Festival Semibreve leva arte digital e música electrónica ao Theatro Circo
Braga
- 2012-10-06
- visitas (362)
O Theatro Circo voltou a ser a casa da arte digital e da música electrónica, na segunda edição do Festival SEMIBREVE. O Festival SEMIBREVE estreou-se em Portugal no ano passado, tendo sido um evento concebido e integralmente financiado por Braga 2012, e foi uma das muitas iniciativas que marcaram a apresentação do programa oficial da Capital Europeia da Juventude, ainda em 2011.
Hugo Pires, presidente do Conselho de Administração da Fundação Bracara Augusta/Braga 2012, destacou mesmo que Festival SEMIBREVE projetou, já em 2011, a marca Braga - um dos eixos principais da Capital Europeia da Juventude - como uma cidade com história, mas também como uma marca de futuro e inovadora.
O sucesso do Festival SEMIBREVE em 2011 ditou a realização da segunda edição com a presença de artistas consagrados da música electrónica contemporânea, tais como Mouse on Mars, Vladislav Delay + AGF, Ryoji Ikeda, Roly Porter + Flicker, emptyset + Joanie Lemercier, Most People Have Been Trained To Be Bored, Ben Frost, Pole e Grischa Lichtenberger.
Em ano de Capital Europeia da Juventude, o Festival SEMIBREVE apresentou algumas novidades, como a realização de workshops ou o SEMIBREVE Award, prémio internacional que premiou duas alunas do mestrado em Tecnologia e Arte Digital da Universidade do Minho, com o projeto “Entra na Minha Casa”.
Este projeto interativo convidou o público a filmar cenas do seu quotidiano caseiro que foram projetados na casa instalada no Theatro Circo.
O SEMIBREVE Award é uma iniciativa de Braga 2012: Capital Europeia da Juventude, que contou com o apoio do laboratório engageLab da Universidade do Minho e, na sua primeira edição, recebeu 37 candidaturas de todo o mundo.
O cerimónia de entrega do prémio do SEMIBREVE Award, no valor de 2.500 euros, decorre hoje no Theatro Circo, às 21h, com a presença de Hugo Pires, responsável, máximo por Braga 2012: Capital Europeia da Juventude.
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A segunda edição do Festival Semibreve decorre em Braga e Guimarães integrada nos programas da Capital Europeia da Juventude e da Capital Europeia da Cultura 2012. Pretende assumir-se como um evento agregador das duas capitais europeias, aliando a componente da inovação, investigação e tecnologia ao domínio da cultura e das artes.
Neste contexto, o Theatro Circo, em Braga, e o Centro Cultural Vila Flor, em Guimarães acolhem concertos, instalações, workshops e uma mostra de trabalhos produzidos pelo Centro de Computação Gráfica e pelo Departamento de Sistemas da Informação da Universidade do Minho.
Este ano decorre ainda a primeira edição do Prémio Semibreve Award, distinção que pretende premiar e estimular a criação artística digital.
Programa:
Dia 4, Centro Cultural Vila Flor: Vladislav Delay + AGF, Pole + p.ma e Grischa Lichtenberger.
Dia 5, Theatro Circo: Mouse on Mars, Roly Porter + Flicker e emptyset + Joanie Lemercier.
Dia 6, Theatro Circo: Ben Frost, Ryoji Ikeda e Most People Have Been Trained To Be Bored.EVENTO: Festival Semibreve 2012
Preço: bilhete 3 dias (Braga e Guimarães): 20€ a 25€; bilhete diário: 9€
Theatro Circo e Centro Cultural Vila Flor acolhem, a partir desta terça-feira e até sábado o festival Semibreve, criado no ano passado, mas já com créditos firmados no panorama cultural. De resto, este evento pretende funcionar como elemento agregador das capitais, da Cultura, em Guimarães e da Juventude, em Braga.
O segundo ano do Semibreve tem sido pautado pela adesão em massa dos melómanos que na música eletrónica reconhecem o seu espaço de criação, abrindo portas para o universo da arte digital. Em curso, em Braga e Guimarães, o evento quer agregar as duas capitais europeias, aliando a componente da inovação, investigação e tecnologia ao domínio da cultura e das artes.
Além de concertos, o Theatro Circo e o centro Cultural Vila Flor acolhem instalações, workshops e uma mostra de trabalhos produzidos pelos alunos do Mestrado em Tecnologia e Arte Digital da Universidade do Minho.
Os Mouse on Mars, de Andi Toma e Jan St. Werner projetam melodias fragmentadas , distorções e música experimental, bem espelhada no último LP da banda, Parastrophics.
O duo Vex"d e Flicker (designação adoptada por Rod Maclachlan) são complementos a uma noite que leva Braga a reviver os frenéticos anos 1980, bem coadjuvados por emptyset, um projeto originário de Bristol, com James Ginzburg e o artista Paul Purgas.
Hoje, sábado, Ryoji Ikeda atua na Sala Principal do theatro Circo, enquanto Most people have been trained to be bored alinha no Pequeno Auditório. O momento alto da noite será protagonizado por Ben Frost, mas antes, os presentes podem apreciar as instalações patentes no salão nobre.
A música de Ben Frost baseia-se em contrastes. Violentas e pulsantes texturas originadas pela guitarra, inspiradas no minimalismo clássico do Punk ou do Metal.
O Japonês Ryoji Ikeda, por seu turno, é considerado um dos artistas internacionais que melhor conjuga os meios visuais e sonoros. Já o percussionista e compositor Gustavo Costa, desde o início dos anos 90 vagueou pelas áreas do grind core, música contemporânea, experimental, improvisada, free jazz ou electroacústica, tocando nos Estados Unidos e Europa e apresenta o seu recente projeto Most people have been trained to be bored.
Diz o dicionário que semibreve é nome da figura rítmica de maior duração usada actualmente na notação musical padrão. Um nome que para este festival não poderia ser mais adequado. Louve-se o discernimento e a proactividade dos quatro mentores do projecto – Luís Fernandes, Miguel Guimarães, Rafael Machado e Tiago Sequeira –, que conseguiram ver mais além do panorama musical actual português, e desde o ano passado se dispuseram a criar um evento único no norte do país.
O festival Semibreve une a música electrónica às artes digitais, criando, durante três dias, um universo único e tridimensional aportado em concertos de música electrónica, workshops e instalações. O festival decorre em Braga e Guimarães, entre 2 e 6 de Outubro, e convida artistas como Vladislav Delay, Ben Frost, Mouse on Mars ou Ryoji Ikeda. Para saber mais detalhes, fomos conversar com os quatro ‘visionários’.
O Semibreve foi um sonho antigo tornado realidade ou um projecto novo posto imediatamente em prática?
A ideia do Festival é relativamente recente, pelo que faz mais sentido falar numa ideia nova e que foi passada à prática com a celeridade adequada ao tipo de evento que é. Este ano, com o advento das duas capitais europeias (Guimarães da Cultura e Braga da Juventude), o Festival ganhou uma dimensão extra e maior notoriedade, mas a ideia é manter o mesmo nível de qualidade de programação nos próximos eventos.Como surgiu o projecto Semibreve?
Nasce do desafio para criar um Festival que evidencie a capacidade inovadora da cidade de Braga, assim como a sua forte tradição nas novas tecnologias, e como pólo cultural em Portugal. Entendemos que apresentar o que se faz de mais exploratório na área da música e da computação gráfica era a melhor via para fazer essa síntese.Mas existe uma intenção inerente a este conceito?
A própria estrutura de programação convida a que as pessoas, mais do que verem concertos, venham até Braga e Guimarães durante 3 dias, ou 6 no caso dos que também participam nos workshops, e desfrutem do programa e das cidades. Alguns artistas e jornalistas pedem para vir mais dias do que os estritamente necessários e isso significa que o Festival começa a ser conhecido como mais do que um evento para assistir a concertos.O que pretende ser e atingir?
Acima de tudo, pretendemos que o Festival seja reconhecido pela qualidade da programação e pela apresentação de novidades na área da música electrónica e outras artes digitais. Queremos que o Festival evolua para um evento internacional, não só pela programação e cobertura mediática, mas pela vinda de mais público do estrangeiro.Qual a diferença em relação aos outros festivais que se fazem em Portugal?
A principal diferença reside na focalização no domínio específico da artes digitais, seja na vertente mais académica, seja na vertente performativa. Há muitos e bons festivais no nosso país, mas nenhum está orientado para a conjugação destas duas vertentes.O Semibreve é visto como um Festival de elite e entendidos de música electrónica. É este o seu público-alvo?
É certo que este tipo de Festival não atinge, pelo género de música, as grandes massas, pois trata-se de um tipo de arte que exige uma capacidade de experimentação estética muito peculiar. Na verdade, não se trata de música que se ouve todos os dias na rádio. De qualquer forma, não é um Festival para elites, mas antes para pessoas musicalmente esclarecidas e curiosas, e que, ainda que não conheçam alguns dos artistas envolvidos, procuram novas sonoridades e experiências sensoriais pouco habituais e esteticamente desafiantes.Existe uma relação directa entre o Festival e o departamento de Sistemas de Informação da Universidade do Minho. Porquê?
Desde o primeiro dia que consideramos que este Festival teria de ter uma forte ligação à Universidade do Minho (UM) e em particular ao Engage Lab, um centro de investigação tecnológica com uma forte ligação às arte digital. Queremos que o Semibreve seja também uma plataforma de divulgação de trabalhos nesta área, dando visibilidade ao excelente trabalho que é feito pelos investigadores da UM.Como é feita a escolha de artistas a participar em cada edição?
A linha programática está bem delineada desde o início. Pretendemos juntar artistas cujos trabalhos incidam na música electrónica exploratória, embora tentemos ter sempre um artista que se aproxime um pouco mais dos domínios da pop. Tentamos também conjugar artistas estabelecidos com artistas promissores que se estejam a evidenciar na actualidade.Quanto tempo leva a organizar o certame?
Leva alguns meses, sendo certo que começamos a pensar na edição deste ano mal acabou o Festival de 2011. Temos a sorte de, este ano, trabalhar com duas salas excelentes, dotadas de meios técnicos e humanos muito bons (o Theatro Circo e o Centro Cultural Vila Flor), o que facilita muita a organização e produção do Festival.Sei que esta edição tem como novidade um Semibreve Award. Como surge este galardão?
O Semibreve Award é uma competição que visa estimular a criação artística digital, dando especial atenção a projectos artísticos que recorram à interactividade, ao som e à imagem. E no fundo acaba por ser uma evolução Natural da ligação à UM e ao facto de Braga ser, este ano, Capital Europeia da Juventude. Quisemos com isto dar a oportunidade aos jovens criadores de arte digital de todo mundo, de apresentarem o seu trabalho em Braga no Festival Semibreve num ano muito especial para a cidade, e ao mesmo tempo dar uma dimensão ainda mas internacional ao Festival.As salas que acolhem o evento são relativamente pequenas. Pensa que em breve o espaço terá que ser outro, por forma a acolher todos os entusiastas das artes digitais e música electrónica?
Não achamos que as salas sejam pequenas para um tipo de Festival como o Semibreve. De qualquer forma, mais do que o tamanho das salas, do que se trata é de encontrar salas com o carisma suficiente para albergar artistas que são igualmente carismáticos, por forma a que se consiga para o público momentos de percepção estética verdadeiramente satisfatórios.Pensa que poderá haver uma expansão para outras cidades?
