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jgthirlwell · 4 years

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2020 Year In Review

This year once again I invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2020

JG Thirlwell

Composer

Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

2020 was a troubling and disturbing year. I created a lot of music and experienced a lot of nights waking at 5am in a panic. I deeply missed the sacred experience of being able to see live music. In its absence of that I listened to a lot of music. It was difficult to whittle down this list but here are a lot of albums I enjoyed in 2020, in no particular order.

Le Grand Sbam Furvent (Dur Et Doux) John Elmquist’s HardArt Group I Own an Ion (900 Nurses) Roly Porter Kistvaen (Subtext) Liturgy Origin Of The Alimonies (YLYLCYN) Clark Kiri Variations (Throttle) Dai Kaht Dai Kaht I & II (Soleil Zeuhl) Chromb Le livre des merveilles (Dur Et Doux) Horse Lords The Common Task (Northern Spy) Ecker & Meultzer Carbon (Subtext) Insane Warrior Tendrils (RJ’s Electrical Connections) Jeff Parker Suite For Max Brown (International Anthem) Jacob Kirkegaard Opus Mors (Topos) Tristan Perich Drift Multiply (Nonesuch) Bec Plexus Sticklip (New Amsterdam) Vak Budo (Soleil Zeuhl) Merlin Nova BOO! (Bandcamp) The The Muscle OST (Cineola) Zombi 2020 (Relapse) Regis Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss (Downwards) Rival Consoles Articulation (Erased Tapes) Sarah Davachi Cantus, Descant (L.A.T.E.) Sufjan Stevens The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty) Idles Ultra Mono (Partisan) Daedelus The Bittereindeers (Brainfeeder) Boris No (Bandcamp) Aksak Maboul Figures / Un peu de l’ame des bandits / Onze Danses Pour Cobattre La Migraine (Crammed) Noveller Arrow (Ba Da Bing) Felicia Atkinson Everything Evaporate (Shelter Press) Ital Tek Dream Boundary (Planet Mu) Author and Punisher Beastland (Relapse) Sparks A Steady Drip Drip Drip (BMG) Corima Amatarasu (Soleil Zeuhl) Code Orange Underneath (Roadrunner) Deerhoof Future Teenage Cave Artists /Silly Symphonies / To Be Surrounded../ Love Lore(Joyful Noise) Sote Moscels (Opal Tapes) Run The Jewels RTJ4 (Jewel Runners) Oranssi Pazuzu Mestarin Kynsi (Nuclear Blast) Master Boot Record Floppy Disk Overdrive (Metal Blade) Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith The Mosaic Of Transformation (Ghostly International) / Ears (Western Vinyl) Michael Gordon Acquanetta (Cantelope) Neom Arkana Temporis (Soleil Zeuhl) Rian Treanor Ataxia / File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu) Helm Saturnalia (Alter) Ivvvo doG (Halcyon Veil) Robert Normandeau Figures (Empreintes Digitales) Ben Vida Reducing The Tempo To Zero (Shelter Press) Beatrice Dillon Workaround (Pan) Dan Deacon Mystic Familiar (Domino) Sea Oleena Weaving A Basket (Higher Plain Music) Elysian Fields Transience Of Life (Ojet) Rhapsody Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret (Magic Circle) Duma Duma (Nyege Nyege) Ulla Strauss Tumbling Towards a Wall / Seed (Bandcamp)

Honorable mentions Carl Stone Stolen Car (Unseen Worlds) Nazar Guerilla (Hyperdub) Iwo Zaluski with the Children of Park Lane Primary School, Wembley The Remarkable Earth Making Machine (Trunk) Nahash Flowers Of The Revolution (SVBKVLT) Cindy Lee Whats Tonight To Eternity (Bandcamp) Insect Ark The Vanishing (Profound Lore) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Declan McKenna Zeroes (Tomplicated) Layma Azur Zeii (Bandcamp)

FILM TV Succession ZeroZeroZero Escape at Dannemora 1917 Small Axe : Five films by Steve McQueen Pirhanas Monos The Hater Better Call Saul

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Drew Daniel

Matmos, The Soft Pink Truth

an alphabet of 2020 recordings

Arca “KiCk i” BFTT “Intrusive / Obtrusive” clipping. “Visions of Bodies Being Burned” Duma “Duma” Eilbacher, Max “Metabolist Meter (Foster, Cottin, Caetani and a Fly)” Forbidden Colors “La Yeguada” GILA “Energy Demonstration” HiedraH Club de Baile “Bichote-K Bailable Vol. 2” Ian Power “Maintenance Hums” Jeff Carey “Index[off]” Kassel Jaeger “Meith” Laurie Anderson “Songs From the Bardo” Mukqs “Water Levels” Negativland “The World Will Decide” O’Rourke, Jim “Shutting Down Here” Perlesvaus “These Things Below with Those Above” Quicksails “Blue Rise” Rian Treanor “File Under UK Metaplasm” Slikback “///” Terminal Nation “Holocene Extinction” Ulcerate “Stare Into Death and Be Still” Various Artists “HAUS of ALTR” William Tyler “New Vanitas” Xyla “Ways” Y A S H A “Summations” :zoviet-france: “Châsse 2ᵉ”

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Sarah Lipstate (Noveller)

With all live performances canceled, this was truly the year of demo videos and home studio recording for me. These are 10 pieces of gear that came out in 2020 that helped keep me feeling creative and inspired during lockdown. In no particular order:

EHX Oceans 12 Dual Stereo Reverb - The Oceans 12 ticks all the boxes for what I’m looking for in a great soundscaping reverb. I used the Shimmer and Reverse algorithms in conjunction a lot when I was composing music for a film score.

Chase Bliss Audio Blooper - While I don’t actually own a Blooper, I had the pleasure of borrowing one from Mike of Baranik Guitars after NAMM this year. He made an incredible Blooper-inspired guitar and I was completely charmed by them both. Chase Bliss always delivers pedals that push me creatively and the Blooper truly hits the mark.

Cooper FX Arcades - I love everything Cooper FX has released to-date so the opportunity to access those sounds in one pedal via plug-in cartridges is just awesome.

SolidGoldFX NU-33 - I was asked to do a demo of this pedal for its release and ended up being really charmed by this box’s approach to lo-fi nostalgia. I’ve used it a lot for film scoring and highly recommend adding it to your collection.

Demedash Effects T-120 DLX V2 - I LOVE a good tape echo and the T-120 Deluxe V2 ranks up there with the best I’ve tried. This pedal made its way to me this Christmas and I look forward to making some beautiful sounds with it in the new year.

