Tips for Sonic Acts Festival

Are you still puzzling over what to see and do at our festival? We have asked a few experts to share their tips.

Sally Jane Norman, Professor of Performance Technologies at University of Sussex

The Sonic Acts team has a unique ability to seek out new forms of resonance that can move and provoke our collective creative imagination. Geological processes, their stratifications, sedimentations, and deformations, here offer a « deep time » anchorage that is profound and seismically alive, for a feast of conceptual and sonic celebrations. The Anthropocene out of this world.

Angelique Spaninks, Director STRP and MU

To me each edition of Sonic Acts manages to bring together a programme that has the right balance between the known and the unknown, the hidden secrets and the explored highlights of the contemporary connection between art and science. From the darkest extraterrestrial to the Earth’s deepest matter, no territory remains unexplored if it is up to Sonic Acts. And it is up to them. Once again, this year’s edition makes it worthwhile to jump on their train to see and hear experts and visionaries like Liam Young, Michael Welland, Jannane Al-Ani and Rob Holmes. And of course, there are loads of electronically enhanced sounds as well as an immersive new landscape by Kurt Hentschläger.

Barbara Nordhjem, cognitive neuroscientist at the Laboratory of Experimental Opthalmology UMCG and she writes about art and science

One of my favourite things about Sonic Acts is the conference, where you get to hear academics talk alongside musicians and artists. This time planet Earth will be addressed from different perspectives. Geologists have recently proposed that we have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene, which started around 1950. Are we really transforming the planet with a geological impact comparable to an Ice Age? I'm curious what Mark Williams and Jan Zalasiewicz will tell us about the epoch of human influence. There’s something romantic about artists travelling to the most remote places to make recordings. Jana Winderen went to the Norwegian–Russian border and will present a conference talk about her field trips and perform at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ. During the same evening you can also listen to the audio recordings BJ Nilsen made of Arctic nature. Sounds from the icy landscape and the depths of the ocean: it will certainly be a journey into the frozen North! Forget about effects pedals and synthesisers. If I get it right, Emptyset sent off a sine wave from Berlin to the world’s longest-serving radio transmitter in Nauen. From there the signal was shot into the ionosphere as high-frequency radio waves, picked up 1000 kilometres away in France and then sent back again to the studio in Berlin. Can't wait to hear how you capture sounds modulated by the Earth's upper atmosphere.

Brigitte van der Sande, curator

If you think The Geological Imagination is only for geeks and nerds, you’re probably an old man or a little pony. Sonic Acts could even bring a zombie to life, so get your ass out there and be inspired by performances that will electrify your brain and tantalise all your senses.

Pieter van Adrichem, marketing professional for Cultuurplan, Cross-Linx Festival, and others.

My tip about what to see at Sonic Acts is the performance by John Foxx and Steve d'Agostino. Why? That's actually a long story, which has mainly to do with me. My very first concert experience at Paradiso was John Foxx. Even now, 35 years after the release of Metamatic, the album still sounds fresh, analogue and unusual: consciously or unconsciously, groups such as Adult, Chvrches and Ladytron are indebted to John Foxx’s masterpiece, but you can also hear his influence in the techno of Cybotron's Alleys or your Mind, or in Random Factor’s Broken Mirror. In subsequent years, Foxx avoided the music industry, but began releasing music again in the late 1990s. Two years ago, this resulted in John Foxx & The Maths, a collaboration with producer Benge who was suddenly all the rage. Their album Interplay is analogue, raw and catchy, with Foxx singing alienating texts with the fierceness of a twenty-year-old. The recent collaboration with Steve D'Agostino adds a cinematic dimension to his work, but it remains unapproachable anti-music. And now he’s back in Paradiso: there’s no tightly rehearsed band this time, but hopefully heaps of wayward analogue noise. I’m looking forward and I’ll be there.

Susan Schuppli, artist & writer and Senior Lecturer, Acting Director Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths

Scientists are currently debating whether we have entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, to reflect humanity’s considerable impact upon earth. Yet it isn't sufficient to understand these transformations purely in terms of their radical geological reorganisation, we must also confront their violence as fundamentally visual and aural. I’m going to Sonic Acts to explore how artists and philosophers might be extending the concept to account for a new order of extreme aesthetic agents.

Josephine Bosma, journalist and critic focusing on art in the context of the Internet

The Amsterdam-based festival Sonic Acts is developing into an event of international stature. What is interesting about each edition of Sonic Acts is its deep view of media and interdisciplinary arts. Sonic Acts’ organisers try to balance a historical view of art, science and technology with new, cutting-edge perspectives. This year seems especially interesting, as it brings together a few controversial and highly influential philosophers in its lecture programme. Graham Harman’s presentation is one of the not-to-be-missed talks here. Harman’s object-oriented philosophy has devout supporters and fanatic critics. Another must-see is Reza Negarestani, an Iranian philosopher whose theory–fiction novel Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials made him an instant cult hero, especially among left-wing intellectuals. Yet Sonic Acts is not just about theory. If you want to feel that not all is lost in today’s violent and crazy world, then visit Sonic Acts’ evening performances and the exhibition. A favourite of mine here is the work of Martin Howse, a pleasantly mad, genius artist who likes to explore the inner core of media tools and sounds at a near-molecular level. The only thing missing for me in Sonic Acts is a stronger women’s presence, especially in the lecture series. Is it the Sonic Acts theme that causes this? One thing is certain: ‘The Geological Imagination’ promises to be a thought-provoking and interesting edition of Sonic Acts.

