Sonic Acts Festival takes place in Amsterdam from 26 February to 1 March 2015 and includes an international conference, concerts, installations, film screenings, masterclasses, and workshops.
Inspired by geosciences, this edition of the Sonic Acts Festival zooms in on planet Earth through the theme The Geologic Imagination. Human activity has irreversibly changed the composition of the atmosphere, the oceans, and even the Earth’s crust. Humanity has become a geological force. The way we see the world, how we understand the systems and processes of nature, and our intentions and interactions with the planet are central to The Geologic Imagination. How do science and art document and portray the changes and transformations that occur on a geological scale? How can we experience these changes and transformations? Sonic Acts invites artists and theorists to tap into their ‘geologic imagination’ and present the images, sounds and ideas that it generates.
Some of the names for the 2015 edition: philosopher Graham Harman, theorists Benjamin Bratton and Timothy Morton, architect and researcher Liam Young, weird fiction writer Jeff Vandermeer and research journalist Alan Weisman, media historian Douglas Kahn, geologist Michael Welland, artists Kurt Hentschläger, BJ Nilsen, Karl Lemieux, Jana Winderen and Raviv Ganchrow; the opening evening at Stedelijk Museum with Florian Hecker, and concerts by Vessel, M.E.S.H., TCF and TONALIENS – featuring Hilary Jeffrey, Amelia Cuni, Werner Durand, Robin Hayward and Ralf Meinz – and a new commissioned work by Mario de Vega.
Conference
In the four-day conference, artists, scientists and writers discuss The Geologic Imagination, explore the radical transformations to our world, and what it means to live in the Anthropocene. Confirmed speakers at the event include philosopher Graham Harman, a major figure in the philosophical movement known as Object Oriented Ontology; media historian Douglas Kahn whose most recent book Earth Sound Earth Signal is about art at “Earth magnitude”; geologist – and sand enthusiast – Michael Welland; Timothy Morton, the theorist who coined the term “Dark Ecology”; Benjamin Bratton, a theorist whose work spans philosophy, art and design; research journalist Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us; architect and researcher Liam Young; and weird fiction writer Jeff Vandermeer, whose most recent work is the New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy.
Concerts and performances
The festival includes several evenings of concerts and performances that probe the deeper levels of audiovisual experience in relation to The Geologic Imagination. The programme at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ on Friday 27 February 2015 features the world premieres of a new commissioned work by Mario de Vega, unearthed by BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux, and a new work by Jana Winderen.
The last two were commissioned by Sonic Acts, and were inspired by the Dark Ecology journey to Northern Norway and Russia. Vessel, M.E.S.H. and TCF are confirmed for the exciting clubnight in OT301, following the opening on Thursday 26 February 2015.
TONALIENS, with Hilary Jeffrey (trombone), Amelia Cuni (voice), Werner Durand, Ralf Meinz, and Robin Hayward (microtonal tuba) perform the closing concert on Sunday 1 March 2015 in the Vondelkerk.
Opening
The opening of the Sonic Acts Festival at Stedelijk Museum, on Thursday 26 February 2015, features the climactic third chapter in the trilogy of text–sound pieces Florian Hecker created in collaboration with writer–philosopher Reza Negarestani.
Field Trip
Raviv Ganchrow is developing Long-Wave Synthesis, a new land-art scale sound installation investigating infrasound. The work deals with extremely long waves, interacts with the landscape and is an invitation to “think at Earth magnitude”. A new prototype will be shown on Sunday 1 March 2015 at an outdoor location yet to be announced, accompanied by a series of lectures on infrasound by Raviv Ganchrow and several other scientists.
Publication The Geologic Imagination
The festival programme is complimented by a publication. The essays, interviews and visual contributions explore the theme of The Geologic Imagination from a broad range of perspectives. The book contains essays by Timothy Morton, Douglas Kahn, Paul Bogard, Michael Welland and Raviv Ganchrow; interviews with Dipesh Chakrabarty, Matthew Coolidge, Liam Young, Noortje Marres, Kodwo Eshun, Kurt Hentschläger, and Mario de Vega; and visual contributions by Femke Herregraven, Mirna Belina, Ellsworth & Kruse, the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Marijn de Jong, and BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux.
