Bailie, Christopher Trapani and Alexander Schubert to write new pieces with this idea in mind, creating a musical triptych which explores the refined spectral-microtonal roots of New Orleanian Christopher Trapani, in between the pure and minimalist soundscapes of Joanna Bailie and the psychedelic noise of Alexander Schubert. Three sonic tableaux that will, each in their own way, fit this specific soundscape environment and acousmatic context very well, creating a unique concert experience.
Performance dates:
21 08 17: Ruhrtriennale (DE) (Premiere)
22 10 17: Transit, Leuven (BE)
21 11 17: Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (GB)
3-6 05 18: Spor Festival (DK)
Oh Mensch in Brazil!
Guitar dus Oh Mensch (with Matthias Koole and yours truly) is currently preparing for concerts and a recording in Brazil! We're currently rehearsing two pieces, Turgut Ercetin's "Catalysis (a)" (world premiere) and Michael Maierhof's "Specific Objects", at Matthias Koole's homebase Belo Horizonte. We'll do a showcase/open rehearsal at the local conservatory and then it's off to São Paulo for a concert at Ibrasotope.
Ercetin's score and Maierhof's specific objects
Then on friday we're off to Rio de Janeiro to record Turgut Ercetin's piece "Catalysis (a)" for an upcoming album release, more about this soon!