In “5 basses”, five double basses are amplified and feedbacked with each other. The strings and the bodies of the basses resonate with their ambient surroundings, thus creating an interactive drone in which the basses are controlled both by their acoustic vibrations and their environment. Seemingly simple acoustic/physical principles take on the complex role of the composer, creating forms and structures surprisingly similar to those we find in our everyday life.
Leave The Bass Alone, 5 Basses
Bernd Klug
Installation: Sat/Sun, Oct 20/21 2012, 4 -7pm
Reception and live performance: Friday, Oct 19 2012, 7 – 9pm
Admission: Free
Location:
Harvestworks
596 Broadway, #602
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-431-1130
Subway: F/M/D/B Broadway/Lafayette, R Prince, 6 Bleeker
“Well, Karlheinz, I advise you to leave the sounds alone; don’t push them; because they’re very much like human beings.”
Inspired by this quote from Morton Feldman to Stockhausen and studies of dramaturgic developments of different human and natural soundscapes, Leave the Bass Alone is a collection of sound installations, field recordings and performances exploring the depths of the double bass’ spectral world.
In “5 basses”, five double basses are amplified and feedbacked with each other. The strings and the bodies of the basses resonate with their ambient surroundings, thus creating an interactive drone in which the basses are controlled both by their acoustic vibrations and their environment. Seemingly simple acoustic/physical principles take on the complex role of the composer, creating forms and structures surprisingly similar to those we find in our everyday life.
Over the course of the Installation, there will be sections showcasing a more detailed view on the basses’ vibrations and their nature through Arduino and Max/MSP processing.
The reception (Friday 7pm-9pm) will also feature a short live set in which Bernd Klug will present some of the possibilities of this installation in a performance context. Additionally, there will be two guest performances by Sabisha Friedberg and Valerie Kuehne playing in and with this drone on Saturday/Sunday (details soon).
This installation is generously sponsored by David Gage String Instruments.
Bernd Klug (New York/Vienna):
Currently residing in New York, Klug works as a double bass player and sound artist in a wide variety of contemporary contexts with a focus on improvisation. His solo work focuses on the world inside the double bass: the bow, the body, and room frequencies lay the groundwork for a radical reduction of both the composer-performer’s role and the traditional musical narrative.
Klug’s recent and current collaborators include: Meaghan Burke (Rash), Danielle Dahl, Mimu Merz, OENCZkekvist, Le Cowboy (Burke/Schweighart/Klug), Brendan Landis, Lucio Menegon, ctrl, Ritornell, Elektro Guzzi, Burkhard Stangl, John Butcher, Franz Hautzinger, Butch Morris, Radu Malfatti, Bernhard Lang, Peter Kutin, Billy Roisz, Daniel Lercher, Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø, Kjetil Hannsen, Sixtus Preiss, Violetta Parisini, and many others.
He received his B.A. in Music Performance and Education with distinction in 2007 from Vienna’s University for Music and Performing Arts B.A. in Music Performance and Education, where he also studied with musicians such as Uli Fussenegger and Achim Tang. He was awarded an educational scholarship to Harvestworks, NYC in 2012, the BM:UKK Startstipendium (federal Austrian grant for artists) in 2011, as well as the Fidelio Award 2009 and a scholarship at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik 2004, among others.