Sim, é sempre uma possibilidade em aberto. Desde que, como se disse, os locais tenham carisma e se respeite sempre a linha de programação do Semibreve.Como deseja que o Semibreve seja visto em Portugal? E no estrangeiro?
Gostávamos muito que fosse reconhecido como um Festival que, embora tendo um cunho artístico e estético muito vincado, consegue ser acolhedor e hospitaleiro para público, artistas, imprensa e colaboradores.Muitos dos presentes da primeira edição afirmam que este era o Festival que faltava a Portugal. Concorda?
Concordamos que existia uma lacuna neste tipo de oferta cultural, principalmente sob o contexto de Festival. Ficamos contentes por a poder colmatar. No entanto, existem entidades a fazer um trabalho exemplar nesta área, como por exemplo o Teatro Maria Matos, a ZDB, a Fundação de Serralves ou o Madeira DIG.O que não podemos perder nesta edição?
Seria injusto realçar qualquer artista, porque, de facto, estamos a falar de artistas de topo na área da musica electrónica e na computação gráfica e vídeo. Pensamos que será um verdadeiro pecado perder todo o Festival.Como definiria o Semibreve em apenas 4 palavras?
Carisma, qualidade, envolvência e vanguarda.Entre 2 e 6 de Outubro, no Theatro Circo (Braga) e no Centro Cultural Vila For (Guimarães). Os bilhetes diários custam 9 euros e o Passe Festival 25 euros.
O Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse hoje dos organizadores.
De acordo com o programador Luís Fernandes, a equipa organizadora gostaria de voltar a realizar o Semibreve no ano que vem, mas ainda não têm garantias de que tal seja possível, uma vez que o financiamento obtido foi para 2011 e 2012.
O cartaz do festival conta com nomes como o finlandês Vladislav Delay, o duo Mouse on Mars ou o australiano Ben Frost, que no ano passado lançou uma banda sonora alternativa para o filme Solaris de Andrei Tarkovsky.
Eletrónica e arte sonora no Festival Semibreve entre Braga e Guimarães a partir de quinta-feiraO Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse hoje dos organizadores.
De acordo com o programador Luís Fernandes, a equipa organizadora gostaria de voltar a realizar o Semibreve no ano que vem, mas ainda não têm garantias de que tal seja possível, uma vez que o financiamento obtido foi para 2011 e 2012.
O cartaz do festival conta com nomes como o finlandês Vladislav Delay, o duo Mouse on Mars ou o australiano Ben Frost, que no ano passado lançou uma banda sonora alternativa para o filme Solaris de Andrei Tarkovsky.
@ Agência Lusa
Redação, 01 out (Lusa) -- O Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse hoje dos organizadores.
De acordo com o programador Luís Fernandes, a equipa organizadora gostaria de voltar a realizar o Semibreve no ano que vem, mas ainda não têm garantias de que tal seja possível, uma vez que o financiamento obtido foi para 2011 e 2012.
O cartaz do festival conta com nomes como o finlandês Vladislav Delay, o duo Mouse on Mars ou o australiano Ben Frost, que no ano passado lançou uma banda sonora alternativa para o filme Solaris de Andrei Tarkovsky.
Redação, 01 out (Lusa) -- O Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse hoje dos organizadores.
De acordo com o programador Luís Fernandes, a equipa organizadora gostaria de voltar a realizar o Semibreve no ano que vem, mas ainda não têm garantias de que tal seja possível, uma vez que o financiamento obtido foi para 2011 e 2012.
O cartaz do festival conta com nomes como o finlandês Vladislav Delay, o duo Mouse on Mars ou o australiano Ben Frost, que no ano passado lançou uma banda sonora alternativa para o filme Solaris de Andrei Tarkovsky.
O Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse esta segunda-feira um dos organizadores.
Redação, 01 out (Lusa) -- O Festival Semibreve, dedicado à música eletrónica e arte sonora, vai dar início à segunda edição na quinta-feira, repartido entre Braga e Guimarães, ainda sem garantias de repetição em 2013, disse hoje dos organizadores.
De acordo com o programador Luís Fernandes, a equipa organizadora gostaria de voltar a realizar o Semibreve no ano que vem, mas ainda não têm garantias de que tal seja possível, uma vez que o financiamento obtido foi para 2011 e 2012.
O cartaz do festival conta com nomes como o finlandês Vladislav Delay, o duo Mouse on Mars ou o australiano Ben Frost, que no ano passado lançou uma banda sonora alternativa para o filme Solaris de Andrei Tarkovsky.
A medio camino entre un certamen de música avanzada y una feria de tecnología e investigación con aspiraciones artísticas. Ahí se encontraría la propuesta del Semibreve Festival, que llega a su segunda edición con la oferta repartida entre dos ciudades.
Semibreve Festival 2012: Day Three
The festival highlights on Semibreve’s last day came from Ryoji Ikeda and Ben Frost who performed respectively the first and last set of the evening and it was not surprising to see the Theater Circo almost full to capacity. As the lights receded, Ryoji Ikeda arrived quietly on stage, wearing his trademark sunglasses, and proceeded to the table on which a couple of laptops and a medium sized mixing desk waited. Without warning, Ikeda unleashed a loud barrage of pointillist sine waves spread across the whole sonic spectrum, jumping randomly between the left and right side of the PA so the brain could not process all at once what was happening, neither, at first making sense of the music. To complicate the matter further, the visuals projected behind Ikeda – a procession of black and white lines and rectangles synchronised with the music and echoing the stereo spread between sonic particles appearing either on the left or the right channels – appeared on the screen split in two parts with seemingly correlated graphic motifs. Despite what seemed to be a state of information overload, with time and focus, you started to see how the microscopic sonic particles coalescence into cyclic patterns and soon form meta-rhythm albeit abstract ones, always synchronised with barcode patterns moving at insane speeds up and down the screen. Because of the impossibility for the brain to process images flickering so quickly, the black and white imagery often turned to beautiful shades of grey echoing the strange overtones coaxed out of the sonic onslaught. The music itself was extremely loud with some frequencies voluntarily ear-piercing, whilst intense sub-basses made the venue rattle in unison with their brutal assault. The response to this multi-sensory hyper-stimulation was very physical and seemed to bypass any attempt to approach the sound intellectually. Ryoji Ikeda has long been fascinated by the (over)flow of data that constantly surround us whilst we often fail to acknowledge their transcendental presence. His work is thus focused on finding tangible and meaningful ways to represent them. Ikeda’s granular sine waves and black and white lines are deceptively simple building blocks, but once organised in patterns and diffused at such a high velocity, they really create an impression of overwhelming grandeur – abstract data can thus be processed at a purely emotional level and thus become objects of unexpected beauty.
Portuguese artist Gustavo Costa under the rather wonderful moniker Most People Have Been Trained To Be Bored was a breath of fresh air after the ascetic and disembodied set by Ryoji Ikeda. Performing in the small auditorium below the main concert hall where Emptyset played the night before, I was again lucky enough to grab a seat on the very first row, hoping to become fully immersed within the music to come. For the first time during the whole festival, I couldn’t see any laptop or rack of machines on stage. Instead there were an intricate assemblage of drums and cymbals, a large collection of tuned plates, various other instruments like xylophones and tubular bells, and what seemed to be a mic’ed up wooden box full of home-made small objects. It became clear a few minutes into the performance that Costa operates within what seems to be a purely improvisational framework, although he played against a pre-recorded backdrop of ominous evolving soundscapes. In the opening sequence, the tuned plates resonating in the obscurity of the room recalled a dark ritual being conjured as haunting overtones slowly came to the fore. Costa took his time, gracefully moving from one set of percussions to the next, his presence restrained yet very engaging and focused. He played as much as he listened to the music, and reacted to his prepared drones by coaxing unexpected timbres, textures and poly-rhythms out of his instruments, sounding at times like an obscure and strange swamp full of alien creatures. The performance was dense and at the same time explored vivid and expansive territories in a way that none of the more ‘electronic’ acts had been able to approach during the whole festival – a small treasure indeed.
Back in the main concert hall, Ben Frost performed the last set of the evening for what was surely the most jawdropping concert of the whole festival. No oversized screen this time, no mesmerising visuals, instead there was only a ramp of spotlights in the middle of the stage – nothing else. Frost’s music needs very little to grab an audience literally ‘by the throat’ and seeing him coming and going between the 4 oversized amps occupying center stage and his instruments lit from behind, made him appear at times like a spectral presence haunting machines and guitars, and really added to the raw viscerality of the performance. Over nearly 50 minutes, it felt I had witnessed something I’ve possibly never come across before in any shape or form. Seeing a live interpretation of his last two solo albums is like something existing within a different dimension altogether. After a protracted crescendo of string drones and piano minimal figures coalescing into a sort of imposing wall of sound that quickly droped into near silence, Theory of Machines’ third track ‘We Love You Michael Gira’ emerged from a fog-bound cyclic bass drone engulfing the whole concert hall. People familiar with the track will surely remember the ominous sine wave beeping half-way through the album version. In this situation, the minimal beeping built the drama into a suffocating affair, and the furious roaring of Frost’s guitar that followed brought with it a much needed release – more physical than loud, it literally penetrated through the bones, only leaving when Frost decided it’s done with you. The rest of the performance followed more or less with this contrast between tension and release and the interpretation of Stomp towards the end of the performance was particularly breathtaking in its pace and precision as well as in its sense of rapture. Frost has a visceral way of acting out his music, often at a very primal level and in the process truly embodies the violence and the physicality of sound. In a strange way, he seems to convey the depth of his vision directly to the audience’s reptilian brain, looking more into the flesh and bones of the emotional machinery than anything else.
To summarise…
The Semibreve festival has once again been a complete success and a truly wonderful experience. From the cubist constructions of Vladislav Delay, the dystopia of Roly Porter, the visceral brutality of Emptyset, the centrifugal rhythmical elaborations of Grischa Lichtenberger and the rapturous guitars of Ben Frost, each performance had been a rather unique and visionary take on what music can be today. All the artists I had met and talked to this year praised the dedication and friendliness of the organising team led by sound artist Luís Fernandes. I truly hope that in this context of economic recession and funding cuts affecting more often than not artistic and musical activities, they can continue to organise such a forward-thinking and unique festival.
- Pascal Savy for Fluid Radio / Photography by Adriano Ferreira Borges
www.ryojiikeda.com
www.myspace.com/mostpeoplehavebeentrainedtobebored
www.ethermachines.com
www.festivalsemibreve.com
Semibreve Festival 2012: Day Two
Posted On: October 18, 2012
Posted In: Emptyset, Flicker, Mouse on Mars, Pascal Savy, Roly Porter, Semibreve Festival, Semibreve Festival 2012
Comments: No ResponsesThe Semibreve festival moved from Guimarães, heading for the magnificent Theater Circo, a nearly 100 year old concert hall located in the city centre of Braga. The first and last performances of the evening were held in the main auditorium, which can accommodate nearly 900 people within its large arena and three levels of balconies and boxes, whilst the second concert took place in the small auditorium for a more intimate audience of 250 people…
Bristol-based Roly Porter, once half of the brilliant dub/dark-step duo Vex’d, opened the evening accompanied on stage by Rod Maclachlan aka Flicker on visuals. Maclachlan avoids synthesised or pre-recorded films when creating his images, instead everything is done in real-time, rotating objects in close focus, processed digitally so they become abstract representations once projected on the oversized screen behind the performers. Throughout the performance, I was completely taken aback by the originality and creativity of Maclachlan’s live sculptures. In the first 15 minutes of his set, Porter conjured dark dystopian landscapes, bleak and suffocating, but always avoided veering off towards completely opaque and isolationist territories. The drones buried deep underwater gathered momentum as they met undulating orchestral strings and the neon-lit reflections of a broken drum machine. The atmosphere was tense and brutal, and the machine-gun like sequence that followed was truly breathtaking. Towards the end of the set abrasive synths and emotive cello figures, later accompanied by a rapturous bass drum, finished things off with both restrain and grandeur as the whole concert hall vibrated in unison with sub-bass frequencies wafting through the room. Porter is not new to the game as evidenced by his past activities in Vex’d, but the maturity and breadth of his vision as a solo artist is extraordinary to say the least. I left the room both enthralled and unsettled having witnessed what had been so far the most beautiful and emotional performance of the festival.