Hologram Electronics Microcosm - The Microcosm is one of those pedals where you should fully read the manual before diving in but once you put in that initial effort you’ve got a massively powerful tool on your hands. It does glitch like no other. Definitely worth the homework

Azzam Bells MP019 - I discovered this unique instrument through a post on Reverb’s IG page and immediately looked it up and ordered one. These experimental percussion instruments are hand-made in Italy and they’re as beautiful visually as they are sonically. I used it for bowed cymbal and daxophone sounds on a film score and it was absolutely haunting.

Echopark Dual Harmonic Boost 2 - I love the control you have over dialing in the perfect amount of grit with these dual boost circuits. I use it a lot as a textural tool when I’m laying down drones or bringing in big distorted swells. It’s one of the most versatile overdrives in my collection and I love that.

Fender Parallel Universe Series Volume II Maverick Dorado - I was smitten with the Maverick Dorado when I first saw it at NAMM. It has a lot of the specs that I look for in a guitar and the body shape with the Mystic Pine finish just blew me away. I hope that I get to use it live soon.

Polyeffects Beebo - The Beebo is one of those pedals that I genuinely feel is smarter than I am. It’s like an entire computer in one small touchscreen box. I can’t claim to have mastered using it yet but the sounds that I have managed to get out of it so far have been brilliant. I’m looking forward to spending more time with this box in 2021

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HELM 2020 REVIEW

Let's get the bad stuff out the way first, 2020 was undoubtedly an awful year. I'm still not sure how to really respond to seeing a global pandemic bring the capital to its knees and everything I love and hold dear to a grinding halt. Our government fucked it's response, putting profit before people and killing tens of thousands. The Labour Party descended into farce with the newly elected leader Sir Keith revealing himself as a bland centrist with no opposition or ideas. On a personal level it sucked not being able to travel or see my friends in different parts of the world - or even the same country - who I am starting to miss a lot. However, I was fortunate enough to get through the year with my sanity intact. Music, art and culture once again being my main positive. I think I listened to more music than I have in any year ever. I read more books than I have done since I was a teenager probably. I also re-discovered the joys of walking long distances and am extremely thankful for living near a lot of incredible green spaces: Epping Forest, Walthamstow Wetlands, Walthamstow Marshes, Wanstead Park, Wanstead Flats...

Music. My favourite albums of the year.

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi Wetware - Flail Raspberry Bulbs - Before The Age Of Mirrors Necrot - Mortal Rope Sect - The Great Flood Private World - Aleph Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Pyrrhon - Abcess Time CS+Kreme - Snoopy Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry Drew McDowall - Agalma Regis - Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss Nazar - Guerilla Zoviet France - Russian Heterodoxical Songs (and all the ZF reissues!!) Triple Negative - God Bless the Death Drive Permission - Organised People Suffer Actress - Karma & Desire Acolytes - Stress II The Gerogerigegege - >(decrescendo) Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills Flora Yin-Wong - Holy Palm Eiko Ishibashi - Hyakki Yagyo The The - See Without Being Seen Prurient - Casablanca Flamethrower Henning Christiansen - L’essere Umano Errabando La Voce Errabando Subdued - Over The Hills And Far Away Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm Komare - The Sense Of Hearing Shredded Nerve - Acts Of Betrayal Jesu - Terminus Autechre - SIGN Hey Colossus - Dances / Curses Sparkle Division - To Feel Embraced Mark Harwood - A Perfect Punctual Paradise Under My Own Name Still House Plants - Fast Edit The Bug & Dis Fig - In Blue Kommand - Terrorscape Haus Arafna - Asche Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum Worm - Gloomlord Kraus - A Golden Brain Faceless Burial - Speciation

A shout-out to Jon Abby's AMPLIFY series on Bandcamp / Facebook, which I contributed a new piece of music to.

A shout out to the labels where most of the music I listened to seemed to come from:

The Trilogy Tapes Iron Bonehead Penultimate Press Dais La Vida Es Un Mus

Gigs. Despite live music being destroyed in 2020 I still saw a few unforgettable performances at the beginning of the year.

Graham Lambkin @ The ICA, London Puce Mary / JFK @ The Glove That Fits, London Demilich @ Finnfest, The Garage, London Container / PC World / National Unrest @ Venue MOT, London S.H.I.T / Asid / Chubby & The Gang @ Static Shock Festival, ExFed, London

Books I enjoyed. Most not published this year, but all read in 2020.

Joe Kennedy - Authentocrats David Balzer - Curationism Tom Mills - BBC: The Myth Of A Public Service Simon Morris - Consumer Guide: Special Edition Luke Turner - Out Of The Woods Various - Bad News For Labour Mike Wendling - Alt-Right Baited Area issues 1 & 2.

Film. Three good films I saw this year which I hadn't before.

Suspiria (Remake) Midsommar Cannibal Holocaust

Podcasts. I listened to a lot of these whilst walking.

We Don't Talk About The Weather Novara Media Tysky Sour & Novara FM Grounded with Louis Theroux System of Systems Red Scare loveline episodes Suite 212 NOISEXTRA Social Discipline CONTAIN

TV.

Didn't watch a huge amount and what I did was mostly trash. For some reason I rewatched both series' of This Life, a British drama from the late 90's about a group of young professionals house sharing and navigating their careers. Very cringey and has aged terribly, but it was perversely fascinating to revisit something from that time in the age of the pandemic. Following on from this I binge watched the entire series of Industry which was entertaining enough. A programme about a bunch of horny bankers with what felt like a confused ideology behind it. It seemed stuck between trying to criticise and glorify the culture around the industry, but also protect the industry itself from outside criticism by portraying anyone who may oppose as an insufferable wanker. Currently halfway through Succession which is OK. The Murdoch documentaries on the BBC were excellent and a rare respite from their descent into client journalism.

Thanks to anyone who listened to my music this year also. Best wishes to you all for 2021.

Luke Younger

http://hhelmm.com | http://alter.bandcamp.com

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Elliott Sharp

composer

1. My Nr. 1 lesson: patience. Whether it's bouncing through 30 seconds of severe turbulence at 39000 feet or slogging through 30 minutes of a interminable piece of concert music, one attribute I've tried to develop is the ability to see past the discrete and awaited ending, the exact framing of the immediate process, but put it into the context of a larger time frame. I've found that this year more than all others has demanded it. Breathing helps...

