|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
RTN 016LP
|
Hypertext is the third album by Recent Arts, the A/V duo formed by media artist Valentina Berthelon and multi-disciplinary artist Tobias Freund. Out via Japan's Reiten, its nine tracks mirror Recent Arts new, forthcoming A/V show, following their previous debuts also at Atonal and Berghain's Säule of the recent years. Hypertext video projections and experimental electronic music synergize ideas of non-linear data and information processing, drawing parallels to computational thinking with the way our human brains biologically process information. Visuals are the catalysts for the music, inspired by the overwhelming amount of information and the speed at which we consume different media, featuring a cacophony of hundreds of different media, poetry, images of surveillance and clips of artificial intelligence and machine learning. For the visuals, Valentina uses jarring and intense visual juxtaposition to create moments of both connection and displacement. References mix and intermingle, creating new meanings. Symbols become charged, inviting the audience deeper into the vortex. Computers similarly digest information, but unlike the human brain, their ability to generate information is not exceeded by their capacity to understand. For the sound, Tobias and Valentina made together droning, moody soundscapes, almost as though the internal voice of the computer world was captured and recorded. Inspired by the visual aesthetic of hyperlinks collaged and non-linear nature, the album reflects this in the ambience, where samples float in and out of contact with the listener, catching and holding attention before floating away awash by more elements and compositions. There is a definite blurring of the digital and the biological, voices sound distant and robotic, but droning soundscapes feel natural and textured with an organic tone. In the first track "Just Be There" spoken word samples mix with ethereal chiming, reminiscent of the start-up modems from Web 1.0. "Pull The Emergency Breaks" similarly mixes poetry with uncanny atmospheres popping in and out until it finally climaxes in a collage of sounds. On the B-side "Invisible Waves" finishes off the record with a volatile dervish of digital strings and deep breathing.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NSP 016LP
|
Recent Arts is a duo conformed by visual artist Valentina Berthelon and musician Tobias Freund. Skin, featuring Barbie Williams, is their second album. Together they build live performances using video projections and experimental sound "charged with symbols, stories and poetry" thus generating sound environments that invite to enjoy the music while deeply connecting with perceptions of the world and sense of realities within it. Written and produced by Tobias Freund at Non Standard Studios, Berlin 2018. Vocals by Barbie Williams; video by Valentina Berthelon. Access audiovisual material at: recentarts.com
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
NSP 013CD
|
Recent Arts is a duo formed by Chilean visual artist Valentina Berthelon and German musician Tobias Freund. Together they present live audio-visual shows ranging from experimental improvisations to works that are more aligned with the global electronic music club scene. Recent Arts manipulate sound and image in real time during their stage shows. The music is created and performed by means of an application based on Max/MSP. This application was developed by Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel, and finalized based on ideas by Tobias Freund. It is a "Loop Based Computer Controlled Engine" that repeats and processes sounds in a free and natural way -- which feels like listening to the flowing water of a creek, or to the sound of the wind. Repetitions are constantly being modulated, and no patterns are the same. In addition, the musical structure is combined with a full range of analog synthesis to achieve a wide spectrum of frequencies.
|