James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas, under their Emptyset guise, played what was perhaps the most anticipated set of the whole festival. Despite having made music together for nearly ten years, it’s only recently they seem to have come to everyone’s attention – their latest album ‘Medium’ rightly receiving the success it deserved and having listened to it repeatedly over the last few months I was very curious to see how Ginzburg’s and Purgas’ music would translate to a live context. In a nutshell, their set completely transcended my expectation from start to finish. I can’t remember ever seeing electronic music so brutally eviscerated whilst being delivered with such restrain, focus and precision. Emptyset’s music doesn’t belong to any genre and still borrows from a multitude. Starting in slow motion, drum sequences were quietly put in movement, wafting waves of sub-bass throughout the venue, often tearing apart the low end of the spectrum. From the first row where I was sitting it felt like floating in a warm bath of static waves whilst being assaulted with a high caliber machine gun! At certain points, the rawness of the kick drum and the ascetic simplicity of the bass line reminded me of 2000 Silk Saw’s ‘4th Dividers’ album. At other times, the music sounded as if the whole history of techno had been condensed into a few elemental drum loops, their signifiers reduced to a true bare essence – only remaining the sense of rapture you can feel in a sweaty basement as a rush of MDMA makes its way deep inside your brain. Joanie Lemercier of the AntiVJ visual collective left no prisoner either – his vertical lines of white light illuminating the stage so minimally whilst slowly multiplying and forming loose geometric patterns, veering towards circular shapes fitting perfectly with the surgical precision of the drum assault taking place in front of me for an hour of pure sensuous delight.
Back in the main concert hall, Mouse on Mars played the last concert of the evening and within no time I felt less than overwhelmed, let alone impressed by the German duo. Starting with ‘Chordblocker, Cinnamon Toasted’ the pair performed tracks from the latest album ‘Parastrophics’, but unfortunately failed in my humble opinion to capture the intricacy of the recorded work. The live set seemed much more geared towards the dancefloor environment and not a formal concert hall. The transitions between ‘songs’ felt somewhat artificial and lacked flow, thus making the whole performance a sort of chopped catalogue of ‘latest hits’. Everything seemed quite formulaic and at times cliched. The music itself was not bad, but the performance aspect often fell flat on its face. Mouse on Mars are rightly known to be incredible musicians and their discography is proof of that, but in a live situation or at least on this occasion their performance failed to deliver what could have been so much more.
- Pascal Savy for Fluid Radio / Photography by Adriano Ferreira Borges
www.rolyporter.com
www.rodmaclachlan.co.uk
www.multiverse-music.com
www.joanielemercier.com
www.mouseonmars.com
www.festivalsemibreve.com
Semibreve Festival 2012: Day One
Posted On: October 18, 2012
Posted In: AGF, Grischa Lichtenberger, Pascal Savy, Pole, Sasu Ripatti, Semibreve Festival, Semibreve Festival 2012, Stefan Betke, Vladislav Delay
Comments: No ResponsesPortugal was on the European cultural map this year as neighbouring cities Braga and Guimarães were respectively awarded the status of 2012 European Capital of Culture and European Youth Capital. Organisers of the Semibreve Festival took this opportunity to schedule five days of experimental music, audiovisual workshops and installations in both Braga and Guimarães from 2-6 October.
The first edition last year was an overwhelming success with Stephan Mathieu, Taylor Deupree, Fennesz, Murcof and Carsten Nicolai all performing truly memorable performances that defined a very special festival. Semibreve is quite different from other festivals; concerts takes place at night only and the number of acts is quite small for a three day-event (about 9 sets in total). On top of that the audience are positioned so that the more upbeat performances are somewhat experienced in different conditions which makes for a very unique experience.
Having really enjoyed the first edition last year, I was very much looking forward to the second chapter. The concerts themselves took place from 4-6 October across two contrasting venues: the Vila Flor Cultural Centre in Guimarães, featuring a purpose-built auditorium inaugurated in 2005, and the Theatre Circo in Braga that first opened in 1915. What follows is a personal account of the three days spent in Guimarães and Braga, fully immersed in music…
On Thursday night, Stefan Betke under his Pole moniker opened the Semibreve festival in Guimarães. He was accompanied on stage by visual artist p.ma creating/manipulating video loops projected on to the screen behind both artists. Betke has rightly acquired a legendary status since the mid-nineties and is well known for his wonderful dub infused electronic explorations. He is also the founder of the ~scape/Pole labels and doubles as a talented mastering engineer. Standing in front of an impressive mixing desk and small collection of machines, Betke played, for nearly an hour, a long series of tracks in the vein of his recent Waldgeschichten LPs, starting with the great ‘Lurch’. His music, heavily based on repetition as a way to conjure hypnosis, functioned exceptionally well on the venue’s pristine PA and conjured vast landscapes with vivid urban expansions of breathtaking grandeur. The sound design, frequency placement of the different rhythmical elements and overall balance were perfectly executed, and when getting into noisier territories, Betke seemed to be really enjoying himself as he became more animated within the live process. The visuals projected on the screen were rather wonderful in their own right – woodland landscapes moving in slow motion as viewed through a 1970’s broken TV slowly merging into abstract motifs.
After a short break, Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay played alongside AGF, working on the visual aspect of the performance. Ripatti is perhaps one of the most well-known composers working today in the field of minimal ambient and post-dub, even though he’s been involved in numerous side-projects and collaborations over the last 15 years, exploring many other musical directions. His set was rather surprising in comparison with his studio music, maybe less obviously rhythmical and much more abstract at times than, for instance, his recent ‘Vantaa’ album, but yet showing an impressive sense of focus and following a clear vision throughout. Often drum loops were muffled or tucked far away within the always evolving sonic landscape, or just suggested by their breathing absence whilst propelling the music in forward motion. Even when they took a more prominent role, the rhythmical elements were so skewed within the grid that they gave the music a very oblique yet seducing quality. It was not an easy set, far from it, perhaps because of its apparent cerebrally and non-linear structure. Ripatti was often jumping from one sequence to another both abruptly and with a mesmerising elegant fluidity, in the process encapsulating and delineating spaces within spaces whilst exploring an elusive matrix of sonic possibilities. The impeccable sound design diffused within the concert hall helped me to dwell so easily into the sound when at times my mind started to be taken aback by the abstraction of the performance. Watching the wonderful visuals composed in real time by AGF and projected on a giant screen behind Ripatti was nothing less than an extraordinary experience that added to the music more than it could distract.
Leaving the main concert space, I headed downstairs to the ‘cafe-concert’ area where Berlin-based composer Grischa Lichtenberger was ready and waiting to play the last set of the evening. I only knew of this artist after reading a recent newsletter from Raster-Noton announcing his first album ‘And IV [Inertia]’. The space where he played, a low-ceiling darkened rectangular room, turned out to be a wonderful resonant chamber for the bass heavy set he subsequently delivered. It is true that there is an overall Raster-Noton sound; all artists on the label display a rather unique and forward-thinking vision which has a tendency to be ahead on this elusive game that is music evolution. In saying that, I was not quite prepared for the brutal subtlety and kaleidoscopic undulations of Lichtenberger’s broken beats and glitched-out evanescent synth lines. Playing from the left-hand side of the tiny stage tucked away at the far-end of the room so the audience could enjoy the extraordinary visuals shown on the screen occupying center stage, Lichtenberger delivered for 40 minutes or so an onslaught of fractured bass-lines laced with always mutating poly-rhythmical drum loops which managed to stay anchored to their modulated core. Either exploding into infinitesimal micro-structures or coalescing into singular alien timbres, Lichtenberger’s sound was held together by an elusive internal tension that, in the process, gave an impressive coherence and sense of forward motion. Far from the metronomic and cold looping abstraction characteristics of the genre, Lichtenberger’s music was rather warm and inviting, and whilst positioned in front of the speakers I was truly immersed within the music, exploring this rather wonderful sonic architectural construction. Reflecting back on the performance, I can see how Lichtenberger’s music also acts as a powerful metaphor of the mental and physical landscape in which we float, and the way this landscape is always changing whilst affecting us through invisible yet tangible ways.
- Pascal Savy for Fluid Radio / Photography by Adriano Ferreira Borges
www.pole-music.com
www.pedromaia.net
www.vladislavdelay.com
www.antyegreie.com
www.grischa-lichtenberger.com
www.festivalsemibreve.com
The inaugural Semibreve Festival launched last year in the hilariously history-rich city of Braga in Portugal, a city that has existed in some form since Neolithic times. This year's festivities happens to coincide with Braga being awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2012, and Semibreve is recognising this privilege bestowed with a series of events.
As you may have gathered form this brief intro, this is not your average British Festival experience; instead of horrific queues to acquire cardboard cups with logos emblazoned on them for an eye-watering wallet-emaciating price, here you'll find yourself in a Portuguese revivalist theatre, known as Theatre Circo, and treated to some progressive and glorious avant-garde electronica. You won't even have to worry about your tent getting urinated on as with other eviscerating UK events, as there is no camping - this is a festival experience boiled down to it's purest form; the music.
As a precursor to the festival, the nearby city of Guimarães is running a series of workshops run by visual artists such as José Alberto Gomes, Rui Dias and Joanie Lemercier (who can often be seen honing his craft around Bristol.) A range of Installations are on offer too.
A marriage of visual stimuli and music is promised for the four day long event (held from October 2nd-6th), exploring “the universe of electronic music and digital art”, and this core ideology is very much backed-up in the musical acts on the bill. Finnish composer and percussionist Vladislav Delay (with AGF taking care of the visuals) and Pole host the first evening of performance at the Neo-Baroque theatre (Theatre Circo). Pole in the past year has created three EPs as part of his Waldgeschichten series - a stupendously bass-driven body of work submerged in dub sensibilities, all released on his own self-titled label.
Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma have been making electronic music since 1993 under the moniker of Mouse on Mars, a period of time during which electronic music has evolved rapidly, fragmented disparately and left many a producer burnt and frayed on the studio scrapheap. Not this duo, who have remained committed to innovate their IDM-sound (wow has Intelligent Dance Music really caught on as a genre-term?) - a quick listen to latest LP Parastrophics is evidence enough of this.
Other acts include Japanese composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda, and industrial-electronica God Ben Frost, who both feature on the final evening. Frost made the move to Reykjavík in the mid 00's, and, it's incredibly easy - well, lazy - to wax lyrical in regard as to how his earth-shattering ambient-yet-asperous sound reflects the bucolic Icelandic scenery, though it's kinda true. The Bristolian techno-duo of Emptyset headline the night before, who recently have been pushing the boundaries in terms of their live set, exploring sound-art through analogue equipment via improvisational means.
