Freitag, 19. Juli 2013

Lab: sound, body and rhythm

This week saw the premier of the ongoing lab to explore sound, body and rhythm. Two hours devoted to come together and experience and share that Jennie Zimmermann and me will offer twice a month from now on.

Working together as a duo, we both realised that many of our musical ideas go beyond the constellation of two people and are aimed towards a group of people.

This is our invitation:

We are creating a space to focus on sound and body, dance and sensual experience.

Inbetween minimalist cyclic musical structures, delicate dissonances, harmonies and grooves which combine monotony and variety we like to find listening and communication that unites us as a group while offering a space to express individuality through music and dance.

For the lab we offer structures and ideas and a warm up based on voice work, overtone singing and contact improvisation techniques.

We have a longing for experiences of communal sensual intensity and are looking forward to open-minded, critical and enthusiastic folks to share with us.


The open minded, critical and enthusiastic folks have graced us with their presence and together we explored some very basic aspects of rhythm:

Rhythm is based on a series of impulses, that are perceived as seperated entities, but for these impulses to form a rhythm they must be grouped together to one continuous entity. So there is a paradox mixture of discontinuity and continuity that is essential to the nature of rhythmic phenomena. Operational modes of the mind that are normally exclusive to another must be combined for the perception and execution of rhythm. German philosopher Simone Mahrenholz elaborates these aspects in her essay 'Oszillation zwischen Inkomensurablem' (Geteilte Zeit. Zur Kritik des Rhythmus in den Künsten, Hrsg.: Patrick Primavesi und Simone Mahrenholz).

We examined these ideas by using different modes of bodily movement, stepping on the wooden floor or causing clearly audible distict impulses, or rolling around in a fluid movement, while using these different qualities as an inspiration for vocal sounds and singing.

I already knew very well that I like rhythmical situations that create tension and friction and that I love to improvise with performers with whom that is possible, yet it was very interesting to focus on the social aspect of this: coming together with differing positions and withstand and cherish the friction these differences are causing.

I´m looking forward to the next lab, which will be on August the 1st.

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