Unsound Festival Kraków 2011.
Unsound Festival
9-16 October 2011
Back to the Future
Following the success of last year’s Unsound, which was centred around horror, the organisers decided once again to focus the events around a main theme. This year’s festival (9-16 October), by looking back, is most definitely going forward.
The main theme of Unsound 2011 is Future Shock, based on the book by the American futurist Alvin Toffler. Published in 1970, the volume forms the starting point and inspiration for this year’s programme. The disorienting effect of rapid technological development, the upshot of “information overload”, moral dilemmas brought by scientific progress or the fleetingness of human relationships remain pervasive issues. With a 40 year perspective, then, what is the state of the spirit of contemporary society? Let’s search for an answer during this year’s Unsound – the festival is always at the cutting edge.
In the grip of spacetime
Exploration of unknown spaces and the search for new dimensions are not just activities for the heroes of Star Trek. Musical journeys can also be revealing. During Unsound Morton Subotnick, one of the pioneers of electronic music, is appearing. His piece Silver Apples of the Moon (1967) was for the history of modern music what the Apollo 11 space mission and landing a man on the Moon in 1969 was to mankind. Subotnick’s work became the inspiration for pop musicians and the beginning of the evolution in the direction of today's techno. Subotnick will appear on stage (14 October, Kijów.Centrum) with Lillevan, already well known from previous Unsounds. The iconic piece Silver Apples of the Moon will be performed on the original Buchli synthesiser constructed almost half a century ago especially for this composition.
An important part of the festival programme will be constituted by science fiction film soundtracks. During the same concert at Kijów.Centrum we will study temporal horizons with The Caretaker. Under this alias, Leyland Kirby has said that this project is based on the documentary version of Future Shock (1972) with narration by Orson Welles. In turn Kode9 and video artist MFO will pay tribute to the French short film La Jetée (1962), delving into nuclear cataclysm, time travel, and human memory. Inspiration and ideas from La Jetée were used in the popular flick, 12 Monkeys (1995).
On 9 October at the Museum of Municipal Engineering, Felix Kubin and Macio Moretti will perform music for Zbigniew Rybczyński’s animated experimental film Oj, Nie Mogę Się Zatrzymać! [Eek, I Can’t Stop!] (1975). On the same day, the soundtrack to the Soviet silent film Aelita (1924) will be performed by The Generator Analogue Orchestra / Za Siódmą Górą.
The festival organisers like to explore surprising spaces. Ambient sounds suit perfectly the 14th-century Church of St Catherine. On 13 October, you can experience a real waking dream through the dreamy music of Norwegian duo Deaf Center. There will also be the spacy Re: ECM project, for which Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer are responsible. As a starting point, the duo took recordings from the famous German record company ECM and created a double album that combines the world of jazz compositions with ambient electronica and traces of techno. The performance of the Re: ECM project will be only the second in history after its premiere at Berlin’s Berghain. Norwegian pianist Christian Wallumrød will provide a dash of the unpredictable and surprising during the concert by improvising live.
Yesterday's visions of tomorrow
Saturday's concert at the Museum of Municipal Engineering promises to be a sentimental and romantic journey through time. On 16 October, one of the icons of the synth revolution of the late 70s and 80s will be performing. John Foxx was the founder and first leader of Ultravox. During his tenure, the group stood out with a more experimental sound, full of electronic noise and eclectic sounds from punk to art rock. Foxx inaugurated his solo career with the album Metamatic (1980). This work, now considered a classic, full of dystopian references, was inspired by the works of British SF writer J.G. Ballard, author of the screen-adapted novel Crash. The latest album from the former Ultravox singer was developed in co-operation with The Maths. Released in 2011, Interplay is a perfect synthesis of warm retro sounds and cold futurism. John Foxx & The Maths will not only perform material from that album in Kraków, but also classic songs from Metamatic and early Ultravox. The same concert will also include a set by Chris & Cosey. In the 70s, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti became famous as founders of the industrial band Throbbing Gristle. From its inception the group scandalised audiences with their disturbing and often shocking ways of expression, including elements of pornography and Nazi propaganda. This time, the duo will chill the blood with synth sounds from the 80s, emphasising the impact of those tones on today's underground sound.
