Hello
With the skies getting darker and rainfall
on the horizon I've been fortunate to spend much of the past working month in the
outdoors sunshine, and indeed the month began and closed around the theme of nature.
August began in collaboration with musician,
composer, author and philosopher-naturalist David Rothenberg who plays clarinet
with a band of birds and crickets and writes thoughtfully on the deep connections
between humans and the natural world. I'd recommend his book "Why Birds
Sing" for an engaging and amusingly educational exploration of this very
phenomenon, which the BBC are adapting for television broadcast and hence our collaboration,
improvising around English bird song. Stay tuned for the broadcast and possible
live performances later on.
Jumping forward the month closed with discussions
about re-designing the sound world of the Coney Island aquarium in New York, so
let's see where the whales and dolphins will take us all on this adventure.
In between this my work has taken me from
outdoor musical festivals to the South of France, from recordings of Vietnam traditional
dance to climbing mountains in North Wales in epic nine-hour bursts. I'm
currently developing a new project for October 2006 to celebrate the anniversary
of French artist Paul Cezanne, the extraordinary Impressionist painter who spent much of his life in Aix-en-Provence, and as such was drawn to the area to research and develop ideas. I was fortunate enough to get to visit Cezanne's studio,
his old lodgings, his summer house and the countryside, with rolling mountains and
glorious views across the valleys. In such a picturesque environment one loses track
of time and can easily become hooked on the hypnotic pleasure of sitting on a rock towering above the land and simply
watching the world barely pass by.
I'd recommend any visitors also take
a look at the Vasarely Foundation, a building that is a work of art in itself, built
in 1976 and inspired by Bauhaus architecture, formed out of 16 impressive hexagonal
units. Inside are 42 impressively monumental works by the artist Vasarely, with works that constantly trick your eye in optical
illusions. Colour, shape, materials conspire to produce an amazingly disorienting
effect, an intelligently clean way of getting high without risk!
From France to Latvia, for the opening of
WAVES at the Latvian National Museum of Art, where I was invited to install work
and perform a concert at the opening. Organised by the dynamic team at RIXC in Riga,
this exhibition and festival was conceived as a large-scale exhibition that looks
at electromagnetic waves as the principle material - the medium - of media art.
The WAVES exhibition itself brings together about 40 international works of (media)
art by 70 artists from 18 different countries, in which electromagnetic waves are
seen not just as carriers of information, but as the material and/or theme of the
artwork. I was honoured to show work alongside such inspiring artists as Anthony
McCall, Paul de Marinis, Marko Peljhan, Radioqualia, Farmersmanual, Jay Needham,
and then to perform with Atau Tanaka and Jacob Kirkegaard. The interruption of a
stripping woman and man, naked in the audience, was enough to distract poor Jacob
during his performance and reduce others to tears, but somehow no-one was inspired
to get naked during my performance. What DID I do wrong?
The sixth episode of Night Haunts is on
line now too (www.nighthaunts.org.uk), this time focusing
on mini-cabs, where Sukhdev writes:
'Night cabbies claim they prefer to drive
at night because the streets are quieter then and there is less of the pollution
and pressure that has sent their colleagues to early graves. Others - laughingly,
grudgingly - confess to being misfits. Their cars are secret caves into which they
retreat to close out the disappointments and regrets of their daily lives. Night-riding
allows them to live in London incognito, to lurk in the shadows away from the glare
of family and friends.
The adventures of the London night continue to inspire us all.
I recently composed the soundtrack to Vietnamese
choreographer
Anh Ngoc Nguyen's new work which will premiere
in London in September and hope that this will travel, whilst this will soon appear
at iTunes for a special edition release, alongside other exclusive works.
If you still haven't claimed your
FREE Scanner CD, NightJam, then visit
www.nightjam.org.uk, click on the link and request it, whilst
stocks last. Remixes of this project will be forthcoming for free too, beginning
with an extraordinary mix by Hakan Lidbo, who has released more than 180 records
on labels all over the world, stretching from obscure minimalism on Mille Plateaux
to cheesy house on Ministry of Sound. He has remixed and produced artists like Yello,
Fatboy Slim, Si Begg, Ennio Morricone, Sophie Ellis Bexter, Rechenzentrum and Akufen,
so it's a honour to have him create exclusive new work for this project and
generously agree to share it for free with everyone.
If not climbing mountains or cycling early
in the morning for exercise, then you can pick up the new single by Dutch singer
Lilian Hak (www.lilianhak.com),
on vinyl and CD, 'Faces,' out on Steamin' Soundworks, with mixes
by Vector Lovers and two exclusive mixes I created. It finds a place between Madonna
and Peaches with a reassuringly 80s groove. Pull up those legwarmers, tie back your
hairband and get funky!!