2. Books: revisiting old favorites from the realm of Thomas Pynchon and Philip K. Dick (both especially relevant), digging into John Lomax's portrait of Jelly Roll Morton, the works of Colson Whitehead, random things off of the shelf…

3. Composing: with touring off the table, I focused on that which needed to be written, some requested and commissioned, some spontaneously springing forth. Composing requires that one open the windows wide to the world, which at this moment brought in grief, terror, uncertainty, anxiety, visions of plague and pestilence and incipient fascism. Okay, now shut the window and get to work! How to process, translate, transform? The work can be a comfortable and obsessive cocoon once one learns to handle the radioactive materials and put them into the creativity reactor.

4. Beans! We have long been a fan in our house of the wide world of legumes but this year brought two stars to the front: the black bean and the red lentil. The black bean commands the lofty peaks but the seemingly infinite variations of dal surround it. Ginger, garlic, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, onions, and olive oil form the basis then imagination builds.

5. Online teaching substituted for my canceled conduction of workshops in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Between the participants and myself, we built a temporary but very congenial space online to share concepts and music. In addition, private lessons brought conversation and music with new friends in Germany, Italy, California, Australia, Illinois, Denmark, Pennsylvania, Spain, Florida, Brazil.

6. What started out as "stress baking" (before I even had heard of the term) soon became a frequent practice that yielded very edible results. The twins preferred the sweeter forays into banana bread and chocolate cake. I tried to find a balance between tried-and-true techniques and experiments in texture and taste with yeasted pumpernickels, multi-grains, and seed breads.

7. While not the same as performing 'live ', online gigs proved that it was possible to generate a surprising amount of adrenaline even without the pheromonal handshaking of a room filled with receptive ears. As a corollary, online recording collaborations with friends worldwide proved to be inspiring and a suitable substrate for sonic experimentation, exploration of new instruments, tunings, effects programming, structures. In these realms, shout-outs to Helene Breschand, Mike Cooper, Henry Kaiser, Tracie Morris, Mikel Banks, Dougie Bowne, Payton McDonald, Billy Martin, Colin Stetson, Jim O'Rourke, Scott Amendola, Roberto Zorzi, Jason Hoopes, Eric Mingus, Melanie Dyer, Dave Hofstra, Don McKenzie, Sergio Sorrentino, Veniero Rizzardi, Taylor Ho Bynum, Scott Fields, Bachir Attar, Karl Bruckmaier, Robbie Lee, Matthew Evan Taylor, Matteo Liberatore, Al Kaatz, David Barratt, Jessica Hallock, Kolin Zeinikov, Robbie Lee, Jeremy Nesse, James Ilgenfritz, Sergio Armaroli, Steve Piccolo, Sandy Ewen, David Weinstein, Jim Whittemore, Chris Vine, Werner Puntigam, William Schimmel.

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Daniel O’Sullivan

(Grumbling Fur, Guapo, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses, Ulver, Sunn O))), Æthenor, Laniakea, Miracle, Mothlite, and This Is Not This Heat.)

Music Richard Youngs - Ein Klein Nein Alabaster DePlume - Instrumentals Hildegard von Bingen - O Nobilissima Viriditas Francisco de Penalosa - Missa Ave Maria Peregrina Carlo Gesualdo - Responsoria 1611 Dirty Projectors - Five EPs Sonic Boom - All Things Being Equal Brother Peter Broderick - Blackberry Richard Horowitz - Eros Of Arabia Duncan Trussell Family Hour Cocteau Twins in the bath

Books/comics Alexander Tucker - Entity Reunion II Derek Jarman - Chroma Stephen Harrod Buhner - Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm The Penguin Book Of Irish Poetry - edited by Patrick Crotty The Gospel Of Ramakrishna - translated by Swami Nikhilananda Lucretius - De Rerum Natura Plotinus - Enneads Ram Dass - Grist For The Mill Lisa Brown - Phantom Twin

Other Fasting / meditation / macrodosing Walks in freshly coppiced woodland (for the smell mainly). Plants / Foraging / Growing Traditional ferments Douglas Sirk movies Mandolorian Writing songs on the piano Rediscovery of Kenneth Graham via my kids

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Karl O’Connor (Regis)

01.Wolfgang Press - Unremembered, Remembered 02. Klara Lewis - Ingrid Live at Fylkingen 03. Jesu - Terminus 04. Dave Ball - Leeds Poly Demos 1979 05. Edwin Pouncey - Rated Sav X (the Savage Pencil Skratchbook) 06. The Bug - In Blue 07. New Order - Power,Corruption and Lies ( Writing Sessions ) 08. JG Thirlwell and Simon Steensland - Oscillospira 09. FM Einheit and Andreas Ammer - Hammerschlag 10. Thurston Moore - By The Fire 11. Body Stuff - Body Stuff 3 12. Ann M Hogan - Honeysuckle Burials 13. Rob Halford - Confess (Autobiography)

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Caleb Braaten (Sacred Bones Records)

Shirley Collins Hearts Ease Dehd Flowers Of Devotion Duma Duma Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Green-House Six Songs for Invisible Gardens John Jeffery Passage Drew McDowall Agalma Sweeping Promises Hunger For a Way Out Colter Wall Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs Woods Strange to Explain

My Favorite 90’s Nostalgia Movie Rewatches

Colors Ghost Dog Menace II Society The Player Rounders Safe Starship Troopers Trees Lounge Vampires Waiting For Guffman

Most Culturally Bankrupt Year : 1997

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Charlie Looker

(composer, Psalm Zero, Extra Life, Seaven Teares)

Ten Things That Didn’t Happen in 2020

1. I didn’t write a ton of new music. Don’t get me wrong, I wrote some. I always do. But mostly I focused on my new YouTube channel, essays, and on getting old recordings released. I haven’t even been working a day-job so I thought I was going to write my next Ring Cycle, but I really didn’t find Covid inspiring.

2. Trump wasn’t re-elected. Cool.

3. I didn’t lose anyone to Covid. I am, of course, profoundly grateful for this. But I feel pretty embarrassed remembering group-texting ten friends in March, “We are all going to see a loved one die. Every single one of us. Don’t kid yourselves”. I can get hysterical, and that was somewhat irresponsible of me.

4. No revolution happened. I don’t mean to be smug or cynical, or to belittle anyone’s participation in the protests. But, as far as I can tell, nothing happened in 2020 that promises to reduce police brutality or human suffering of any kind. We’ll see. That burning Minneapolis police station was exciting to watch at the time, if only on an aesthetic level.

5. I have a stack of unread books I bought this year, just staring at me, with nary a crease among them. These include:

Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment (looks amazing, but I haven’t touched it) Marx, Grundrisse (it’s 1000 pages for fuck’s sake. Amazon also accidentally sent me two copies, and its double presence in the stack is just comical) Reza Negarestani, Intelligence and Spirit (the first 15 pages blew my mind, then my mind blew it off)

6. I didn’t settle into living in LA. I moved here six months before Covid and I was just starting to cultivate some friendships and play shows. This was quashed and I still feel like I still live in New York. I still barely know the layout of the city here.

