steirischer herbst 2008

Devices, Suitable for (Almost) Every Purpose
Series of concerts and workshop

65% music
13% electronic
14% noise
8% tinkering

Three concerts, three concepts, three strategies that offer convenient instructions for the listener: The various titles are not only indications of the musicians’ methods of working but also advice how to avoid the worst.
British artist and musician Russell Haswell is an advocate of high-intensity, physically tangible sounds. Digital whirring pure sound at a high noise level, condensed in the foggy stroboscope storm of the concert auditorium.
Jana Winderen’s field recordings which are mainly from underwater environments are far more peaceful. Her acoustic research has not only revealed the previously unknown grunting of the codfish in the Arctic Ocean but has also given rise to numerous installations and concerts with live-mixed acoustic material.
Since 2003, Thomas Ankersmit and Phill Niblock have composed various live presentations that combine collective improvisations, solo parts and video projections, among other things. Ankersmit’s elaborate playing of the alto saxophone, modular synthesizers and computers meet Niblock’s sculpturally complex voluminous drones. Phill Niblock is one of the greatest composers of the American school of drone-based minimalism; he turns seventy-five in October 2008.

Tue 07/10, 9.30 pm
Intensification: Get High!
Russell Haswell (GB)

Tue 14/10, 9.30 pm
Investigation: Explore!
Jana Winderen (N)

Tue 21/10, 9.30 pm
Improvisation: Merge!
Thomas Ankersmit (NL) & Phill Niblock (USA)

04/10 – 06/10
DIY: Do It Yourself ! Workshop