Finding the time to listen to all of the above on headphones in a darkened room is an absolute pleasure and introspective wonder in itself; to have all of these avant-garde electronic acts in one place, surrounded by perfected visual stimuli, and shared with like-minded people has the potential to be mind-blowing.
Semibreve runs from 2nd-6th October in Braga, Portugal, with music events on 4th-6th.
Music Semibreve: Roly Porter Published 3 weeks ago The experimental musician fusing classical sounds and drone chats to us about The X Factor and what's to come from his set at Semibreve Festival
Previously being known for his work under the guise of Vex'd with Jamie Teasdale (on Planet Mu), Roly Porter has since debuted an experimental and sensually immersive solo album 'Aftertime' on Subtext. Whilst the duo's dancefloor productions were more identifiable with an emerging dubstep sound, Porter's own work takes on an often epic and emotive stance on moving between drone, electronica, techno and classical elements with an oddly dystopic feel.
This week, he'll be joining a line-up of several experimental sound artists at Portugal's Semibreve Festival for four days of installations, workshops, and live performances. On from the 2-6 October in its second year, the festival will aim to bring together digital art and electronic music through international artists as well as locals and students.
WHAT's...
...the best thing about where you're from?
The support of my friends and other artists and the feeling of complete freedom, both in my personal life and in my music.
...preferable, analogue or digital?
As long as it sounds good I really don't care. But analog.
... your favourite sound at the moment?
My life is very noisy at the moment - I am craving quiet. I need to take a day off and find a mountain, or a cave.
...your favourite website?
The internet is a bit like TV for me in that I end up wasting hours of my time reading or watching total shit like a zombie. I am quite impatient and the internet definitely makes that worse. It is a problem for music as I hardly give anything a chance. Just skimming through things on youtube or spotify is such a shit way to listen to tunes, without investing time and energy into something I end up not bonding with it. I don't have a strong opinion on whether downloading music is a bad thing, I only know that I only really love music once I have bought it on vinyl and listened to it the whole way through - if it's any good obviously.
...your favourite label?
Er... Subtext. Really. Some very exciting stuff coming up.
...your worst vice?
Watching The X Factor. It fills me with rage and I love it.
...are you listening to now?
I've been uncharacteristically busy recently so when I'm not listening to my own music I need something totally different. No noise! The late string quartets by Beethoven, particularly 14 and 15. I hadn't paid them much attention until recently when another Subtext artist pointed them out to me and they are perfect, which is unusual.
How would you describe your work?
I really try not to because hopefully there are no suitable genre definitions for it and I genuinely try to do something different each time. Obviously there are things that stay the same - noise, bass, ambient etc but nothing I have ever done falls cleanly into those categories, they are just elements.What do you expect from Semibreve Festival? What about it stands out to you compared to so many festivals out there?
Not sure yet, I will tell you afterwards, but the line-up and the venue look excellent. I wish I could stay for the whole event.Check out our interview with Emptyset also due to play at the Festival HERE. Semibreve Festival: Braga and Guimarães, Portugal; 2-6 October, 2012
Music Semibreve: Emptyset Published 3 weeks ago The dark industrial duo chat to us about music as an art form ahead of their set at Semibreve Festival this weekend
Semibreve Festival is a Portuguese four-day event geared towards exploring the worlds of art and music, featuring a specially-curated set of unique musicians and sound artists. Launched in 2011, the second Semibreve will take place in Braga and Guimarães from 2 to 6 of October 2012, aiming to unite the two capitals in innovation and research to culture and arts. They'll be hosting concerts, workshops, installations and works created by the students of the Master Program in Tecnology and Digital Art, University of Minho such as artists like Joanie Lemercier and Jacob Kirkegaard.
Playing alongside the likes of Roly Porter, Pole, Ben Frost and Vladislav Delay will be the art curator and techno musician duo Emptyset - made up of Paul Purgas and James Ginzburg known for his co-founding of cult dubstep label Tectonic with Pinch. Here we speak to the two about their dark, industrial sounds and the merging of art and music.
Dazed Digital: Do you set out to approach making music as a means of art?
Emptyset: While the craft of what we do sonically comes from a background in music production and engineering, our approach to and process of generating material is more a product of particular ways of considering narrative as well as the expanding possibilities of art production.DD: What has influenced your work and what inspires you?
Empyset: Primarily what has inspired us is the idea that analogue processes contain within them a potential for creating an instability and unpredictability that can give rise to a complexity which in turn can be used to explore structure, chaos and its relationship to the emergence of form from formlessness.DD: Do you see your music as 'dance music'?
Emptyset: We started working together within the framework of more traditional techno forms but hit a brick wall creatively after a few years and we were only able to move forward by dropping the idea of making dance music altogether. While the ideas of pattern, structure and rhythm were the starting point for exploring the idea sets that we are engaged with, we are more interested in seeing how far from the grid and repetition rhythmic structure can go whilst still conveying a sense of coherency.DD: How much did you know about Semibreve before being asked to play and what do you expect?
Emptyset: We were aware of its reputation, and we were very happy to be invited this year to contribute. It looks like an exceptionally well programmed festival and we are looking forward as much to checking out the rest of the programme as we are to performing.DD: What's next?
Emptyset: We are preparing an installation in London for the Architecture Foundation in November, and working on our third full studio album, which we hope to complete early next year.Semibreve Festival: Braga and Guimarães, Portugal; 2-6 October, 2012
Photos by Adriano Ferreira Borges
Friday
As the festival itself doesn't begin until 9:30pm, there's an ocean of time to explore the city of Braga during the day - and it's clear, blue skies all the way and a shorts-wearing 25 degrees. I feel smug having Googled 'Braga + weather' mere minutes before leaving a cold and wet London, thus able to cram in my summer gear.
There's much to see and do in the city, though, with the chilled pace there's no rush to do so. Espressos are 50 cents, beers 90 cents for a bottle - a welcoming side to a gargantuan economic downturn right? Oh right, unless you live here perhaps. Still, surveying the scene of Portuguese sitting in the sun chain drinking coffee on cafe corners, without the crass commercialisation of your Starbucks/Cafe Nero vomiting it's soul-sapping banners, it's obvious here to see which is the happier culture having witnessed the funeral-like processions of grey Londoners on a daily basis.
One of the many great things about Semibreve is the non-elitist structure of artists/audience; and that is evident this evening as we sit down to a pre-performance dinner, where I get chatting to some of the acts involved. Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars proves wonderful company, and in between mouthfuls of duck I quiz him over the visual aspect of the festival; though he explains to me that he has a problem with visuals - at least in terms of his own work, and thus uses them sparingly.
As I mentioned yesterday, visuals are of course the most dominant sense in many respects - the most instant for sure, and Mouse on Mars are keen to not have the visual experience too full on, otherwise it detracts from their sound they believe. He talks at length “something I've thought a lot about” he says dryly after an absorbing monologue. All at the table extend this visual/audio experience discussion further. Whatever show you frequent, even, your standard guitar/band/venue affair, there's always a visual element. You looks around at the band members, study guitar riffs, look at the amps, observe the people, survey the bar queue, talk to your friends. That cannot be avoided. “Apart from if you blindfold the audience" I suggest. It turns out that this has been done however; Sam Potter of Late of The Pier has put on nights titled 'Black Out' that explores the sensory experience of music; the room, as the title suggests, is in the dark wholly. Jan St. Werner becomes fascinated by this, before getting back to his dessert. Or as some of us British chaps said at the table, "pudding". "You call it… Pudding" he muses, saying it slowly and deliberately. "That's why Britain will never get in the EU". He's a very funny man is Jan.
Tonight the music is based in Braga at the grandiose Theatre Circo, a Portuguese revivalist theatre built in 1916, but reopened recently in 2005. The architecture once inside is stunning and the auditorium contains three-story stalls with plush, cushioned seating in the middle (which pleases my back and legs immensely). Roly Porter was formally one half of semi-apocalyptic, whatever-step duo Vex'd, though the Bristolian is now flying solo - apart from tonight where he’s accompanied by fellow Bristol-based artist Flicker on the visuals. The theatre is pretty much full to capacity also, which couldn't be said of the shows in Guimares last night.
After a subtle build-up with expanding layers, Roly unleashes an abrasive drone hurricane, that contains a techno undercurrent but generally holds-back from embracing this genre; think of the wonderfully dark-machinations of Perc without his techno edge. Rod Maclachlan, as Flicker, creates the savage real-time digital visuals, all black and white shards and in your face, frequently erratic, providing quite the relationship with sonic matters. The package is lethal, a beautifully brutal slab of heavyweight sensory joy with cleverly used beats that draw me in. I can't wholly focus on the visuals for long periods at a time as it's just too much, too intense; but for the times where I manage to get sucked into this world and 'focus watch', it's hypnotic beyond comprehension. The kind of dystopic experience where I forgot who I was, where I was, but never craving to remember either of these, unlike a K-hole victim.
Occasionally I would catch sight of Roly in front of the large backdrop with screen, which paradoxically somewhat took me out of the situation. Who would have thought actually seeing the act would remove you a bit from their music? I walk out of the theatre somewhat shell-shocked, blown-away by what just went before me; even feeling emotionally drained. A highlight thus far.
Downstairs it's time for another Bristol double-act in the shape of emptyset - a duo who have been garnering a fair amount of love lately, even in the more mainstream press contingents (well, mainstream in comparison to many acts here). James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas draw connections between Roly Porter's work, but allowing the dance floor flow to takeover even further and arguably with a more consistently abrasive wall of noise. Static pulses charge through the veins as feedback hammers through eardrums to create a glorious yet discombobulating experience of pounding techno experimentation.
Joanie Lemercier is on the visuals, with a black and white aesthetic in play once again, stark, intricate, evolving. “What is Quality?” philosophers have oft asked. At a handful of stages, multiple spontaneous whoops go up in unison as the track subtly switches beat and tone, and, without any rational explanation, everyone here somehow knows what is quality, like a sea of collective consciousness. It's a thing of beauty. The entire continuous tour-de-force of a set is devastating and a hugely visceral live experience; I come out feeling physically battered and it’s the first time my ears have had that ringing, despite a series of loud acts.
The final act of the night is Mouse on Mars, and, as described earlier, the visuals are more on the minimal front - not filling up the screen. Now, the duo since their inception in 1993 have crossed many genre-types and survived; from krautrock-esque flirtations, IDM, ambient and disco, I was eager to see their live show. However, I found myself mentally exhausted after the pounding from Roly Porter and empty set, and after a promising start Mouse on Mars don't quite live up to my expectations.
It's refreshing to get some actual vocals in a show here, though the set is quite disjointed and scatty, which is designed to be a dance-orientated hour. Perhaps in an alternative setting, with the audience able to pop some body parts and move freely, it may have gone down awesomely. One guy towards the end does gets up and looses his shit for a minute or two, but comically after a couple of tugs on his shirt gets an order to sit down from this partner. The end is interesting as MOM at the start of the encore encourage the audience to whistle, which he then turns into a feedback loop that subsequently becomes the meat of the track. It’s hard to know if this is a spontaneous act, or a rehearsed thing; either way it's impressive.