Off to The Netherlands, Philadelphia, Wales
and other surprises in September so hope to meet some friends in surprising places.
Until next month
Best wishes
Robin Rimbaud
::: listen :::
Humcrush: Hornswoggle (rune grammofon)
Bob Dylan: Modern Times (Columbia)
Easy All Stars: Radiodread (Easystar)
Susanna & the Magical Orchestra: Melody Mountain (rune grammofon)
::: read :::
Mary Gaitskill: Veronica (Vintage)
Marshall McLuhan: Understanding Me (MIT)
Matthew Barney: Drawing Restraint Vol III (Leeum)
Gordon Matta-Clark: Works & Collected Writings (Ediciones Poligrafa)
::: film:::
A History of Violence, David Cronenberg,USA
This Film is not yet Rated, Kirby Dick, USA
A Very Long Engagement, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France
Destricted, Mathew Barney, Larry Clark, etc
::: Diary Dates :::
2006
08 Sept-LTD De Effenaar Einhoven The Netherlands
09 Sept- LTD Arnheim The Netherlands
14 Sept- Parallax Beat Brothers Blackfriars Arts Centre Kings Lynn UK
19 Sept-Lecture, Temple University Philadelphia USA
06 Oct-Marseille France
20 Oct-Bios, Athens Greece
26 Oct-Parallax Beat Brothers: Cheshire UK
27 Oct-Parallax Beat Brothers: Miskin Theatre Dartford UK
04 Nov-Ground Control: Aarhus Denmark
11 Nov-52 Spaces:Powerhouse Brisbane Australia
18 Nov-Blindscape, Beursschouwburg Belgium
21 Nov-Alphaville;Teatro Miela Trieste Italy
24 Nov-Nights of London Extravaganza Shoreditch Town Hall
London UK
30 Nov-Parallax Beat Brothers: Colchester Arts Centre UK
03 Dec-Broken Blossom with Pierre Bastien:
Palais des Beaux-Arts Lille France
2007
06 & 07 March-New work with Shobana Jeyasingh QEH London
17 March
Salle Olivier Messiaen: Paris France
19 May-Shots in the Dark
with D-Fuse/Alter Ego, Wroclaw Poland
Exhibitions
Waves
Arsenal
Latvian National Museum of Art
Riga Latvia
24 August - 17 September 2006
WAVES looks at electromagnetic waves as the principle material
- the medium - of media art. The exhibition is the main part of the "ART + COMMUNICATION"
festival organised by the new media culture centre RIXC to promote the current issues
and emerging experimental creative approaches in the new media, culture and communication.
The exhibition brings together works of (media) art that deal with
properties of waves in imaginative ways, exploring, making visible or making us
feel waves on a host of different bands of the spectrum. In this exhibition electromagnetic
waves are not just seen as carriers of information, but as the material and/or theme
of the artwork.
Night Haunts
By Sukhdev Sandhu
Design Mind Unit
Sound Design Scanner
04 February 2006 on-going
Artangel Interaction
invited writer and historian Sukhdev Sandhu to write a nocturnal journal unfolding
over the course of 2006. His postings will appear sequentially at this microsite
specially designed by Mind Unit. Sandhu's forays see him prospecting in the London
night with the people who drive its pulse, from the avian police to security guards,
zookeepers and exorcists. Acclaimed artist and musician Scanner has collaborated
with Sukhdev and Ian Budden of Mind Unit to compose the sound for the site. If you
would like to be kept informed as each episode is posted, join artangel‘s
mailing
list by
clicking here.
www.nighthaunts.org.uk
www.artangel.org.uk
NightJam
Bittersweet Songs for the Sleepless City
Artangel Interaction
20 July 2006. - on-going
NightJam is the latest project in Artangel Interactions
Nights of London series of artist-led collaborations with people who have a special
view on a hidden side of the nocturnal city. Scanner invited young people at New
Horizon Youth Centre in King's Cross to collaborate on a creative project that
expresses how the city at night looks and sounds to their ears and eyes. Through
music and voice workshops they explored the sense of freedom and fear, celebration
and solitude of the concealing darkness. Meanwhile, they captured their nights on
disposable cameras, taking images that are at times eerie, startling, contemplative
and funny. NightJam presents two elusive visual and musical journeys through the city's quiet
hours.
NightJam resents two music tracks, a film, photographs,
that can be experienced and freely downloaded. A limited edition CD is also being
distributed for free through the website. A series of remixes by other artists will
be available over the forthcoming months.
www.nightjam.org.uk
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