7. No brand-new buzzy musical artists burst onto the scene, that I can recall. No new hyped micro-genre of the moment. There was just no way for there to be a hot new trend. I’d say that was refreshing, but it wasn’t.

8. Tyson’s return was not awesome. Two minute rounds, ended in a draw. I’ve been getting way into boxing this past year. This fight was a bummer. I’m looking forward to Mayweather vs Logan Paul (LOL) because we know it’s comedy ahead of time.

9. For three weeks in July, I didn’t do a single thing other than watch street fight compilations on YouTube and Worldstar. That’s just grim.

10. There were no school shootings in March. Apparently, this was the first March with no school shootings since 2002. Not a single 7th grader got a hand job in March either. I cannot begin to imagine what it’s like to be a kid now.

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Chuck Bettis

https://chuckbettis.com

Other People's Music released this year:

Coil "Musick to Play in the Dark" (Dais)

Duma "s/t" (Nyege Nyege Tapes) Twig Harper "External Boundless Prison/ in 4 parts EP" (self-release) I.P.Y. (Ikue Mori, Phew, YoshimiO) "I.P.Y." (Tzadik) Kill Alters "A2B2 Live Stream 11/13/2020" (self-release) Krallice "Mass Cathexis" (self-release) Lust$ickPuppy "Cosmic Brownie" (self-release) Doug McKechnie "San Francisco Moog: 1968-72" (VG+ Records) Merlin Nova "Boo!" (self-release) Omrb "Milandthriust, The Graths of Mersh" (self-release) Akio Suzuki & Aki Onda "gi n ga" (self-release) Yoth Iria "Under His Sway" (Repulsive Echo) Wetware "Flail" (Dais)

My own music released this year:

collaborations

Chatter Blip "Microcosmopolitan" (Contour Editions) Matmos "The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form" (Thrill Jockey) Reverse Bullets "Dreampop Dsyphoria" (self-release) Snake Union "live at Roulette" (self-release) Snake Union w/ Hisham Bharoocha, Bonnie Jones, Heejin Jang, Matthew Regula "Three Arrows" (Rat Route) Thomas Dimuzio "Balance" (Gench Music) YoshimiO & Chuck Bettis "Live at the Stone" (Living Myth)

solo Chuck Bettis "Arc of Enlghtenment" (Living Myth) Chuck Bettis "Motion Parallax" (Living Myth)

compilation Various Artist "Polished Turds Vol.1" (Granpa)

Music Books read this year

"Intermediary Spaces" by Eliane Radigue/Julia Eckhardt (Umland) "Ennio Morricone In His Own Words" by Ennio Morricone/Alessandro De Rosa (Oxford University Press) "Free Jazz In Japan: A Personal History" by Soejima Teruto (Public Bath Press) "Rumors of Noizu: Hijokaidan and the Road to 2nd Damascus" by Kato David Hopkins (Public Bath Press)

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Maya Hardinge

(musician / artist)

list of things i liked this year

first ever solo road trip through new mexico and Texas right before lockdown experiencing manhattan with no cars on the road . having a car to escape in to nature. (which i craved so much) walks and bike rides with friends… FRIENDS! The web site ‘workaway’ that helped me feel that there were options for escape. playing games weekly on zoom during lock down teaching yoga weekly on zoom. Witnessing and being part of the BLM protests. witnessing and being part of the demise of T sitting on my couch at 6am drinking a cup of tea, appreciating my apt. making time to meditate. halloween without tourists .

some music I’ve bought and/or enjoyed this year Elvis Perkins-Black Coat Daughter Patricia Kokett -Soi soi Henning Christiansen - OP201 Bryce Hackford- Safe Svitlana Nianio and Oleksander - Snayesh yak? rozkazhy Brannten schnure - Sommer im Pfirsichhain Killing Joke - Nighttime David Shea - Tower of mirrors Shakey - Shakey Woodford halse tapes Coil - Musick to play in the dark

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BJ Nilsen

sound artist / composer

Work 2020

Despite Covid 19 lots of things actually did happen.

In Feburary I visited the only active nuclear plant in The Nederlands as part of my "Expanded Field Recording” project together with SML. In March revisited the Acousmonium at the Elevate Festival in Graz with an additional trip deep inside the Schlossberg recording old mining trains. In March and April I did two daily recording projects “Pending and Auditory Scenes” - both of Amsterdam during lockdown. In May did my first Zoom field recording workshop with the CAMP project. In June & July two research trips in Waldviertel, Austria with Franz Pomassl. In August recorded bells and organs in 10 different churches around Amsterdam for Jacob Lekkerkerker. In September recorded Kali Malone at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. Performed at Heart of Noise Festival in Innsbruck and A4 in Bratislava. Also went ice-skating for first time in 20? Years. In November and December I travelled to Jeju island to record field recordings for a project by Femke Herregraven for the Gwangju Biennale, commissioned for 2021. Did lots of gardening, released two tapes “Call it Philips, Eindoven” and “Zomer 2020” with Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. NOW! Looking forward to 2021.

http://bjnilsen.info https://soundcloud.com/bjnilsen/sets/auditory-scenes-amsterdam

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Vicki Bennett

(People Like Us)

Negativland - True False https://negativland.com/products/truefalse-cd (this came out last year but is so THIS year) Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways https://www.bobdylan.com/albums/rough-and-rowdy-ways/ The Soft Pink Truth - We from Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase https://thesoftpinktruth.bandcamp.com/album/shall-we-go-on-sinning-so-that-grace-may-increase Carl Stone - Stolen Car https://unseenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/stolen-car Porest - Sedimental Gurney https://porest.bandcamp.com/album/sedimental-gurney Matmos - The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form https://matmos.bandcamp.com/album/the-consuming-flame-open-exercises-in-group-form Domenique Dumont - Miniatures De Auto Rhythm https://antinoterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/atn044-domenique-dumont-miniatures-de-auto-rhythm The The - See Without Being Seen https://www.thethe.com/product/see-without-being-seen-cd/ Ciggy de la Noche - Hold Tight HMRC https://soundcloud.com/ciggydelanoche/hold-tight-hmrc Neil Cicierega - Mouth Dreams http://www.neilcic.com/mouthdreams/

and my details: http://peoplelikeus.org/ https://peoplelikeus-vickibennett.bandcamp.com/ pic: http://peoplelikeus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Welcome-Abroad-promo3-2-scaled.jpg