Saturday
Bom Jesus is a chapel on the hill that overlooks the City of Braga, you can see it from anywhere in town, and features, as our guide was only too keen to inform us, the world’s only ‘water-powered lift’. It seems like too big an opportunity not to visit, thus during the day I head there on the Braga equivalent of a Boris-bike, an exhausting hilly climb - so after a deserved power nap it's time for a pre-festival dinner that is again an enlightening experience. The sound engineer, Dan, who has been doing Ben Frost's sound for over a decade is present, who enlightens us of what to expect and discusses, well, sound, in general. "It's about the illusion of being loud,” he states in relation to Frost's show. We shall see later on tonight...
Japanese electronic hero and composer Ryoji Ikeda opens the evening of avant grade electronica in the theater, and from the very start he's out to chase, catch and savage a good portion of your senses. And then totally fuck with them. His work is related to mathematical precisions and aesthetics, and is a highly respected artist in the many forms of media that he utilises. The visuals on offer are achromatized, distinctly stark and engrossing once again, verging to static values and horizontal/vertical clean, crisp lines.
It's overwhelming and deliberately so - Ikeda keen to tackle the themes of data overflow in our lives and this is successfully mirrored. Sound switches from left channel to right. The visuals accelerate; so fast moving they become shades of grey. Pin-drop silences followed by a barrage of almost white noise, it's a gripping, capricious onslaught with no end in sight. There's a few times when I'm pondering during an extended silence 'Was that the end?’ though we're made sure that the end, is indeed the end when he heartily slams one of his laptops during a silence, and bows. I keep repeating this mantra, but now this is the highlight so far…
It's downstairs once again after a hastily ordered and speedily drunk whiskey (the decor is far too nice to take drinks in) for Gustavo Costa, under the long-winded handle Most People Have Been Trained to be Bored. It's a wholly different experience to everything that's gone before us at Semibreve, using actual instruments on stage; surrounded by a drum kit, various bits of percussion, many hanging metal plates, a xylophone and more indistinguishable items.
Costa delicately tickles the instruments, running a metal scraper of the hanging bronzed sheets, as a backing track is present to enrich the situation. It's a much welcome change of headspace to be involved with something a little more nuanced, something analogue. Yesterday evening, if I'm being nit-picky perhaps could have done with this to break things up a bit.
As wholly pleasant as that was, I have a craving for something a little more head-fuckery - which is fortunate, as Ben Frost is on next back in the Theatre. This turns out to be one of the most astonishing, gripping and powerful performances I've ever witnessed. The first thirty minutes is a masterful build-up of what is to come - it threatens to get all-encompassing and overwhelming, but each time when it’s on the edge of a towering, exhilarating peak, he pulls things back and retreats into quiet, spacious delicate climes. Ben interchanges between different instruments on stage, sometimes opting for a piano especially during the tender moments, to his electronic equipment - and then thrashing his guitar, convulsing every tense part of his body seemingly in the act of doing so. He moves around the stage barefoot with an air of grace, and intensity - at times going backwards and forwards like he's so into it he doesn't know where to go. But he knows exactly what he's doing, always.
The crescendos become more and more intense, the feedback heavier and more violent as the set progresses. During these moments another sense is awakened viscerally; that of touch. The auditorium rattles, literally, and the chairs vibrate into my bones pulsate through my entire body. At one point three people get up to leave, asking down the aisle (I'm later told by a guy on The Wire stall who was outside that they were as white as a sheet). The lights were subtle, but crucial to the experience; shining vividly onto the audience during climatic points, the audience figuratively naked with nowhere to hide.
I think back to the conversation earlier about "the illusion of being loud" - and it turns out this is remarkably accurate. The quiet parts are oh-so quiet, the loud bits seemingly loud; but only due to the glacial build-up from one to the other - ladies and gents, I give you a lesson in exquisite use of dynamic range. When it's at its height, the situation feels apocalyptic, and it’s the noisiest thing you'll ever hear you’ll think. However, after the gig I find my ears are totally fine. The illusion has worked - and then some.
The ending is one of the most intense thing I've witnessed, drawn out over ten minutes from one final assault, each layer stripped back one by one, until there’s skeletal structure… to one beat with drum… to one almighty drum on the 4th beat… so much tension is hanging in the air between these notes…to one last drum. Thud. End. A masterstroke in brutal vs. beauty, an eviscerating 80+ minutes of my existence that will remain with me until I become senile.
It's the perfect way to see off the festival in music terms, and all that is left for us to do is make the most of the cheap Porguese beer in bars playing awful Hollywood films in the background until the small hours.
In regards to the future, we all know the problems that face austerity-hit Portugal - Semibreve is fortunate that this year it has been supported by Arts funding from the European Capital of Culture venture. We discussed prior to the festival if these humble beginnings of Semibreve is the start of something bigger - already having been moved forward a month from last years November-time dates. For a festival with such diverse, and alternative electronic artists, it did very well to sell-out; will there be any room for expansion in the future? Would that, in many ways, be a shame? Can it even sustain itself as it is?
These are questions that only time will tell. From the mind-opening, mind-blowing experience that was the 2012 edition, let's hope it sticks around for years to come. Thank you Braga.
Photos by Adriano Ferreira Borges
There's a delightfully easy-going pace of life to Braga that is evident almost immediately, even before you get to explore the undulating ancient city in full. As we make the relatively short, yet bucolic trip from Porto to Braga, we pick the brains of our driver and festival runner Thiago over matters relating to the city, and of course Semibreve Festival - now in year two of it's existence after last years successful debut.
Thiago elaborates on how he got involved with the festival, that runs from 2nd-6th October, and shrugs casually in between shards of sunshine, 'I sometimes play football with them on week nights'. This is a whole world away from the busy, shouting-in-your-face 24/7 of London-life and music scene to which I have become accustomed to. Yes, I'm going to enjoy my time here.
Despite Braga's history-rich background (having existed since Neolithic times), it's conversely also one of the youngest in Europe in terms of it's population; and partly the reason for being awarded the European Capital of Culture title, with neighbouring Guimarães awarded the title of European Youth Capital, where Semibreve also takes place. Promised by the organisers is a "universe of electronic music and digital art", and this is very much reflected in the line-up; the artists themselves are of the avant-garde electronica variety, and most come with a visual artist next to their name on the bill. This is not going to be your average British sweaty-tent, sing-a-long, stuck-in-a-field-in-Hampshire experience that's for sure.
Thursday
We pass by a gargantuan, graphic depiction of Jesus Christ in the lobby of our Hotel (Christ gets about everywhere in this city) and head off to experience the first evening of entertainment in Centro Cultural Vila Flor a few kilometers away in Guimarães. The complex, opened in 2005, is a cultural centre of Portugal surrounded by luxurious gardens and adjacent to a former palace; imagine the Southbank Centre, but in an actually nice location.
Our first act is Dusseldorf-born Stefan Betke who flies under the name of Pole - his live sets in recent years have seen him grace clubs such as Fabric (London) and The Bunker (NYC), not to mention Bestival and Bloc; this evening however will be a wholly different experience, as we make our way into a pristine, brand new sit-down theatre inside of CC Vila Flor. In the past year he's created three EP's on his own self-titled label as part of his Waldgeschichten series, though he's a chap that has been around since 1996.
The theatre darkens and for the first 20 minutes or so, personally, are partly an act of learning how to experience and to absorb what's in front of me - from a sensory perceptive. A huge screen behind Pole projects work by visual artist pm.a, and given that it's a strictly sit-down affair with music on a stupendous sound system, I’m able to give the visuals my full, undying attention. This isn't time for chitchat with your friends in regards to who's getting the next beers in.
Two hazy, overlayed landscapes slide incongruous to each other laterally, flickering throughout with the whole thing possessing a diaphanous feel; generally tones are muted but bursts of vibrant colour seep into the frame. At times, as the continuous bass-driven rhythm adds to the hypnotic nature of proceedings, it's all pretty darn intense. Tunnel vision commences in this blacked-out theatre, I sometimes keep thinking I'm seeing erratic movement in my peripheral vision but it's just the paranoia getting to me. It's almost akin to a magic eye painting; once you get 'it', you really see everything.
'Lurch' opened his set with a series of abrasive 'challenging' noises as a cyclical squawk threatened to irritate, however Pole pulls it back in time, with the set morphing slowly into a nuanced dance floor journey through idm realms spliced with some welcoming, blissful dub grooves.
Vladislav Delay follows after the interval (yes, I'm calling it an interval), and the most noticeable thing from the off is the visuals from AGF; having become so accustomed to the particular visuals of the previous act. Sight really is a dominant sense huh? A mostly black screen stares down the silent audience, as skeletal white lines grow in volume and structure; intermittently throughout the set the image jarringly switches to a single-tone coloured backdrop.
Delay himself is on a mission to traverse through a Detroit/techno landscape, in a set that is far more disparate than Pole's steady journey, with frequent changes of mood and tone. In between being in a state of mesmeric stasis, I become engrossed in thought and ponder the metaphysical experience. I'm switching from almost a classical response, to a romantic response (see Robert M. Pirsig) in the same set; classical in the sense of analysing what I'm experiencing, which senses are being stimulated, what I'm actually seeing. But then conversely, allowing myself to be wholly taken away by any thought process and allowing the senses to become overcome without analytical thought (the 'romantic' experience), to simply be, and go with it. Now this, you could argue, is the same of any live music experience, bit it seems so much more acute here.
As a whole the set is more disjointed than Pole - which it of course supposed to be, but it's somewhat less satisfying; the visuals of p.ma seems more in tune with the audio. Both are remarkable however, and set the tone for the rest of the festival superbly. The vinyl stall is completely empty, much to my irritant, which is a good yardstick of a contented audience.
It's far gone midnight though we still have one act to go in the shape of Grisch Lictehnberger, not before a change of setting and heading down to the basement bar of the centre. The environment is wildly different from the previous two acts; the ceiling's low, the bar is full of chatter, the espresso machine hisses spritely. Lictehnberger is on the low stage, sitting cross-legged, smoking nonchalantly (indoors? Well this is a throw back) languidly residing over two laptops. To be honest, it's the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen.
The conceptual Berlin-based artist found on German electronic-music label Raster-Noton, oft-focuses on the process of creating art, alongside the end result naturally - which is a glitch-ridden, beat-driven eclectic outing. In terms of visuals, lines run perpendicular at an x/y axis, and it's all very sharp, crisp - much like the sound he creates. Though the idea of this set I guess, this setting, is not an intense visual feast as with the others, more of a nightcap to unwind.
Part II to come tomorrow
Música
Ganhe convites para o festival SEMIBREVE
13-09-2012
Por Raquel Lito
Pense em clubes nocturnos de Berlim ou Nova Iorque, a estremecerem com batidas electrónicas. Agora imagine que os melhores artistas de electrónica experimental aterram em Guimarães e Braga, para três noites de sonoridades de vanguarda conjugadas com performances visuais.
Inesperado? Certamente. Mas é uma oportunidade de ver as últimas novidades com sintetizadores e artes digitais. O encontro está marcado para a semana de 2 a 6 de Outubro, na segunda edição do Festival SEMIBREVE, em Guimarães e Braga.
A SÁBADO tem cinco passes (3 dias) e dois bilhetes duplos (1 noite) para oferecer.
Fique atento às perguntas no site e envie as respostas para sitesabado@gmail.com. Os vencedores do passatempo podem levantar os convites nos locais dos concertos: 4 de Outubro no Centro Cultural Vila Flor, em Guimarães; 5 e 6 de Outubro no Theatro Circo em Braga.