Model 500, a dance music legend, will appear in Poland for the first time. Formed in 1985, the project was initiated by Juan Atkins, known as the “godfather of techno”, and the track No UFO's is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the genre. Atkins, describing the new trends in music he had contributed to the creation of, referred directly to the term “techno-rebels”, coined by Toffler. The concert will be held on 14 October at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre as part of the overnight project Mutations: Techno Rebels.
Experiments from East to West
All the greatest achievements of Polish and Eastern European artists in electronic and experimental music will be presented in the Eastern Bridges cycle. These free afternoon reviews will take place on 11-14 October in Klub Re. If you want to slow down a little, hurry along to the Music Academy in Kraków on 10 October. Music to stop time will be performed by the psychofolk duo Natural Snow Buildings, the Emeralds guitarist Mark McGuire, and Cut Hands, better known as William Bennett, combining noise with traditional African percussion. In turn, on 11 October in the Manggha Museum, East comes into contact with West through a joint project by the American iconAclass (MC Dälek) and the Polish trio Napszykłat. The concert programme will be completed by LXMP (Macio Moretti & Peter Zabrodzki) and Niwea (Dawid Szczęsny and Wojtek Bąkowski). For anyone who doesn’t go to the concert on 13 October at the Manggha Museum, it’ll be a real disaster. Sun Araw will be using vague, amorphous space-bending sounds to lead us into a dreamy mood. Elements of popular culture from recent decades will be transformed into glitchy melodies by Hype Williams. The achievements of early idm classics and British techno will be taken on by Laurel Halo. Holy Other will take us on a slow walk through streets of flickering neon lights. This nocturnal journey of 16-bit chiptunes will be complemented by Rustie from Glasgow.
It’s also worth popping into the Manggha Museum on Saturday afternoon. On 15 October, artists from one of the USA’s most interesting labels, Not Not Fun in Los Angeles, will be performing there. It promises to be fun inna noise, drone, and psychedelia stylee. On the same day at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre, there’ll be the second part of Mutations. This time, the floor will be pulsing all night long thanks to the “buttery biscuit bass”. And on Sunday, 16 October, you must go to the surreal interiors of the Feniks restaurant, where there’ll be a set of futuristic ferments from Public Information and The Exotic Pylon.
From start to finish
Like any self-respecting festival, Unsound has also refined the opening and closing events. For partying, it can only be Pauza club – where the fun goes on non stop. On 9 October, an alternative vision of the world under Soviet rule will be presented by Felix Kubin. The Netherlands’ Legowelt describes his work as “forest techno” and “futurism for unicorns”. Polish artist The Complainer will be papering the club with hits from the 80s (New Order, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Visage). No less intriguing is the finale. On Sunday 16 October, the festival closes with Machinedrum, VHS Head, Braille and DJ sets by LA Vampires and Philip Sherburne. You’ll have to hurry, though, because the events are free – first come first served!
Before finally departing into nothingness, you should still make it to the Tempel Synagogue. On 16 October, as a kind of prelude to the grand finale, the concert performed by Jacaszek and then the Sinfonietta Cracovia will be a Big Bang. The first will be showcasing premiere material from new album Glimmer (with harpsichord, metallophone, bass clarinet and electronics), while the orchestra (festival regulars) will perform music from the repertoires of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Arvo Pärt accompanied by A Winged Victory For The Sullen (a new project from Adam Wiltz of Stars Of The Lid and Dustin O'Halloran).
And if you’re not done yet, come to Unsound Central. On 12 October at the Museum of Municipal Engineering, there’ll be an evening of apocalyptic entertainment. Can ailing economies, imperfect political systems, or corporate alienation provide inspiration? As it happens, yes. Kangding Ray with his three-person group will perform OR, an illustration of the “disillusion of modern civilisation”. The Australian duo HTRK will be performing “top party music for the end of the world”. This will be complemented by the audiovisual experiments of Robin Fox.
As in previous years, the rich programme will be completed by film screenings at the Pod Baranami Cinema and Cinema 18, presentations and lectures at the Contemporary Art Gallery, and exhibitions and installations.
(Artur Jackowski, "Karnet" monthly)
Unsound Festival 2011
9-16 October
Organiser: Foundation Tone
www.unsound.pl
