unyazi beginnings

I personally kicked off the festival a day early, by catching the preview of James Webb and James Sey’s (above, left to right) ‘The Utopia Travelogues ***,’ which premiered at the trendy Tokyo Star in Melville. I have to say that it was beautiful; I understand the complaints by some that the text was a bit pretentious, but I took it to be extremely ironic (and was close enough to catch the smirks on the James’ faces). Intended for radio (and so best if you sit in a corner by yourself, and close your eyes), the music was experimental enough to create amazing visuals, but accessible enough that even a sonic luddite such as myself enjoyed it. I saw the last in their series when it was here a few months ago, and this is, by far, superior. It’s on again as part of the festival on Sunday evening (programs available online), so check it then.

To me, the two highlights of yesterday’s festival, then, were the improvisational collaboration between JoaÃÉo Orecchia and Carlo Mombeli, and the kinetic-sculpture-installation-performance thing by Maxime Rioux. The former was a loop masters experimental noise jazz electroacoustic yumminess, while the latter used about 30 sculptures of speakers attached to noise and musical instruments on springs, and triggered by electrical impulses to the analogue devices.

not quite a still of -part of- unyazi 2005 by maxime rioux

Man, it was hot. More….

the zulu lightning round

circa rhizome and their net.art news, but I wrote it:

Drawing on the success of the Johannesburg Biennales of the nineties, local chemist/ composer, Dimitri Voudouris, decided that it was time to bring attention to South African electronic musicians by connecting them with other internationally-renowned talents. Hoping to promote experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration, he initiated the Unyazi Festival, so–named for the Zulu word for ‘lightning’ (there is no non-anglo word for ‘electricity,’ in South Africa–an absence with spiritual connotations). Unyazi will be the first festival of electronic music and sonic art in Africa. Local highlights include interactive pieces from Toni Olivier’s Studio for Interactive Sound, a collaboration between loop masters Carlo Mombelli and Joao Orecchia, and more experimental trips by the likes of James Webb, Chris Wood, Pops Mohammed, and Brendon Bussy. Pioneering performers include American-Egyptian Professor Halim El-Dabh–who began his tape work in North Africa in the ’40s–and Pauline Oliveros, an American philosopher and composer who works with a concept she calls ‘Deep Listening.’ The festival will feature a broad slate of workshops, multimedia theatre, interesting music, and film, all of which students and teachers can attend free. The storm is coming. The lightning round begins September 1st. – Nathaniel Stern

http://www.newmusicsa.org.za/unyazi2005.html