It also includes the new composition unearthed by BJ Nilsen, made in Northern Norway and Northwest Russia as part of the first Dark Ecology journey. The book will be presented on Saturday 17 January 2015 in De Balie Amsterdam, during our Book Launch & New Year’s Reception, in cooperation with Gonzo (Circus).
Thursday 26 February 2015 – Conference – Paradiso
In the four-day conference, artists, scientists and writers discuss The Geologic Imagination, and explore the radical transformations of our world and what it means to live in the Anthropocene.
– Graham Harman, philosopher and major figure in Object Oriented Philosophy.
– Timothy Morton, theorist who coined the term “Dark Ecology”.
– Reza Negarestani, writer-philosopher closely associated with Speculative Realism.
– Kurt Hentschläger, artist who creates audiovisual performances and installations.
– Douglas Kahn, media historian, author of Earth Sound Earth Signal, about art at “Earth magnitude”.
– Alan Weisman, research journalist and author of The World Without Us.
– Mark Williams, geologist and professor of palaeobiology.
Opening – Stedelijk Museum
The opening of the Sonic Acts Festival at Stedelijk Museum features the climactic third chapter in the trilogy of text-sound pieces Florian Hecker created in collaboration with writer-philosopher Reza Negarestani; Kurt Hentschläger’s latest audiovisual installation, Measure (2014), which reflects on nature as filtered through communication channels and media; and performances by Bas van Koolwijk & Gert-Jan Prins, Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides and Espen Sommer Eide.
– Florian Hecker, electronic music composer with major exhibitions and performances at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Guggenheim Museum New York, MoMA New York, documenta 13, Centre Georges Pompidou.
– Bas van Koolwijk & Gert-Jan Prins, video and sound artists focusing on electronic noise, co-developers of the Synchronator device.
– Kurt Hentschläger’s latest audiovisual installation, Measure (2014), reflects on nature as filtered through communication channels and media.
– Espen Sommer Eide, composer, artist and musician, who has released several solo albums as Phonophani.
– Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides, idiosyncratic duo who consistently defy experiential boundaries in installation and performance.
Sonic Acts at OT301
Probing the deeper levels of audiovisual experience in relation to The Geologic Imagination, presented by Sonic Acts in cooperation with Viral Radio.
– Vessel live, feat. Pedro Maia, members of a new generation of producers who propel electronic music forward with exciting, unclassifiable ideas. Special performance with live cinema.
– TCF, contemporary artist and musician, explores themes of code and cryptography in his musical conceptions.
– M.E.S.H., Berlin-based producer, formative figure in the underground club artist community.
– Karen Gwyer, combines house and techno into hypnotic slow tracks and mixes African beats with heavy synths.
– Minor Science, producer who in addition to writing for Resident Advisor makes his own mix of house and techno.
– Killing Sound, abstract techno producer trio from Bristol.
– Juha van ‘t Zelfde, DJ and independent organiser with a preference for experimental electronic music.
Friday 27 February 2015 – Conference – Paradiso
– Noam M. Elcott, historian of modern art and media with an emphasis on photography and film.
– Jana Winderen, audiovisual artist with a background in mathematics, chemistry and fish ecology.
– Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night; Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light.
– Karl Lemieux, ninth member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, for which he does live 16 mm film projections.
– Paul Purgas & James Ginzburg (Emptyset), one of the most innovative acts currently working in techno.
– Espen Sommer Eide, composer, artist and musician, who has released several solo albums as Phonophani.
– Martin Howse, artist interested in the intuitive connection between technology and the Earth.
– Liam Young, architect and researcher who operates in the spaces between design, fiction and futures.