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DJ Food

Music - Type 303 - Sticky Disco / Analogue Acidbath 7" (45 Live) The British Space Group - The Ley of the Land CD (Wyrd Britain) Squarepusher - Be Up A Hello LP / Warp 10 NTS mix (Warp) dgoHn - Undesignated Proximate (Modern Love) LF58 - Alterazione LP (Astral Industries) Robert Fripp - Music For Quiet Moments series (DGM) Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (BMG) Simf Onyx - Magenta Skyline / The Unresolved 7" (Delights) Luke Vibert - Modern Rave LP (Hypercolour) JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland - Oscillospira (Ipecac) Aural Design - Looking & Seeing 7" / DL (Russian Library) Luke Vibert - Rave Hop (Hypercolour) Clipping. with Christopher Fleeger - Double Live (Sub Pop) APAT - Terry Riley's 'In C' performed on Modular Synthesizer (YouTube) Field Lines Cartographer - The Spectral Isle LP (Castles In Space) Jane Weaver - The Revolution of Super Visions single (Fire Records) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G. LP (Flightless) Humanoid - Hed-Set - forthcoming on (De:tuned)

Film / TV - Inside No.9 (BBC) What We Do In The Shadows Season 2 (Netflix) Tales From The Loop (Amazon) Keith Haring - Street Art Boy (BBC) John Was Trying To Contact Aliens (Netflix) The Social Dilemma (Netflix) The Mandalorian (Season 2) (Disney+) Long Hot Summers - The Style Council documentary (Sky Arts) Zappa (Alex Winter)

Books / Comics / Magazines Confessions of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell (Profile books) The Often Wrong - Farel Dalrymple (Image Comics) Edwin Pouncey - Rated SavX (Strange Attractor Press) Jeffrey Lewis - Fuff (all issues - really late to the party on this one) Rian Hughes - XX - A Novel, Graphic (Picador) Cosey Fanni Tutti - Art, Sex, Music (Faber) Caza - Kris Kool (Passenger Press) Dan Lish - Egostrip Vol.1 Electronic Sound magazine Decorum - Jonathan Hickman & Mike Huddleston (Image) John Higgs - Stranger Than We Can Imagine Simon Halfon - Cover To Cover (Nemperor)

Very few exhibitions or shows this year for obvious reasons

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younglarva · 3 years

Audio

March Slav Boogie - Homer Dennison Jr. (1954 Brunswick) • El entierro de los gatos - Los Saicos (1965) • Jack The Ripper - Screaming Lord Sutch (1963 Decca) • Transylvania Twist - Baron Daemon & the Vampires (1963 Seneca Productions Records) • He's a Vampire - Archie King (1959 Dayhill) • [clip: The Exorcist (1973) • Saton's Theme - The Rondells (1961 Amy Records) • The Cat - Rod Willis (1959 NRC) • [clip: The Legend Of The Wolfwoman (1976)] • I'm the Wolfman - Round Robin (1965 Domain) • Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie Cook (1962 Audan) • Werewolf - Morgus & the Daringers (1959 Fulton) • The Hunch - Mad Mike & the Maniacs (1961 HUNCH Records) • The Hump - Invictas (1965 Sahara) • Go Go Gorilla - Shandells (1964 Bangar) • Do the Zombie - Symbols (1958 Universal) • King Kong - Albert Elias (1958 Payson) • Frankenstein Stomp - Count Lorry and the Biters (1964 Dragon) • [clip: Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972)] • Haunted House - Cris Kevin (1959 Colt 45) • Ghost Train - Electro-Tones (1961 JB Records) • [clip: The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) • Sinners - Freddie and the Hitchikers (1961 Band Box) • Dracula's Theme::Coffin Nails - The Ghouls (1964) • [clip: Invaders From Mars (1953)] • Mope-itty Mope - Bosstones (1959 Boss Records) • [clip: I Married A Monster From Outer Space (1958)] • Martian Hop - Ran-Dells (1963 Chairman) • [clip: Flight To Mars (1951)] • Baby Brother - Bill Carter (1959 Black Jack) • [clip: This Island Earth Trailer (1955) • Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll - Billy Lee Riley (1957 Sun Records) • [clip: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)] • War of the Worlds - The Atlantics (1963 CBS) • [clip: Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) • Ghost Satellite - Bob & Jerry (1958 Rendevous Records) • [clip: Destination Moon (1950)] • There's A Fungus Among Us - Hugh Barret & the Victors (1961 Madison) • Beware The Blob - The 5 Blobs (1958 Columbia) • [clip: The Blob (1958)] • Rockin in the Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar (1959 - Sandy) • [clip: Lady Frankenstein (1971)] • The Living Dead - Jim Burgett (1961 Columbia) [clip: Orgy Of The Living Dead (1972) trailer] • Strollin' Spooks - Ken Nordine (1958 Dot) • Swamp Girl - Kay Martin (1957 Roulette) • There's A Creature In The Surfer's Lagoon - The Deadly Ones (1964 Vee Jay) • Do The Jellyfish (from "Sting Of Death" 1966) - Neil Sedaka (1966 Essen Productions Inc.) • [clip: C.H.U.D. (1984) trailer] • The Mummy - Bob McFadden (1958 Brunswick) • The Mummy's Bracelet - Lee Ross (1958 Ray) • Son of the Mummy - Bob McFadden & Dor (1958 Brunswick) • [clip: Theater Of Blood (1973)] • Draculas Daughter - Sharks (2011 The Western Star Recording Co.) • Witchcraft - Joe Graves & The Diggers (1963 Capitol) • [clip: The Legend Of Hell House (1973)] • Monster In Black Tights - Screaming Lord Sutch (1963 Decca) • The Witch - Sonics (1965 Etiquette) • She's My Witch - Kip Tyler (1958 Ebb) • Dinner With Dracula - Zacherle (1958 Cameo) • [download]

original broadcast: 10.30.21

#Halloween #happy halloweeeeeeen #all hallows eve #mid century modern #surf music #retro scifi #vintage retro #rock n roll #rockabilly #garage rock #1960s culture #1960s vintage #1950s icons #b-movies

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greengreasehog · 5 years

Text

Rules: Tag people you want to know better! Repost, don’t reblog. Original can be found https://needsmorememes.tumblr.com/post/172600928295/rules-tag-people-you-want-to-know-better-repost

Tagged by: @onyx-the-temptress

Tagging: who ever wants to steal this is welcome to :3

- Name/Nickname: Pent

- Star Sign: Aquarius

- Chinese Zodiac: Tiger

- Height: 5′3″

- Have you ever thought about changing you name? If so, why?

((not really, no))

- Put your music player on shuffle. What are the first 10 songs that popped up?

