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22. März 2018  19:30 Uhr

OPEAN 2
Concert präsentiert von
MAMMAL HANDS (UK)
Performance
HEINRICH OBST (D/BE) &

TIMO VIIALAINEN (FI)
 

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OPEAN 2

kuratiert von Tobias Frank und Patrick Morarescu
19:30
Einlass
20:00
Performance
21:00
Mammal Hands

Heinrich Obst

 

Heinrich Obst is one of the various identities that make up a complex that includes the director of the European Theatre of Operations, fashioned after the predecessor of SHAPE, sole lifelong member of the Royal Navel Observatory and subject to the varying ensemble of identities created by Chris Straetling. (Washington D.C. 1960)

Independent participant in various group entities over the years, Obst prefers to work with others while maintaining a workable distance... an autonomy that allows for sudden shifts and digressions. Performance activity is only one facet of his work, which includes curating, representation and criticism as well as creation of own work and productions. Most recently he has become involved with the unnoticed art movement, performing in freely accessible public spaces while reducing presence and impact to a minimum.

 

His activities take place under the auspices of Bureau Gruzemayer, (Antwerp, Belgium) though in recent years quite a bit of energy has been invested in the co-creation and running of a artists space “Buktapaktop” in Brussels, as well as his dependency “Dep-interdep” on the Belgian-French border.

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Timo Viialainen

 

(b.1981, Helsinki) is a performance artist, experimental musician and sculptor. His performances manifest power in the form of strong sensorial stimulus and ritualised personal experience playing with the expectations of the audience and also of the performer. The work is always situation and site specific. The aim is to find trigger points that penetrate the rational view of the events and give rise to the intuitive experience.

 

Timo Viialainen started to perform with sound projects in 2001 and to make performance art in 2011. He has performed in numerous events and festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. He currently lives and works in Helsinki.

 

 

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 “The semi-classical drums/sax/piano trio Mammal Hands mutate into a high-volume rave act” The Guardian

Captivating, ethereal and majestic, Mammal Hands (saxophonist Jordan Smart, pianist Nick Smart and drummer and percussionist Jesse Barrett) has carved out a refreshingly original sound from a disparate array of influences: drawing on spiritual jazz, north Indian, folk and classical music to create something inimitably their own. Hailing from Norwich, one of Britain’s most isolated and most easterly cities, they have forged their own path away from the musical mainstream and their unique sound grew out of long improvised rehearsals. All three members contribute equally to the writing process: one that favours the creation of a powerful group dynamic over individual solos. Their records are entrancing and beautiful affairs, while their hypnotic live shows have seen them hailed as one of the most exciting bands in Europe as they push their unique line-up to the outer limits of its possibilities.

Shadow Work is their third album and the first they have self-produced. Recorded at 80 Hertz Studios, Gondwana Records home from home in Manchester, it is the result of 18 months of intensive touring and mammoth writing sessions. The energy from their exhilarating live performances has fed into the writing process and yet there is a quiet reflective side to this album, giving it an expanded emotional range that draws the listener deep into Mammal Hand’s sound world. One that builds on the sound of their previous recordings, Animalia and the beautiful Floa, but is wider than ever, with the use of prepared piano strings, more prominent effects and field recordings all adding to the band’s most ambitious and accomplished album to date. The striking artwork is by Daniel Halsall and reflects the organic, natural influences underpinning the band’s music alongside a darker, modern minimalism.

 

The album opens with the catchy Black Sails, a track that emerged through a group improvisation, it's a high-energy piece with a lot of forward motion and lots of dynamic shifts that make full use of deceptively simple ideas. The elegant Wringer is one of the tracks that came from experimenting with muting the sound of the piano using felt and explores a different side to the band’s personality. Boreal Forest builds from something small to something huge and the intense finale incorporates forceful group playing and electronic influenced beats. Solitary Bee, the other track that utilises muting of the piano, conjures everyday things and spaces with a chorus melody that is influenced by modern Irish and folk tunes, and was composed on wooden flute. Three Good Things starts with a slow passage, utilising a drum kit heavily altered by the use of metal objects, it builds to a piano and tabla duet, before a heavier groove section segues back to the tune. The wistful Living Frost opens with the tabla bass leading us into a 7/8 tune that slowly grows and mutates into a forceful chorus full of emotion, before a slow spacious outro with strings. Near Far is an improvised piece by Nick Smart, recorded during a quiet moment in the studio, it was an unplanned and reflective piece that seemed to fit naturally with the rest of the material. One of the album’s many stand out tracks, Straight Up Raining is another composition that draws heavily on folk music. While the outro has some minimalist/electronic style piano parts mixed with heavily effected sax and rolling drum grooves. The epic Transfixed starts with the group playing one note in unison and unfolds from there, building from a minimalist theme to something more complex and powerful where Jesse’s unique hybrid drums and tabla set-up with nick's piano and rhodes drives Jordan's soloing. Finally, the album ends with the pastoral Being Here, a recording that was made during a session at their own recording space in Norwich, when Nick improvised a piano part and Jordan captured some singing birds and field recordings from around the area and garden, together with some samples of a bowed vibraphone. It offers an aural representation of where this album was written but also offers a beautiful ending to a journey through Mammal Hands’ musical world: one where folk and classical influences rub alongside modern production techniques and 21st century spiritual-jazz to create something wonderful and new and wholly their own.

Programm

Künstler

künstler

Location

MUG im Einstein-
Munich Underground
Einstein Kultur

Einsteinstraße 42
81675 München


Tel.: +49 (0)89-416173795
Fax: +49 (0)89 416173798
E-Mail: info@einsteinkultur.de

22. März 19:30 Uhr

CLUBZWEI Konzert KG

Kolosseumstr. 6

80469 München

Location
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