Dirty Brown Visuals x Speedy J - ISO скачать в хорошем качестве

Dirty Brown Visuals x Speedy J - ISO

What is art in the 21st Century, and how do we consume it? That’s one of the questions raised by ISO, the new audio-visual production by Jochem Paap and Joost Kosir, better known as Speedy J and dirtybrown respectively. In the true spirit of experimental sound and vision, there was no over-arching concept driving ISO, just an opportunity for two accomplished artists to come together and see how their chosen crafts can interact with each other. The collaboration logically took place at STOOR, the nerve centre for Paap’s continued, three decades-deep exploration of electronic music, with Kosir’s own tangled mess of machines and wires enmeshed amongst the ample equipment already installed at STOOR. There was no memo beforehand, no angle of approach, no set timeframe – they simply set up their chosen tools, dimmed the lights and started to work. Six hours later, ISO was complete. Paap’s history in techno and experimental electronic music is well documented, from early seminal albums on Warp, Novamute and Plus 8 through to the establishment of his Electric Deluxe label and scores more achievements besides. He set up STOOR around 2018 as a music production facility and label encompassing analogue and digital technology, inviting established artists and the next generation of music-makers alike to experiment and develop their craft. Kosir has been a full-time visual artist since the late 90s. In the early days analogue video equipment was the only practical option for an artist starting out on a limited budget, and this approach informed the dirtybrown style at the outset. Even as computer-based visuals became a more accessible option, Kosir continued to amass a collection of outboard gear which remains the grainy, imperfect heart of his work. These days it’s more tuned towards customized and self-built equipment rather than conventional consumer units, giving dirtybrown a visual stamp like no-one else. Given their shared appreciation for the unique characteristics of different pieces of creative equipment, around 2018 Paap invited Kosir to create visuals for some STOOR sessions, planting the seed for this more pronounced collaboration. Sonically and visually, ISO swells and contracts, melts and reforms with the natural animus of a living organism. In the errant circuitry of a multitude of tools, Paap and Kosir roam free and react to their own impulses as well as each others (and those of their machines, which often have their own artistic ideas to impose). But while Paap’s sound is conjured from thin air, Kosir’s visuals have a lineage which begins in their shared hometown, Rotterdam. During weeks spent travelling the city as a bike messenger during the early days of lockdown, he captured the visual language of the city while the usually vibrant streets were uncharacteristically empty. These manmade forms, which become part of the urban ecosystem in their own way, pulse through Kosir’s hardware to become vivid abstract forms, while still retaining the grit and charm of their real-world roots. Meanwhile Paap’s accomplished touch twirls between extreme atonal abstraction and glistening beauty, melding lyrical sequences with richly detailed textures. Brief passages within the 360-minute runtime hint towards techno, but this is experimental music first and foremost. Most importantly, the sound continually drives forwards, never resting for longer than necessary before the next moment coalesces from the machines. That this was achieved in moments of pure improvisation, over such a long run time, is testament to Paap’s skill, experience and inspiration. Circling back to the original question, one wonders what role a six-hour audio-visual piece has in the modern world. Could it function as an atmospheric backdrop to a shared workspace, or a committed journey for a couch-rooted cosmonaut? Might it exist in a gallery, to be transmitted into crisp negative space, or subtly deployed as a curious mood-setter in a trendy social setting? ISO was open at its inception, and it remains open as it is offered out into the world. Its life after this point is unknown, in the same way a record earns its scratches, scuffs and scrapes once it leaves the pressing plant. Paap and Kosir both nod to their creation as a celebration of attentive listening and viewing, echoing the ritual of the LP home-listen or widescreen cinema trip in an increasingly attention-bereft world. Whether zoomed out and gliding across the surface, or deep down in the cracks and crevices of the piece, ISO is a monumental work with a modest demeanour, a curious test for curious times. Words by Oliver Warwick Join the Discord community:   / discord   Bandcamp: https://stoor.bandcamp.com/ Facebook:   / stoorlab   Instagram:   / stoorlab   Soundcloud:   / sets   Podcast: https://knobtwiddlershangout.fireside...