((I mainly use youtube, and given my watch history its all just clips from Gumball))

- Grab the book nearest you and turn to page 42. What’s sentence 13?

((”She begs E. to tell her what she’s seen.”))

- When was the last time you played air guitar or air drums?

((When i was a little kid maybe?))

- Who is your celebrity crush?

((i dont really care for celebrities all that much))

- What’s a sound you hate? A sound you love?

((People eating on mic, and anything that crunches))

- Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

((Yes and idk i dont really think about it. Too scared of the paranormal.))

- Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

((Im not allowed to use the care cus i forgot how to drive))

- What was the last book you read?

((”I Have Lived a Thousand Years” by Livia Bitton-Jackson))

- What’s a smell you hate? A smell you love?

((Weed, cus it makes me really nauseous. Which is inconvenient considering i live on a college campus. I love the smell of cinnamon rolls))

- What was the last movie you saw?

((Steven Universe the movie, but i put it on for background noise really.))

- If the main characters of the last TV show you watched were all that stood between you and a horde of ravenous zombies, how screwed would you be?

((The last thing i watched that wasn’t in clips was Demon slayer so i’d say I’d do okay?))

- What’s the last thing you ate/drank?

((Pizza and Mountain Dew))

- What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

((Nearly shattered my wrist copying that really small part in Sonic 06 where eggman presses a button. Didnt notice even after 3 weeks of pain))

- Do you have any obsessions right now?

((Sonic and Dragons as always.))

- Do you tend to hold grudges against people who’ve done you wrong?

((not really.))

- Are you in a relationship? If so, tell us about it.

((Im in a poly relationship with two people ive been friends with since highschool <3))

#tag meme

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orangestar1 · 6 years

Text

GET UP AND KILL! Original Release

A little over 48 hours ago, it was not my birthday in Sweden, where Vargskelethor ( A.K.A. Joel from Vinesauce) uploaded the VOD featuring the Doom WAD I submitted for his contest. It was my birthday during that time here in The States. Time is fun.

I told everyone when he finally played it I would upload it for everyone to enjoy, and here it is, and then some.

Get Up And Kill! (Colloquially known around by me and my friends as “Guac” like Guacamole but pronounced by Joel as “GWEK” so I guess it’s “GWEK” now) is a single Doom level made with the intention of feeling like a semi-retro mod that could’ve been made with PrBoom+ and some DeHackEd patches.

More info + Release under the cut.

Features

Neon color Industrial-Punk aesthetic (Described by Joel as “Birthday Shake”)

Over-the-top enemy placement and humor

5 original 3D weapons and tons of replacement color-coded pickups to match (that look bad because I was strapped for time)

Grading system that goes from A, the lowest grade, to XXX EX GRAND MASTER, the highest.

New Zombiemen sounds from Ghost Squad (Wii)

Quadruple bass pedal drums that I liked but everyone seems to make fun of

Semi-Nonlinear level design

Transparent Swimmable 3D Floors

Dynamically lighted explosions

Easy difficulty for accessibility

Cooperative player starts

A finishing gauntlet featuring two cyberdemons and a boss battle with a double-health Spider Mastermind and his Arachnotron cohorts. Especially difficult if you’re going for 100% kills!

Known Bugs

If the Status Bar’s scaling options (Options > HUD Options > Scaling Options) aren’t set to 1 or using the defaults like this then your HUD will be ridiculously huge. This bug was introduced in the very version of GZDoom that Joel ended up using for the contest. Thanks, Graf.

Autosaves only trigger once, so it’s possible to use up an autosave and then not go through the portion it was intended for.

The invulnerability sphere was supposed to have been edited to have a golden colormap (seen here after applying a quick patch) but instead I appear to have uploaded and backed up the wrong wad so it’s the default inverse colormap which looks like hell on the neon-soaked textures.

I forgot to render the Handcannons with a right hand holding them so only the left hand is visible.

The title “Get Up And Kill” is incorrectly attributed to Bruno Mattei’s Hell of the Living Dead, a film about rats that transmit an infectious zombie virus. The line actually comes from Bruno Mattei’s Rats, a film about rats that transmit an infectious zombie virus.

Sometimes the EFX explosions will damage you. I don’t know why.

You can continue to control your character after winning. Using the console command Spynext will change the camera back to your player so you can see yourself. This does not change your ending stats.

The sound effect that plays when you get a secret is actually unecessarily long because I forgot to trim it, so after getting a secret you’ll still hear some really quiet crowd cheering noises and instrumental breaks.

Due to miscalculation on monsters in the level, you can only achieve a XXX rating for Demons Trashed by waiting for Pain Elementals to spawn over 30 Lost Souls or by killing any respawned demons on Nightmare!. (The level has 217 monsters on normal, and there are three Pain Elementals which will generate at least an additional 9 monsters. XXX grade requires you to kill 257 monsters.)

Onto the actual release, I actually have three versions of Get Up And Kill to give you today. Championship Edition, Director’s Cut, and Original Mix.

Championship Edition

CE is the warts-and-all WAD that was submitted directly to Joel’s contest. It features everything you see in the WAD as it showed up on the above-linked VOD and everything Joel missed as well. Untouched and preserved for archival and interest.

Get it here!

Director’s Cut

Obviously, I can’t say I made a patch and then not release it, right? DX is GUAK with a few post-release quirks mitigated and fixed, though still a little rough around the edges. Differences between CE and DX:

The bugs listed above that are in italics are fixed.

References to the “Chat” and other things specific to Vargskelethor’s Twitch stream have been removed.

Leftover debug code has been cleaned up and removed.

Deathmatch spawns and weapons have been added to the map, as per Joel’s suggestion.

Scripts have been tweaked to run automatically when a Deathmatch game is detected.

Leftover DECORATE actors and their corresponding sprites that were not used in the final product have been removed.

The unused Titlemap has been removed.

The requirements for achieving a XXX grade for Demons Trashed has been reduced to accommodate how many demons are actually in the level. (This is one of the italicized bugs but I wanted to elaborate.)

Grades for time have been sparsed out somewhat. While you are still required to achieve a time under 2 minutes for a XXX rating, most play sessions are usually 6 and a half minutes or higher: Far exceeding the lowest grade requirement (400 seconds or 6.6 minutes for an S).

Obviously these fixes actually make GUAK-DX smaller in filesize than GUAK. I highly recommend it.

Get it here!

