Blink of an Ear #12: Elms Wildick

“Elms Willdick is a musical live duo that explores sounds, rhythms and harmonies in an intuitive way. Occasionally they flirt with musical genres and traditions, but once they get too close, they quickly run away from it. They also leave their instrument, which they feel most at home, to help shape their musical zoo with the metronome, bicycle chain and megaphone. Their performances are infectious and exude an ode to play, improvisation and imagination.” (Concertgebouw Brugge) It seems that Elms Willdick has a fundamental interest in the borders of music and sound in a performative context. A recurring question in the residencies (Q-O2, N9, De Werf / KAAP) is when and how does sound empowers (or not) what we see, and vice-versa. How to perform a sound without sounding a performance?
Elms Willdick loves the zoo, but often we need to focus on one animal. One of the animals we want to take a closer look at is human interaction and social distancing. During one of the residencies where we ought to beware of social distancing. So we worked with two guitars and one string which was attached from the one guitar to the other with a distance of 1,5m. The pitch of the extended guitars depends on the tension between the two performers. https://youtu.be/YhSZLBtP6PY (Concertgebouw / Brugge) https://youtu.be/r5I9hMDW-d4 (N9 / Eeklo)
Extended guitars: two guitars interconnected with one string. The tension between the performers determines the pitch. The way the performers strike and pull the guitars determines the overtones. The micro-tonality and sonically nuances require performative precision and problematize inter-human dynamics and interaction. This way of performing sound feels intuitively like the right balance between what we see and what we hear. Moreover the pitch caused by the tensions (of the prepared guitarists) refer strongly to different ways of human interaction.
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Tiptoe releases A Basement Suite by Tim Mariën

Tiptoe is proud to release the result of a long lasting working relation with composer Tim Mariën: “A Basement Suite”!

check it out here: https://orcd.co/qb33j2a

This portrait album of Belgian composer Tim Mariën also features performances by Ictus ensemble and Ensemble Temporum.

Recorded in collaboration with ChampdAction, released by Passacaille Records. Order the album here!

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Anthony Braxton’s Gambit in DE SINGEL

On Sunday, June 5th, DE SINGEL in Antwerp is hosting a unique program: Anthony Braxton’s Gambit – 50+ Years of Creative Music – a celebration of composer and instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, who will turn 77 on June 4th. Guitarist Kobe Van Cauwenberghe will take part in this great event with two performances.

The evening will start with a fantastic Creative Orchestra from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp (directed by Kobe Van Cauwenberghe), playing pieces from Braxton’s legendary album “Creative Orchestra Music 1976”.

This is followed by a set of Van Cauwenberghe’s Ghost Trance Septet, featuring Elisa Medinilla, Anna Jalving, Frederik Sakham, Steven Delannoye, Niels Van Heertum, João Lobo. They will perform Composition No. 255 from the Ghost Trance Music series.

The evening will end with a performance of the Maestro himself! Anthony Braxton will present his Saxophone Quartet (also featuring James Fei, Ingrid Laubrock and Chris Jonas) performing a new creation: Lorraine Music.

In addition to the concerts, there will be two lectures by Timo Hoyer (author of the book Anthony Braxton – Creative Music – Wolke Verlag) and James Fei (Tri-Centric Foundation), as well as a small exposition that curated by Kobe, giving an overview of the many different graphic scores of Braxton’s very extensive oeuvre. This expo is located at the entrance hall of DE SINGEL, running continuously until mid-June and its entrance is free.

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Sinfonia with HYOID & Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Together with the vocal ensemble HYOID, the eagerly awaited guest conductor Martyn Brabbins and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra performs Luciano Berio’s groundbreaking Sinfonia, this frenzied, musical collage bursting with quotes from works by Mahler, Ravel, Debussy and Beethoven, among others. Be there at this unmissable event.

27/05 Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Gent (BE)
28/05 Koningin Elizabethzaal, Antwerpen (BE)

 

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