– John Tresch, historian of science and technology and author of The Romantic Machine.
Sonic Acts at Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
The programme at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ features amongst others the world premieres of DOLMEN, a new work by Mario de Vega; unearthed by BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux; and a new work by Jana Winderen. The last two were commissioned by Sonic Acts, and were inspired by the Dark Ecology journey to Northern Norway and Russia.
– Otto Piene (1928–2014) – performance of The Proliferation of the Sun, Piene is co-founder of the ZERO Movement in the 1950s and the first artist to make Sky Art in the 1960s.
– Jana Winderen, audiovisual artist with a background in mathematics, chemistry and fish ecology.
– BJ Nilsen & Karl Lemieux, composer and sound recordist BJ Nilsen and experimental filmmaker Karl Lemieux travelled to Northern Norway and Russia to make field recordings for a new collaborative audiovisual performance entitled unearthed.
– Herman Kolgen, multidisciplinary artist and audiokinetic sculptor.
– Mario de Vega, Mexican sound artist known for his confrontational works, Sonic Acts presents the world premiere of his new work DOLMEN.
Saturday 28 February 2015 -Conference – Paradiso
– Benjamin Bratton, a theorist whose work spans philosophy, art and design.
– Jeff VanderMeer, novelist whose most recent work is the New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy.
– Jamie Kruse & Elizabeth Ellsworth, founders of media arts and design collaboration smudge studio and editors of Making the Geologic Now.
– Rob Holmes, landscape architect with an interest in large-scale anthropogenic landscape change, member of The Dredge Research Collaborative.
– Ben Woodard, philosopher who writes extensively on pessimism, horror film, and weird fiction. Michael Welland, geologist and sand enthusiast.
– Ele Carpenter, curator, and writer, who currently researches artistic involvement with nuclear materials.
Sonic Acts at Paradiso
Sonic Acts takes over Paradiso with an exhilarating audiovisual programme lasting into the early hours, in collaboration with Rewire.
John Foxx & Steve D’Agostino feat. Karborn, present the European premiere of Evidence of Time Travel, a sinister sonic architecture of drum machines and analogue synths, with visuals by Karborn Shxcxchcxsh, knife-edged techno by enigmatic Swedish duo Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit, collaboration between electronic producer Friedman and legendary Can drummer Liebezeit Le Révélateur, aka Roger Tellier-Craig (G!YBE and Fly Pan Am) and Sabrina Ratté – ‘twinkling aesthetic resonance’ Robert Curgenven, brings a visceral psychogeography of settler colonialsm via field recordings, pipe organ, guitars, dubplates and film Grischa Lichtenberger, (raster-noton)- stages evocative sculptural beats Jacaszek & Kwartludium, a producer of electroacoustic music teams up with a contemporary music ensemble.
They will open the night with Catalogue des Arbres – a sparse, droney and smoky set. With live visual work by Pedro Maia Shapednoise with sYn visuals presents Metaphysical, world premiere of the new audiovisual project of techno/electronics producer Shackleton, electronic music producer who likes to mix genres such as dubstep, garage, and techno & more to be confirmed
Sunday 1 March 2015 – Conference – Paradiso
Raviv Ganchrow, sound artist and researcher focusing on interrelations between sound and space. Hillel Schwartz, cultural historian and author of the impressive study Making Noise.
Sonic Acts Field Trip
Raviv Ganchrow is developing Long-Wave Synthesis, a new land-art scale sound installation investigating infrasound. The work deals with extremely long waves, interacts with the landscape and is an invitation to ‘think at Earth magnitude’. A new prototype will be shown at an outdoor location (tba).
Sonic Acts at Vondelkerk
Tonaliens, with Hilary Jeffrey (trombone), Amelia Cuni (voice), Werner Durand, Ralf Meinz, and Robin Hayward (microtonal tuba) Greifen by Gabriel Paiuk (composer and sound artist), performed by Ekkehard Windrich (violin).