Original Mix

The final version of GUAK is a very special one. During the video, Joel mentioned that he’d love to play through the entirety of Doom 2 with the weapons. Well, now you can. The WAD was designed from the start to easily mesh with other Doom wads because I’m insane, and Original Mix allows you to mix GUAK weapons with almost any level you desire. Some discrepancies between GUAK (DX), GUAK OM, and Doom 2:

In GUAK, Zombiemen and Shotguys dropped Jury Rifles (the Pistol replacement.) Since this was done by replacing the actors entirely, in GUAK OM they simply drop boxes of scrap (Clip replacements) and Scrapshoots (Shotgun replacements)

In a desperate attempt at balance, Scrapshoots and Handcannons will spawn differently from normal Shotguns and Chainguns. You’ll get used to it.

Boxes of Pistol ammo will instead spawn 2 charges of scrap and 2 charges of rounds.

Scrap charges give you 20 ammo instead of 10.

Since there is no Fusion Coolant equivalent for the Big Cell Packs, Big Cell Packs now just spawn a bunch of Fusion Coolant.

There is no BFG replacement. The BFG spawns as is and still uses its own ammo that does not spawn anymore, so you only get charges for your BFG by collecting other BFGs. Use it wisely.

The Scrapshoot now uses more ammo.

The Sonic Emitter will give you 5 charges on pickup instead of just 2.

The Fusion Rifle will give you 50 charges on pickup.

Guns now leave decals on walls.

The default status bar is used.

There is no Titlemap or M_DOOM replacement. Sorry.

GUAK OM should work with most level packs, and anything that doesn’t rely on changing the guns at all. If you find any bugs while playing it, please let me know! I’d love to make this playable in all kinds of level packs if possible.

Get it here!

If you’re wondering why I haven’t put it on the ZDoom forums... well they kind of have a rule against posting WADs with other people’s resources. This is listed as being only for people from the ZDoom community specifically, but since I used audio from Ghost Squad for Wii by Sega, a sound from Rockband 2 by Harmonix, sprites and textures from Duke Nukem 3D by 3D Realms, and graphics from Revolution X by Midway, I don’t want to take my chances. If this is fine to post please let me know and I’ll go ahead and do so.

In closing uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh, I think it’s funny that Joel referenced Meteor, one of my favorite DOS freeware games, when he first saw this wad. That’s really hilarious.

That’s it! That’s all! Please enjoy this thing I spent a lot of time on and tell all your friends.

#doom #doom ii #mod #wad #weapons #level #vargskelethor #vinesauce #vinesauce joel #i dont have a my wads tag so ill just use the my art tag #my art #zdoom #im bad at tagging #doom mapping contest 2 hellectric boogaloo #hellectric boogaloo #doom mapping contest

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aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Last Night in Soho: The Haunting History of Anya Taylor-Joy’s “Downtown” Song

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

“Maybe you know some little places to go to where they never close,” Anya Taylor-Joy sings in the latest music video from director Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho. After all, both the film and the song, “Downtown,” which was made famous by Petula Clark, are about destinations.

From the moment the needle drops on the onscreen vintage Dansette record player, Last Night in Soho lands in the world of British pop. The surrealistic ghost story follows fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) as she dreams her way into Swinging London, and the pleasant nightmares of the mod nightlife. Taylor-Joy plays Sandie, an aspiring singer on the cusp of discovery and who haunts Ellie’s dreams. Or is she dreaming?

Cliquey London youth in the mid-1960s divided themselves between mods, rockers, and, as Ringo Starr declared himself in A Hard Day’s Night, “mockers.” Edgar Wright would traditionally be in the latter category. He spoofed zombies in Shaun of the Dead, parodied cop movies in Hot Fuzz, and tweaked the nose of action films with Baby Driver. Wright approaches his films sonically, and for Last Night in Soho’s new music video, he subverts his usual satire by darkening a celebratory anthem to bright lights with a somber tone.

The music video shows Taylor-Joy recording “Downtown” in a studio, live with a full orchestra behind her while clips tease her character’s arc in the film. Taylor-Joy, who won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy for her role in The Queen’s Gambit, previously sang onscreen in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. (2020), and she once told Den of Geek she hopes to eventually devote herself to singing professionally. She was the breakout star of the film The Witch, and her downtempo rendition is spellbinding.

You can watch the video here:

“Downtown” was written by Tony Hatch, who produced Clark’s 1964 recording. The pair had been working together since Hatch helped producer Alan A. Freeman on Clark’s 1961 No. 1 hit “Sailor.” Hatch became Clark’s regular producer in 1963, but their first five collaborations didn’t light up the charts. That changed when he saw the neon signs which illuminated Broadway on his first trip to New York in the autumn of 1964.

Hatch wrote the core of the song upon hitting 48th Street in midtown Manhattan, the melody coming while he was waiting for the traffic lights to change. According to some sources, he originally envisioned “Downtown” as a doo wop R&B song, and intended to pitch it to the Drifters, whose song “Sweets for My Sweet” inspired Hatch to write “Sugar and Spice,” which became a hit for the Searchers. According to that narrative, it never occurred to Hatch that a white woman could even sing it.

The more accepted story is that Hatch pitched Clark four songs he’d gotten from New York music publishers for an Oct. 16, 1964, London recording session at Pye Studios. None of the songs turned Clark on, and she asked what he’d been writing. He played her the unfinished “Downtown,” scatting the vocal melody because the lyrics only consisted of a few lines and the title word. Clark told him to finish it; she didn’t care if it was a hit or not. He finalized the lyrics about a half hour before the session.

Hatch scored his arrangement to make the giant orchestra accompanying Clark sound like a rock band, and the backing was done live rather than tracked. The musicians included bass player Brian Brocklehurst and a pianist; drummers Ronnie Verrell and Bobby Graham keeping time with other percussion players; a string section consisting of eight violinists, two viola players, and two cellists; a horn section of four trumpet players and four trombonists; and a woodwind quintet on flutes and oboes. Vocal group the Breakaways sang backup.

And then there was the guitar section. The session players were veteran finger benders Vic Flick, Big Jim Sullivan, and Jimmy Page, who would go on to turn The New Yardbirds into Led Zeppelin.

The combo recorded three takes of the song. The second was picked for release. Joe Smith of Warner Brothers loved the song so much he ordered a rush release in the U.S. where it debuted at No. 87 and became the first No. 1 hit for the year 1965. This made history as Clark became the first British female artist to have a No. 1 hit in the rock and roll era in the U.S. She was only the second female British singer to have a No. 1 hit in America since Vera Lynn’s 1952 song “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart.” Clark would go on to have a run of 15 consecutive U.S. hits.