Vladislav Delay, o arquitecto sonoro
É um arquitecto sonoro. A sonoridade do compositor e percussionista finlandês Sasu Ripatti, de 35 anos, que actua sob o pseudónimo Vladislav Delay, é tão complexa como o seu nome.O artista serve-se dos sintetizadores para criar uma música “orgânica”, por vezes absurda ou até bipolar – entre a calma absoluta e o colapso, que pode ser ouvida no próximo dia 4 de Outubro, no Centro Cultural Vila Flor, em Guimarães. A acompanhá-lo na parte visual estará a alemã Antye Greie, conhecida pelas siglas AGF.
O seu absurdo tornou-se referência no meio musical. Já fez parcerias com Massive Atack, Scissor Sisters, Craig Armstrong e Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Num dos seus inúmeros temas experimentais, Toive, conjuga sonoridades sombrias, uma “decadente nuvem acinzentada” – como o próprio descreve – com frames de açúcar dissolvido e gelo. Outras vezes, recorre aos sons da madeira, da água, ou de placas tectónicas.
Sempre à procura de ritmos inéditos, não perde uma oportunidade de manipulá-los. Brinca com eles. Sem perder de vista a electrónica, especialmente techno e dub.
Detesta rotinas, como provam as suas composições. Mas inspira-se num sítio tranquilo para trabalhar: uma ilha remota no Norte da Finlândia. É dono de uma editora, a Huume Recordings. Mas também assina para outras especializadas no género, como a Raster Noton.
No mais recente álbum, o décimo, Vantaa, editado pela Raster Noton em finais de 2011, lança-se nas improvisações para atingir uma “ressonância emocional profunda”. Complicado? Ele faz por isso.
Pergunta
Qual o artista encarregue pela parte visual do concerto de Vladislav Delay?Envie a resposta para sitesabado@gmail.com e habilite-se a ganhar um dos convites que a SÁBADO tem para lhe oferecer.
When Pole first told On Record that he wanted to talk about The Bells, we assumed, perhaps unimaginatively, that he meant Jeff Mills’ evergreen techno track. We certainly didn’t think that he was referring to the 1979 Lou Reed album of the same name.
The Bells is a strange LP, albeit far from Reed’s strangest. But yes, it’s full of kinks and quirks: for a start, it was recorded in binaural sound at Delster Studios in West Germany. It contains three songs co-written with former Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren (‘Stupid Man’, ‘With You’ and ‘City Lights’) and another co-written with Don Cherry, ‘All Through The Night’, that features the jazz icon on “African hunting guitar” as well as trumpet. There are disco and doo wop flavours at work, and it’s undoubtedly one of Reed’s most synthesizer-heavy offerings to date, but to call it adventurous would be an overstatement – indeed, it represented something of a retreat into the familiar and even fluffy following the previous year’s jagged and jaded masterpiece, Street Hassle.
For Pole, real name Stefan Betke, its lasting appeal – and its influence on his own work – lies in the effective economy of its arrangements. “You have an idea, you focus on that, and you don’t overfill the songs,” is what the Berlin-based producer learned from Reed, and perhaps the logical extension, or even culmination, of this ethos is the pensive but always penetrating dub minimalism that Betke has been generating as Pole for nearly 15 years now. Ahead of his appearance at Portugal’s Semibreve festival on October 4-6, and having just released the third part of his Waldgeschichten 12″ series on his own newly minted, eponymous label, Betke told us more about his relationship to Lou Reed’s work.
“I’m not a typical fan, I guess. I always try to keep my mind as open as possible.”
So, did you want to talk about The Bells the album, or just the song?
“Well, you asked for a very important record in my life, and that’s one of hundreds. It’s not the whole album, actually, it’s really just a couple of tracks that were particularly influential for me, but I think that’s the nature of an album – it’s rarely the whole thing that captures me.”
Are you a big Lou Reed fan in general?
“When I was a young kid I was a huge Lou Reed fan. He was very influential, with all his collaborations, and how he progressed music and what he did with it – the stuff with John Cale, and all that – but as I said, he’s only one of many that are important to me. I’m not a typical fan, I guess, I listened to so much different stuff. I always try to keep my mind as open as possible.”
I guess an open mind would be why Lou Reed appeals though – something like The Bells is a great example, there are long, droning tracks, it’s rock music distilled, in many ways.
“He’s walking through all these different rock elements, but there’s also really funky disco elements, then more fairytale, storyteller moments where the vocals are so dominant. For me it’s a fantastic example of how flexible and intelligent he is. I didn’t get it in ’79 [when it was released], I got it in ’81 or something. For me when I heard it, it was like ‘wow, I’d definitely like to work with synthesisers, I’d definitely like to work with these repetitive sounds’. When I heard ‘Disco Mystic’… it’s just the same thing, over and over, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum. It’s outstanding.”
“The Bells is a fantastic example of how flexible and intelligent Lou Reed is.”
Had you listened to much music before The Bells that was, for want of a more clichéd word, experimental in that way?
“Well I say, I was 13-and-a-half when I got it. I didn’t really listen to any interesting music in general before that, but The Bells opened the doors for me to get more into stuff like the New York scene. It was really important for me – it was the start.”
Have you ever seen him live?
“Unfortunately not. These days, I don’t want to.”
Yeah, you kind of missed your window there. Do you still listen to records like this now, or have they been compartmentalised as part of your youth?
“To be honest I haven’t listened to this record in 10 years or something. When you asked me about the feature I listened to quite a lot of records though, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, [Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart’s] Bongo Fury… but this was the one that was really influential to the way I work nowadays. You have an idea, you focus on that, and you don’t overfill the songs. You know, there’s an interlude, a break, an intro, an outro, all that, but overall it’s focused on that one idea – whether that’s a melody, or a vocal, or whatever. That’s why it’s important for me.”
Do you imply that principle as both as musician and an engineer?
“To be honest, the recording of the Lou Reed record wasn’t that good. It doesn’t have much volume to it, but the arrangement is pretty good. You listen to the song ‘Families’, with that choir in the background – they’re playing the same loop, for about nine minutes. And usually you’d say that’s really boring, but he manages to keep it interesting for the entire nine minutes.”
“You have an idea, you focus on that, and you don’t overfill the songs.”
To talk about your own work a little, are you enjoying having your own label to release music on now?
“[exhales, and laughs] Yeah. So much. You can concentrate on your own music, with no deadlines, and just naturally decide whether certain things will work better on a 12” single, or on the album for instance.”
So there’s a new album on the way?
“Yeah, there’s an album coming out early next year – I’m working on it already. The 12”s are more a means of entertainment while I write the album; there’s no pressure there. It’s a fast medium, make a track, put it out, play it live and see where it goes. It’s been necessary for me to get back to the musical language that I’d like to use again – this new material’s connected to my early work, the very first record and the trilogy, 1, 2, 3, but really, it’s more connected to Steingarten – all the questions and ideas that were never fulfilled.”
Is playing them out live a big part of that process? The new Pole material’s pretty bassy.
“Yeah, really bassy. It’s especially important improvising them live – I do a lot of overdubs, sometimes it’s more basic, sometimes it’s more droney, it opens up new ways of looking at the tracks, and that affects my approach in the studio the next day. It’s a back and forth dialogue, between live and studio.”
Pole appears at the Semibreve Festival in Portugal, October 4-6. More information and tickets here.
- Detalles
- Sección: MÚSICA
- Creado en Jueves, 13 Septiembre 2012 09:51
- Autor Álvaro Dols
Con la llegada del otoño, nuevas citas llegan al calendario cultural. Este es el caso del Semibreve, un festival enfocado en el universo del arte digital y la música electrónica que, tras el éxito de su estreno en Braga hace un año, celebra su segunda edición.
Del 2 al 6 de Octubre, el Theatro Circo de Braga y el Centro Cultural Vila Flor, en Guimarães, acogerán a los nombres más relevantes de la música electrónica internacional como Pole, Mouse On Mars, Vladislav Delay, Grischa Lichtenberger, Ben Frost o Ryoji Ikeda. Además de un programa de excelentes conciertos, contará con una serie de workshops, instalaciones y trabajos gráficos creados por el Computer Graphics Center y el Departamento de Información y Sistemas de la Universidade do Minho.
Esta edición contará con muchas sorpresas, como es la presencia de la instalación AION de Jacob Kirkegaard. Un retrato de cuatro espacios abandonados de Chernóbil a través de los cuales el artista danés explora una variedad de técnicas, el trabajo con layers, la sobreexposición y otras herramientas para representar su particupar visión de estos locales.
Tecnología, artes y ciencia se unen en un festival que nos estimulará y nos hará vibrar. (El equipo de DOZE Magazine estará presente para compartir su experiencia en el Semibreve). Hasta entonces, os dejamos con la playlist de la página del festival.
Vídeo Promo - Semibreve 2012
Vídeo Semibreve 2011
Portugal's Semibreve festival has announced the details of its workshop programme, which will take place 23 October, before the main festival performances.AntiVJ's Joanie Lemercier will be hosting a workshop titled Mapping Light In Space, dealing with artistic, technical aspects of working with projected light, and build a projection mapping project from scratch.
An introduction to Max/MSP introduction is scheduled, which will also include a look at the Jitter library, plus a workshop titled Sound Synthesis As A Tool For Composing, covering the basic principles of sound synthesis using oscillators, LFOs and filters.
The workshops take place in Guimarães across two days, for five hours per day, and are free. To take part, submit your name and a brief CV, and note which workshop you'd like to attend, to tiago@festivalsemibreve.com. Semibreve festival takes place in Braga, 46 October. More details here.
Posted 06/09/12
Ben Frost, Vladislav Delay + AGF e Mouse on Mars são alguns dos artistas que passam pelo festival que decorre em Braga, Capital Europeia da Juventude, e Guimarães, Capital Europeia da Cultura 2012.Veja aqui o programa musical:
4 de outubro - Centro Cultural Vila Flor
Vladislav Delay + AGF
Pole + p.ma
Grischa Lichtenberger5 de outubro - Theatro Circo
Mouse on Mars
Roly Porter + Flicker
emptyset + Joanie Lemercier6 de outubro - Theatro Circo
Ben Frost
Ryoji Ikeada
Most People Have Been Trained To Be BoredO bilhete geral (com acesso a todos os concertos) custa 25 euros. Os bilhetes para os Grandes Auditórios (com acesso a todos os concertos do grande auditório do CCVF e sala principal do Theatro Circo) têm o preço de 20 euros. Existe um bilhete diário (com acesso à sala principal do Theatro Circo ou grande auditório do CCVF) com o valor de 9 euros.
Além dos espetáculos de música eletrónica, haverá ainda instalações e workshops.
Texto: PC
Braga e Guimarães recebem em outubro a segunda edição do festival Semibreve.
Consulte aqui a programação musical. Ben Frost, Vladislav Delay + AGF e Mouse on Mars são alguns dos artistas que passam pelo festival que decorre em Braga, Capital Europeia da Juventude, e Guimarães, Capital Europeia da Cultura 2012.
