DARK CIRCUITS FESTIVAL 2017
November 28, 2017 at Harvestworks:
Michael Vorfeld + Hans Tammen: Schweine im Weltall
Michael Vorfeld and Hans Tammen’s collaborations go back to the early 90s, where they played in Jon Rose’s documenta IX orchestra in Kassel together. Today, Michael Vorfeld’s sounds are generated by different light bulbs and actuating electric devices, and the rhythmic variety of the flickering and pulsing lights is directly transformed into a comprehensive and microcosmic electro-acoustic world of sound. Using Harvestworks’ new 8-channel sound cube (with 4 speakers each situated on floor and ceiling), Hans Tammen’s Prozesshanslsoftware moves these sounds in three dimensions to create fragile and contrastive soundscapes surrounding the audience.
November 29, 2017 at Harvestworks:
Lukas Truninger + Nicola Hein's "Membranes" Installation
NHLK (Lukas Truninger + Nicola Hein) is a duo from Switzerland that explores the boundaries where music and language overlap. They are using hybrid instruments – constructed from drum-skins and electronic components – as devices to turn written texts into pulses of light and percussive sound. As each machine translation emerges, the network of instruments starts to share the texts, transforming written material into aesthetic, visual and sonic patterns, for the performers to further interact with. Extrapolating from the example of the African talking drum, Membranes builds up an altogether new kind of tone language, constantly shifting and adapting itself before the viewer and performers alike. Membranes is supported by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council.
November 30, 2017 at the Knockdown Center:
7pm - Lukas Truninger + Nicola Hein's "Membranes" Performance
8pm - Hans Tammen + Dark Circuits Orchestra: Crossing The Lagrangian Point
“Crossing the Lagrangian Point” is a large multi-movement piece written by Hans Tammen for 10 light & sound performers, a spatialist, and a conductor. A large collection of lightbulbs, A/V synths, LED structures and fluorescent lights fight and clash with bizarre visuals projected onto objects, fabrics, ceilings and walls. Sounds are generated with ear-scorching intensity directly from the visuals or from a mad combination of audio and video synth modules, while the “spatialist” throws them around in an 8-channel sound system like a violently moving fluid. It is a controlled chaos of loud, visceral blast of colors, flashes and polyrhythmic maneuvers.
With Michael Vorfeld, ChiKa, Benton C. Bainbridge, James Yuxi Cao, MSHR (Birch Cooper & Brenna Murphy), Dafna Naphtali, Eric Drasin, Jonas Bers, Matthew Ostrowski, Katya & Maya Naphtali, Daniel Neumann (spatialist) and Hans Tammen (concept, composing, conducting).
Hans Tammen: http://tammen.org
Michael Vorfeld: http://www.vorfeld.org
ChiKa: http://www.imagima.com
Benton C. Bainbridge: http://www.bentoncbainbridge.com
James Yuxi Cao: https://caoyuxi.com
MSHR (Birch Cooper & Brenna Murphy): http://mshr.info
Dafna Naphtali: http://dafna.info
Eric Drasin: http://www.ericbarrydrasin.com
Jonas Bers: https://jonasbers.com
Matthew Ostrowski: http://www.ostrowski.info
Daniel Neuman & CT-SWaM: https://ctswam.org
The event was a co-production between Hans Tammen and CT-SWaM, commissioned by Harvestworks with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Special thanks to videographer Carlton Bright for taking the videos, and to Peter Shapiro to operate one of the hand cameras.
And special thanks to Michael Merck and the crew at Knockdown Center for allowing us to take over their space!