“Downtown” was released in the UK in November 1964, but was kept out of the top spot on the charts by the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine.” Clark was already a regular on BBC programming, and had also a wide following in France and Italy. Besides her string of hits, she also appeared in the 1968 Francis Ford Coppola movie, Finian’s Rainbow, and the film musical version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

“Downtown” has been covered by Frank Sinatra, The B-52s, Yo La Tengo, and Dolly Parton. Winona Ryder’s character sang it in the 1999 film Girl, Interrupted. But it also has one much darker place in history: The Nashville bombing of Christmas 2020. Followed the broadcast warning: “If you can hear this message, evacuate now,” the song was broadcast from the RV to give residents time to get out of the area before the explosion, which caused tremendous damage to the neighborhood.

There are Soho sections in both London and New York, which makes it perfect for the film. Taylor-Joy brings out the loneliness and desperation which follows a night downtown. The title of Last Night In Soho, by the way, comes from a song of the same name by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.

Last Night in Soho will be released in theaters on Oct. 29.

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The post Last Night in Soho: The Haunting History of Anya Taylor-Joy’s “Downtown” Song appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3ngvEdd

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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fernandezjl · 7 years

Video

vimeo

METACHAOS from Alessandro Bavari on Vimeo.

Alessandro Bavari: Camera Tremula 1, Noise Melange, XYZ Ocula Depth Fulvio Sturniolo: Camera Tremula 2 Jeff Ensign aka Evolution Noise Slave: Sonic Harmonium

Format: Pal Widescreen 1050x576 Duration: 8:27 mins --------------------------------------------------------------- Prizes

- Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica 2011. - Special Award IED at Skepto International Film Festival. - Best Experimental Film at the 2nd Stortford Film Festival. - Best Direction Prize at the Cinemavvenire Video Festival. - 1° Prize Art Lab at the Festival Internazionale del Cinema d'Arte. - 1° Prize ex aequo at the Corto Dorico Short Film Festival + a Special Mention Prize. - Best Design Prize at the 13th Animation Film Festival Animated Dreams. - Finalist as Best Direction at the Animago Award. - Finalist at the Bolzano Short Film Festival.

alessandrobavari.com/ [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------- SINOPSYS Metachaos, from Greek Meta (beyond) and Chaos (the abyss where the eternally-formless state of the universe hides), indicates a primordial shape of ameba, which lacks in precise morphology, and it is characterized by mutation and mitosis. In fact the bodies represented in METACHAOS, even though they are characterized by an apparently anthropomorphous appearance, in reality they are without identity and conscience. They exist confined in a spaceless and timeless state, an hostile and decadent hyperuranium where a fortress, in perpetual movement, dominates the landscape in defense of a supercelestial, harmonic but fragile parallel dimension. In its destructive instinct of violating the dimensional limbo, the mutant horde penetrates the intimacy of the fortress, laying siege like a virus. Similar to the balance of a philological continuum in human species, bringing the status of things back to the primordial broth.

STATEMENT METACHAOS is a multidisciplinary audio-visual project, articulated in a short film, a set of photography (alessandrobavari.com/english/Metachaos-photographies/gallery_Metachaos-photographic_series.htm) and mix-technique paintings. The purpose of the project is to represent the most tragic aspects of the human nature and of its motion, such as war, madness, social change and hate. An accretion of feelings that are metaphorically represented by specific visual forms, which are abstract conceptually, but concrete and tangible formally. The application of acid and monochromatic tints, besides the strong contrasts, makes everything intentionally more oppressive and tragic.

In order to obtain a more immersive and plausible version, the shot was taken adopting the camera live technique. The extreme and frenetic motion of the shoulder camera, similar to the subjective one, becomes a main constant, so that, along with the persisting cuts used to edit the video, create a bigger sense of instability and danger. In fact, thanks to the dissemination of Technology, it is possible to notice that the unconscious-esthetic potential of the shots available on Youtube, characterized by a pseudo-documentary and amateur approach, often offer an unexpected emotional involvement, which trigger an exhibitionistic-voyeuristic interchange between the author and the consumer.

The irrational gesture and action of the bodies, as if a collective form of madness controlled them, are inspired by artists like Bosch and Bruegel who, between the ‘400 and ‘500, produced an iconography where irrational images show sickly madness and pain.

The project has been realized using different techniques: live shots taken in discharged industrial sites, CGI animations, tracking and motion captures, besides various other analogical ones.

American Jeff Ensign, aka Evolution Noise Slave composed the original sound track, which has been progressively updated during the video production. The musical score was inspired by 6 separate pieces Jeff had previously created that were then combined into a hybrid. The composition was also based in part from a sonic interpretation of the ideas presented in Antonin Artaud’s the Theater and Cruelty overlaid on Bavari’s images.

JURY STATEMENT FROM PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA 2011.

Alessandro Bavari’s “Metachaos” is an impressive display of the amazing graphics that can be produced with leading-edge hardware and software. The 8-minute clip begins with a sequence of clear, geometric forms that suggest a serene world. But it doesn’t take long until it’s apparent that this was just the calm before the storm. Shadowy creatures and shockingly grotesque figures intrude into this domain rendered in black & white and sepia tones and rip it to pieces. Using the interplay of light and shadow, intentionally shaky camera movements and quick cuts, Bavari takes us on a tour de force through an unsettling imaginary cosmos that grips viewers and doesn’t let them loose. In addition to its extraordinary visuals, “Metachaos” features an impressive composed soundscape of incredibly concentrated intensity—noise elements paired with driving beats, panic-stricken screams, the rattling of bones and gale-force winds.

While some of as did not necessarily share the apocalyptic view of this film, we found that it left the most indelible impression. Narrowly passing through the first round, it grew on us, so that on repeated viewing it miraculously made its way to the top. What starts as a cinematic, kinetik, yet clean field of geometry and bodies, gradually evolves, or devolves, into the artist’s vision of a nightmarish black-and-white world created by a continual collision of the human and the architectural form. It finally culminates in a screaming dance among the ruins. In a impressive virtuoso tour de force, Alessandro Bavari creates a constant mêlée of grime, projectile muck and dust among collapsing spaces at the stage for metamorphosing human bodies with branching limbs that seem constantly to break the architectural environment apart. Zombies with missing limb sand decaying skin and faces sometimes stand around listlessly and other times appear to engage in orgasmic sex. The human forms become insect-like and multiply in hordes across the building forms. Dust particles and snakes of turbolent, ferrous liquid finally explode into an apocalyptic ocean of flotsam and sludge. Bavari’s few collaborators helped shape what the credit call “camera tremula” (shaky, documentary-style camera) and sound design. We commend his dedication to a singular artistic vision that is grounded in his practice as a photographer. This is a representation of a caustic end of the world, a world of a audible pain and hopeless destruction rendered with a disturbing reference to 80s-style computer-generated animation as well as 60s “actionism”.

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