Veja aqui o programa musical:
4 de outubro - Centro Cultural Vila Flor
Vladislav Delay + AGF
Pole + p.ma
Grischa Lichtenberger
5 de outubro - Theatro Circo
Mouse on Mars
Roly Porter + Flicker
emptyset + Joanie Lemercier
6 de outubro - Theatro Circo
Ben Frost
Ryoji Ikeada
Most People Have Been Trained To Be BoredO bilhete geral (com acesso a todos os concertos) custa 25 euros. Os bilhetes para os Grandes Auditórios (com acesso a todos os concertos do grande auditório do CCVF e sala principal do Theatro Circo) têm o preço de 20 euros. Existe um bilhete diário (com acesso à sala principal do Theatro Circo ou grande auditório do CCVF) com o valor de 9 euros.
Além dos espetáculos de música eletrónica, haverá ainda instalações e workshops.
Fonte: Blitz
Já são conhecidos os horários para o festival SEMIBREVE, que no início de Outubro trará de novo o melhor da música electrónica actual a Braga e, este ano também, Guimarães. É de lembrar que o festival começa este ano na cidade Capital Europeia da Cultura no dia 4 de Outubro e que segue depois, nos dois dias seguintes, para a Capital Europeia da Juventude. Um verdadeiro luxo para os nossos ouvidos.
4 de October (CCVF)
21:30 - Pole + p.ma (Grande Auditório)
22:45 - Vladislav Delay + AGF (Grande Auditório)
23:59 - Grischa Lichtenberger (Café Concerto)5 de October (Theatro Circo)
21:30 - Roly Porter + Flicker (Sala Principal)
22:45 - emptyset + Joanie Lemercier (Pequeno Auditório)
23:59 - Mouse on Mars (Sala Principal)
21:00-23:59 - Instalações (Salão Nobre)
21:00-23:59 - AION de Jacob Kirkegaard (Sala de Fumos)6 de October (Theatro Circo)
21:30 - Ryoji Ikeda (Sala Principal)
22:45 - Most people have been trained to be bored (Pequeno Auditório)
23:59 - Ben Frost (Sala Principal)
21:00-23:59 - Instalações (Salão Nobre)
21:00-23:59 - AION de Jacob Kirkegaard (Sala de Fumos)
La revista Dot: nace como una necesidad de dar a conocer lo más relevante en el panorama artístico y cultural de Galicia. Una guía útil, pero sobre todo eficaz, para los que viven aquí y los que vienen por primera vez, cuya intención es dar a conocer todo lo que se puede hacer y en dónde se puede hacer. Cada dos meses, os presentamos en una tirada en papel de 17.000 ejemplares distribuidos en casi 1000 puntos de distribución ... leer más
La revista Dot: nace como una necesidad de dar a conocer lo más relevante en el panorama artístico y cultural de Galicia. Una guía útil, pero sobre todo eficaz, para los que viven aquí y los que vienen por primera vez, cuya intención es dar a conocer todo lo que se puede hacer y en dónde se puede hacer. Cada dos meses, os presentamos en una tirada en papel de 17.000 ejemplares distribuidos en casi 1000 puntos de distribución en A Coruña, Santiago, Ourense, Pontevedra y Vigo, a grupos musicales, artistas, diseñadores de moda, ilustradores, escritores y demás mundo cultural gallego que nos parece interesante y que seguro te sorprenderá descubrir. Además ahora en esta web te iremos descubriendo más y más cositas interesantes que tenemos en Galicia, además de mantenerte al día de todos los conciertos, expos, etc... Y si además no te quieres perder ninguna de nuestras recomendaciones y entrar en sorteos de entradas y más sorpresas, date de alta en nuestro boletín semanal!
A revista Dot: nace como unha necesidade de dar a coñecer o máis relevante no panorama artístico e cultural de Galicia. Unha guía útil, pero sobre todo eficaz, para os que viven aquí e os que veñen por primeira vez, cuxa intención é dar a coñecer todo o que se pode facer e onde pódese facer. Cada dous meses, presentámosvos, nunha tirada en papel de 17.000 exemplares distribuídos en case 1000 puntos de distribución en A Coruña, Santiago, Ourense, Pontevedra e Vigo, a grupos musicais, artistas, deseñadores de moda, ilustradores, escritores e demais mundo cultural galego que nos parece interesante e que seguro che sorprenderá descubrir. Ademais agora nesta web irémosche descubrindo máis e máis cousiñas interesantes que temos en Galicia, ademais de manterche ao día de todos os concertos, expos, etc... E se ademais non te queres perder ningunha das nosas recomendacións e entrar en sorteos de entradas e máis sorpresas, date de alta no noso boletín semanal!
Semibreve Festival 2012
Last year we covered Semibreve Festival thanks to some fantastic articles and photography from Pascal Savy. The organisers liked what we did so much that we have been invited back again this year and Pascal will be returning with notepad and camera in hand to give you the low down on performances and installations from artists such as Ben Frost, Vladislav Delay and Ryoji Ikeda to name but a few. 2012 looks to be another solid line up and once again hosts a spectacular backdrop, this time the location being in Portugal.
Info for 2012…
2011 saw the birth of Semibreve Festival, an event focused on the universe of electronic music and digital art. During four days it was possible to watch concerts from some of the most relevant electronic music artists from our time and to get to know some of the scientific outcomes produced by Minho University in the digital art’s field.
The second edition of Festival Semibreve will take place in Braga and Guimaraes (Portugal), from 2 to 6 of October 2012, integrated in the European Youth Capital 2012 an European Culture Capital programmes. Semibreve intends to aggregate the two capital’s ethos, allying innovation, technology and research to culture and arts.
Theatro Circo (Braga) and Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimaraes) will host concerts, workshops, installations and works created by the Computer Graphics Center and the Department of Information Systems of University of Minho.
Visitor info | Location
Braga is the oldest archdiocese and Portugal’s third major city. It is also one of the oldest Christian cities in the World. The city’s history reflects on the considerable number of churches and religious monuments, namely the Se Catedral, the city’s Cathedral, and Bom Jesus do Monte. In the past years Braga has become an important academic and research center due to the structures like Minho University and the Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory.
Theatro Circo, the city theatre, will held SEMIBREVE. Designed by the architect Moura Coutinho, it was inaugurated on April 21 1915. After a restoration period, it reopened in 2006. The theater main room has 899 seats.
more info at: www.cm-braga.pt www.theatrocirco.com2012 Program
04/10/2012 – Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimara?es)
Vladislav Delay + AGF
Pole + p.ma
Grischa Lichtenberger05/10/2012 – Theatro Circo (Braga)
Mouse on Mars
Roly Porter + Flicker
Emptyset + Joanie Lemercier06/10/2012 – Theatro Circo (Braga)
Ben Frost
Ryoji Ikeda
Most People Have Been Trained To Be Bore
Grischa Lichtenberger
Grischa Lichtenberger was born in Bielefeld 1983. In 2009 he released his debut EP ~treibgut ununbium on german label Raster-Noton. ~treibgut – a system of references to the river Rhein – operated as a motto for varied expressions: installations, videos, music, painting and drawings. Beginning in 2006, while moving to Dusseldorf, Lichtenberger decided to rethink the artistic process from scratch – it’s ethical legitimization and it’s epistemological backgrounds – all in regard to the concreteness of the biographical situation in its landscape and history. Since 2008 Grischa Lichtenberger lives in Berlin. With the new “supertitle” andyrchie iv he tries to proceed the idea or revaluating the reference to landscape as “the place we live in”.
Lichtenberger’s focus is not only the musical expression, but the process of creating art in general. Always regarding the complexity and difficulties of communication and material referenciality, he seeks to overcome the dominance of functional interpretations, while maintaining an open access to technology and production. The archive of samples and fragments of overcome and discarded technological artefacts and everyday livestock is enabled by an ethical figure, wherein art is to address and regard the other, without economizing or confining them.
Lichtenberger played concerts in various occasions around the globe (Electric Campfire Villa Massimo Rome, Transmediale Berlin, Electra Montreal, Skanu Mezs Riga, Short Circuits Roundhouse, London) and build several installations (2007 Waldstelle Nordpol, 2007 Vinzenz, Dusseldorf, 2008 Weser Portfolio, Minden, 2010 Bosendorfer Temporare Kunsthalle Berlin, 2011 A Bundle of measures, Leeds, 2012 Krome Galery, 2012 Grimmuseum).
Pole + p.ma
Stefan Betke aka pole was born and raised in Dusseldorf, where he played keyboards and synthesizer in different band projects. It was in Cologne that Betke began work on his acclaimed and influential trilogy “1″, “2″ and “3″, completing it in Berlin after moving there in 1996. He released the trilogy as pole between 1998 and 2000. During this time, he also became a mastering engineer for vinyl and cd at Dubplates & Mastering. After releasing two 12 inches and an album on Daniel Miller’s famous Mute label, his well respected solo album “Steingarten” came out on scape in 2007, supported by worldwide concerts at festivals and in clubs in UK, Japan, USA and Europe. In mid 2008, Betke re-issued his earlier trilogy as a triple box set on scape to keep this milestone in electronic bass music available.
While Stefan Betke was expanding his musical output, he still was doing mastering for renowned producers such as Richie Hawtin, Daniel Bell, Norm Telly, Scott Furgeson, Delano Smith, Josh T. Pearson, Erasure,
Apparat, Grinderman, Gudrun Gut, Thomas Fehlmann, The Mole, Mathew Jonson and various labels such as Mute, Third Ear, Minus, Wagon Repair, Leaf and many more.
Recently, pole’s live sets developed into a funky and grooving dance floor direction presented in clubs like Fabric/London, Watergate/Berlin and The Bunker/New York City, as well as festivals like Bestival/Isle of White, Bloc Festival/UK and Mutek/Montreal, while maintaining the pole sound design and creativity for his record releases.
A series of 12” is planned for the 2nd half of 2011 and 1st half of 2012, beginning with a 3 track ep on his new artist label “pole” in October 2011, and a digital re issue of his full back catalogue. These forthcoming releases will reconnect pole’s latest sound visions with his earlier work on the edge between electronic club music, urban dub and avant-garde, the sound for which pole was always well known and respected!
For the SEMIBREVE concert, Pole will be joined by Portuguese video artist Pedro Maia (p.ma) for a unique performance.
Vladislav Delay + AGF
Vladislav Delay aka Finnish composer and percussionist Sasu Ripatti is one of the most innovative and influential electronic musicians of the last two decades. A prolific and chameleon-like operative whose multiple pseudonyms (Luomo, Uusitalo, AGF/Delay) have allowed him a unique and gorgeously fractal take on electronic music. He has worked with a wide range of artists including Rhythm and Sound, Black Dice, Massive Attack, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, and has released his music on well-respected labels like Chain Reaction, The Leaf Label and now Raster-Noton, as well as major labels and his own Huume imprint.
Vladislav Delay is Sasu’s most personal project, in which impossibly deep, dub-inflected compositions are constructed like sonic architecture with every note, pause and click positioned for maximum impact in the mix. Combining a constant push for more honest and revealing emotions and a desire for absolute sonic integrity, these are all-consuming compositions that draw you in and take you under.
Live Vladislav Delay performs in a huge array of configurations – all are textural, unique and judged perfectly to the surroundings and acoustics. He is a hugely sensitive and tactile live electronic artist and percussionist whose liquid like use of echo, melody and rhythm is always an immersive and moving experience.
