“The Brutalist Noise Ensemble v2”

Title:

The Brutalist Noise Ensemble v2

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Performers:



• Mo H. Zareei

Symposium:

• ISEA2024: 29th International Symposium on Electronic Art

Venue(s):

• The Brisbane Powerhouse , Brisbane , Australia

Artist Statement:

Brutalist Noise Ensemble v2 presents a visceral audiovisual experience to emphasise the materiality of sound and sound-production. The work is an experimental audiovisual performance developed around the interaction of light and sound, digital and physical, human and machine. Evolving from my practice-based PhD research into sound-based brutalism, the project builds on an ongoing exploration of principles of brutalist architecture through audiovisual media. It involves a series of electromechanical instruments built to extend the territory of noise and glitch beyond the digital realm, while paying conscious homage to Brutalism: an unapologetic celebration of raw material through rigorous formalism, where noise replaces concrete.

Through their functional and austere design, the instruments expose the materiality of their components: unadorned sheets of metal, enclosed in simple wooden structures, and activated by a series of electromechanical pulses. The instrument’s austere aesthetics is highlighted through bursts of light that intensify the sensory experience of the work. Despite its experimental raw materials, the formal structure of the work is established through purely grid-based and club-style rhythms and repetition is used to bring accessibility to noise. During the piece, synthetic elements that are derived from live processing of the instruments’ physical vibrations glue together the acoustic and digital material. Tactile interaction with the sculptures culminates the visceral quality of the work and the materiality of the instruments and their sound.

Category:

• Performances
• Concert - Audio/Visual