Exceptional three day mini-festival (two nights of performances, third day field recording workshop ) of precisely curated sounds by Rafael Anton Irisarri from the 'heavy' end of the ambient, neoclassical, immersive-avant spectrum, in an intimate setting of the Chapel Performance Space with a explicit audience in attendance (no loud rock bar, and hangers-on here) and a dedicated sound engineer. Exactly as a festival of these sounds, with the corresponding audience and venue should be curated, hosted and assembled. The festival also bringing together associated aesthetics and theory in a booklet published featuring essays by Irisarri, Jon Wozencroft, Lawrence English, and others. Along with complimentary photography by Wozencroft, Phil Petrocelli, and Thomas Meluch. Check that lineup: Biosphere - Oren Ambarchi - Nils Frahm - Rafael Anton Irisarri Trio - Benoit Pioulard - Marcus Fischer - Eluvium - & Crys Cole - Here's hoping this is the first of many!
From the Substrata site: "Substrata seeks to explore varying perspectives of scale though the use of sound, composition and visuals - an international showcase featuring accomplished artists working in the cutting edge where structural abstraction meets physical dynamics. By creating compositional spaces dealing with a sense of mass, along with openness of structure, the perspective of scale and the listener's place in relation is shifted to allow for greater a sense of 'place' beyond the environ of the performance in the interplay of the moment and physics of the larger world. Wherein the most minute of gestures are made significant, or massive planes of perspective become revealed, as dynamic interplay builds these spaces that are as much acoustically sensed, as perceived in the mind's eye. Each showcase features distinctly different takes of the potency of this kind of minimalism, varying between weighty combinations of bass and tonalities used to sculpt out atmospheric ambiance, or powerful dynamic structures made up of the subtlest filigree of sonic building materials."
Photo design/credit: Petrocelli Designs LLC