Vladislav Delay’s tenth album ‘Vantaa’ was released on Raster-Noton at the end of 2011. After the explorative post-jazz/noise improvisations of the Quartet, ‘Vantaa’ is a return to the pure electronic compositions that Delay is best known for, combining absolute sonic integrity with deep emotive resonance. Now based on a remote island off the coast of Finland, the tracks oscillate between an overbearing, post- industrial soundcloud and the epic vistas of a vast and desolate Arctic landscape. At times tiny rhythmic bricks drift and collapse like tectonic plates, before opening up into spaces that radiate calmness and tranquillity; at others synthetic textures somehow arouse associations with natural elements, whether gushing water, crackling wood, or growing grass.
Antye Greie will perform the visuals for the Vladislav Delay concert in SEMIBREVE. Born in 1969 in East Germany, lives and works in Hailuoto, Finland. Known also as AGF. Focus of work includes the relationship between language and sound, audiovisual live performance, digital communication, sound installations and commissions for movies and theatre. Throughout her career, Greie has released 20 long player records and numerous collaborations under such ali- ases as AGF/Delay (with Vladislav Delay), Greie Gut Fraktion (with Gudrun Gut), and The Lappetites (with Kaffe Matthews and Eliane Radigue), many collaborations with the award-winning classical composer Craig Armstrong. Greie also runs her own production company, AGF Producktion, and has produced records for other artists most famously for Ellen Allien (SOOL, 2009, BPitch).
Roly Porter + Flicker
As one half of experimental production duo, Vex’d, Roly’s fierce dancefloor productions became synonymous with and crucial to the evolution of an emerging dubstep sound. Porter’s new project, Aftertime, featuring Ondiste Cynthia Millar, leaves the dancefloor and takes in elements of drone, techno, and modern classical and ambient.
Rod Maclachlan creates visuals as Flicker, conjuring up entirely live imagery on stage. With cameras and obsolete video mixers Flicker transforms mundane materials, dust, coal, polystyrene and water, into projections of glitchy shadows and visions of cosmic complexity. Sound reactive elements lead the shimmering light to pulse with deep frequencies and complex video feedback loops fracture and dissolve the projections. Flicker shifts perceptions as boundaries between physical and virtual blur.
Bristol based artist Maclachlan creates installations, combining sculptural elements with lighting or projection, that reveal relationships between observation and imagination, the material and the ethereal. His works have been experienced at venues such as Tate Britain, Battersea Arts Centre in London and The Arnolfini in Bristol. This year Maclachlan created visuals at Electronica en Abril for Manuel Gottsching E2- E4. Past collaborations include those with Murcof/BCN 216 and artist Harminder Judge.
Emptyset + Joanie Lemercier
Emptyset is a Bristol based production project formed in 2005 by James Ginzburg, Director of the Multiverse studio & network of labels and the curator & electronic artist Paul Purgas. The project explores the legacy of analogue media, integrating aspects of rhythm, signal processing and spatial recording within the framework of minimalist composition. Their work interrogates the perceptual boundaries between noise and music and the potential for technology and architecture to embed and codify themselves within sound. Through collaborations with visual designers they have extended their work to explore the potential interactions between sound and image, reflecting upon structural film and video techniques and addressing the evolving relationship between old and new media. Emptyset are currently releasing material through the Bristol label Subtext. Their output includes Demiurge, their second studio album, and the 2012 release Medium recorded live in Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire. At present they are developing a release for Raster-Noton whilst researching material for their third album. emptyset have presented live performances at Sonic Acts XIV, Mutek and Berghain.
Joanie Lemercier, artistical director of visual label AntiVJ will handle emptyset’s visuals for the SEMIBREVE performance.
Mouse on Mars
Mouse on Mars is one of the few electronic bands to stand the test of time. Constantly reinventing themselves, they have taken electronica to new heights with a unique blend of sound annihilation, fragmented melodies and an impassioned hatred of conformity. For nearly two deacades, Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner have sweated over burning consoles to create a new musical language, only to twist it again into thousands of myriad distortions.
Their latest LP Parastrophics is a thriving vision of the other side of experimental music. Discordance turns into pop as Alice in Wonderland bounces her booty to laser bass sounds, the likes of which would make Walt Disney jealously ponder the question, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Parastrophics is glamorous, funky and deep. No speakers exist that could display all the details of such manic production.
Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner have been more than busy in the intervening years since the release of their last studio album as a duo, Varcharz (2006). They collaborated with The Fall’s Mark E. Smith as s Von
Su?denfed and released Tromatic Reflexxions on Domino. Both Toma and St. Werner produce independently for their Sonig label. St. Werner has worked on solo records under several monikers, written pieces for classical instrumentation and electronics, did music for installations, and acted as the artistic director of the Amsterdam Institute for Electronic Music, steim. Toma has produced Moondog, Stereolab, Junior Boys and The Fall, amongst others. One of their most recent projects Paeanumnion has been as unique as the rest of their career – an orchestral piece which didn’t play by any of the rules. As St. Werner said, “it was a way for us to carry on being an electronic band, only without electronics”. As ever, he was not being entirely serious. Both Jan and Andi were on stage throughout this hour- long voyage, playing their own digitally-crafted sounds and processing the orchestra at the same time. For this event Mouse on Mars have created their own musical software, which they also used for the production of Parastrophics.
Ryoji Ikeda
Japan’s leading electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda focuses on the essential characteristics of sound itself and that of visuals as light by means of both mathematical precision and mathematical aesthetics. Ikeda has gained a reputation as one of the few international artists working convincingly across both visual and sonic media. He elaborately orchestrates sound, visuals, materials, physical phenomena and mathematical notions into immersive live performances and installations.
His albums +/- (1996), 0°C (1998), matrix (2000), dataplex (2005) and test pattern (2008) – pioneered a new minimal world of electronic music through his razor-sharp technique and aesthetics. His work matrix won the Golden Nica Award at Ars Electronica in 2001.
Taking various forms – installations, live performance and recordings – test pattern acts as a system that converts any type of data (text, sounds, photos and movies) into barcode patterns and binary patterns of 0s and 1s. The project aims to examine the relationship between critical points of device performance and the threshold of human perception, pushing both to their absolute limits.
Composition: Ryoji ikeda
Computer graphics, programming: Tomonaga TokuyamaBen Frost
The music Ben Frost is about contrast; influenced as much by Classical Minimalism as by Punk Rock and Metal, Frost’s throbbing guitar-based textures emerge from nothing and slowly coalesce into huge, forbidding forms that often eschew conventional structures in favor of the inevitable unfoldings of vast mechanical systems.
“…The emotional power of Frost’s music comes precisely from the stark contrast between extremely basic musical material and the deadly virtual instruments he invents to perform it… This is Arvo Part as arranged by Trent Reznor” – Wire Magazine, 2007
On albums like Steel Wound, released on the Room40 label in 2003 (Pitchfork: “An exemplary ambient experience”), Theory of Machines on Bedroom Community in 2007 (Boomkat: “The Future of electronic music…”) and 2009′s BY THE THROAT (NME: “a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record, full of deep intricacies that won’t let you go.”) Frost’s music is more than a cerebral exercise and has an undeniable visceral presence, felt as much as heard. His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every extreme of pitch and volume. His notorious, building-shaking performances at international festivals including Montreal’s famed MUTEK combine amplified electronics with the furious thrashing of live guitars. Frost himself has been described as “one of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today.” (Boomkat). His music’s intense physicality has filled gallery spaces and driven contemporary dance productions by Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company, and the acclaimed choreographers Erna Omarsdottir and Wayne McGregor.
Most Peole Have Been Trained to be Bored
Percussionist and composer Gustavo Costa is a longstanding figure in Portugal’s music scene; since the early 90s he has wandered the fields of grind core, experimental and contemporary music, free jazz or electroacoustics, performing in the United States and Europa with or under the direction of artists like Damo Suzuki, John Zorn, Christian Marclay, Alfred 23 Harth, Barbez, Carlos Zingaro, Steve Mackay, Mark Stewart, Massimo Pupilo and Adolfo Luxu?ria Canibal.
He studied classical percussion, music technology, sonology and composition with Miguel Bernat, Clarence Barlow, Konrad Boehmer, Dimitris Andrikopoulus and Frederick Gifford, and attended masterclasses and short term courses with Fritz Hauser, Kroumata Percussion Ensemble, Kaaija Saariaho, Jonathan Harvey and Wolfgang Mitterer.
As Most People Have Been Trained To Be Bored, Gustavo Costa explores his interests in the area of contemporary music practice, employing sources such as percussive objects, prepared piano and electronic synthesis in a body of work influenced by Iannis Xenakis and Giacinto Scelsi, but also by the political commentary of Crass and Dead Kennedys.
Program | Installations
AION de Jacob Kirkegaard
Jacob Kirkegaard is a Danish artist who focuses on the scientific and aesthetic aspects of resonance, time, sound and hearing. His installations, compositions and performances deal with acoustic spaces and phenomena that usually remain imperceptible. Using unorthodox recording tools, including accelerometers, hydrophones and home-built electromagnetic receivers, Kirkegaard captures and contextualizes hitherto unheard sounds from within a variety of environments : a geyser, a sand dune, a nuclear power plant, an empty room, a TV tower, and even sounds from the human inner ear itself. He has released five albums (mostly on the British label Touch) and is a member of the sound art collective freq_out.
AION (Ancient Greek = “infinity”, “eternity”, a time span beyond human understanding) is a portrait of four abandoned spaces inside the so-called “Zone of Alienation” in Chernobyl, Ukraine; a dripping swimming pool, a ruined concert hall, a mould-infested gymnasium and an old village church. During the days and weeks following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26th, 1986, the local population were evacuated by Soviet military, and they had to leave behind all their belongings. The former homes, meeting places and recreation centres were declared contaminated territory – in fact, they will remain uninhabitable for thousands of years.
Two decades after the disaster, Jacob Kirkegaard visited the exclusion area with his recording equipment. His approach was inspired by Alvin Lucier’s work “I am sitting in a room” [1970]. While sitting in a room, Lucier recorded his own voice reciting a text which he then played back in the room. He repeated this process over and over again until the different layers of his voice began to merge into a constant drone. Kirkegaard didn’t record his own voice but the voice of the room itself. He put up a microphone and a speaker, started the recording and left. After ten minutes, he returned, stopped the recording and played it back into the same space. With each new layer, the subtle sounds of the room were enlarged and deepened until they finally turned into one humming sound with many overtones.
For the visual representation of the four rooms, Kirkegaard explored a variety of techniques, working with layers, overexposure and video feedback, that can be understood as analogous to his acoustical method.
Regalamos 3 entradas que te darán acceso a los conciertos de la sala principal del Semibreve durante los tres días de festival.
La segunda edición del Fetival Semibreve tendrá lugar en Braga y Guimarães, Portugal, del 2 al 6 de Octubre.
El cartel del festival es de primera, nombres como Ben Frost, Pole, Vladislav Delay + AGF, Grischa Lichtenberger, Mouse on Mars, Roly Porter + Flicker o Ryoji Ikeda se darán cita durante tres días dentro de los programas previstos para la celebración de la Capital joven Europea 2012 y de la Capital Cultural Europea.
El Festival Semibreve ofrecerá conciertos, talleres, instalaciones y trabajos creados por el Computer Graphics Center y el Departamento de Información y Sistemas de la Universidad de Minho.
El 23 de Septiembre en un programa especial que Atmósfera dedicará al festival, daremos los nombres de los tres afortunados.
Si quieres una entrada rellena nuestro formulario SUERTE!!!
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