Koert van Mensvoort, founder of Next Nature

This year’s Sonic Acts programme is a solid leap into next nature indeed! I hope it will help us to set out a path into an Anthropocenic future that is benefits mankind and our fellow species, both genetic and non-genetic! It is of utmost importance to connect the biosphere and the technosphere. If we are to leave our traces in the geology of the planet, let’s hope they will be ones we can be proud of.

Sven Schlijper, journalist for KindaMuzik, PAUME

Context is everything and of all the forward-thinking and acting festivals, Sonic Acts once again presents the very best in terms of scientific and artistic juxtaposition and discourse in its bringing together of an eclectic and inspiring mix of speakers, artists and performers. From the thematic nucleus of ‘The Geologic Imagination’, Sonic Acts now projects visions of musical composition with the use of ionosphere-distortion such as in Emptyset's ‘signal’-reading alongside razor-sharp avant-techno by Grischa Lichtenberger. Or singing tree drones in the form of neo-classical soundscapes with field recordings by Jacaszek side by side with noisy and grinding tech-industrial in murky greys, courtesy of Vessel. This is the festival where object-oriented ontology meets a stunning new performance piece by Florian Heckerat the Stedelijk Museum. Of all the tasty servings on the menu make sure to sample two treats that will deliver direct tactile impact in terms of content and context within the theme. BJ Nilsen ventures into the uttermost Northern regions and smack in the middle of his urban field recordings works and natural soundscapes he made under the Hazard moniker, this time Benny collaborates with Godspeed You! Black Emperor's film artist Karl Lemieux on unearthed to reveal their audiovisual impressions of industrial decay and heavy pollution on the landscape. Akin to Land Art, the massive infrasound work by Ravid Ganchrow demands to be experienced on your feet. Walking through the long wave vibrations Ganchrow produces in the Zanzibar Harbour you will be made conscious of sound waves you cannot hear, that act on almost meteorological scales, therewith reconfiguring your notions of atmosphere, topography and time itself – a profound contextual manifestation of The Geologic Imagination.

Theo Ploeg, journalist frnkfrt, Gonzo (circus) and OOR

This year’s Sonic Acts is, as always, on the brink of experimental thinking and doing. The conference on speculative geophilosophy is not to be missed as it offers new insights and possibilities on how to perceive the world after (post)modernity, as new other experimenting ways of thinking and doing like speculative drawing, accelerationism and intervention design do.

Rene Passet - DJ Broadcast, 3voor12 & OOR

John Foxx It’s no secret that John Foxx used to be a hero of mine. The first time I heard the singles Underpass (1980) and Europe After The Rain (1981) they blew me away. Good electronic dance music with a melancholic twist – at the time this was a radically new sound (this is the disco era we’re talking about). Groups like The Human League, Depeche Mode and Soft Cell rode to fame on this formula. Only later did I discover that Foxx used to be the vocalist for Ultravox, ran a studio and was a graphic designer of some distinction. When & where: Saturday 28 February at Paradiso BJ Nilsen Walk into the forest, hold up a microphone and press the record button. That is essentially what Swedish composer BJ Nilsen has been doing for ten years. And he does it very well, as is apparent from the dozen or so albums he’s made capturing his urban safari harvest for labels like Touch and Editions Mego. In 2010, French film director Gaspar Noé used Nilsen’s drones for his psychedelic film Enter The Void. Nilsen premieres his new project ‘unearthed’ at Sonic Acts 2015 – to create the piece he travelled with video artist Karl Lemieux to the heavily polluted Norwegian–Russian border zone. And then he held up a microphone. When & where:Friday 27 February at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Vessel Last year Vessel blew me away at the Hague Rewire Festival. From start to finish the performance by this British beat innovator was intense, brimful with industrial rhythms, snarling dissonances and sucking bass. But Sebastian Gainsborough is probably busy with lawyers right now, because a breaking British pop group decided to call itself Vessels. Confusing, just like Vessel’s music. On Thursday he – and some of the finest names from the electronic underground – will perform at OT301 as part of Sonic Acts. When & where: Thursday 26 February at OT301 Rene Passet is music journalist for DJ Broadcast, 3voor12 and OOR.

Mark Minkman - Paradiso

Sound that there is but you cannot hear, and what it does to the environment... In my view, this is one of the most intriguing topics in the upcoming Sonic Acts Festival. So it’s all aboard for a trip to Amsterdam harbour to experience Raviv Ganchrow’s long waves! Ganchrow has spent years working with sound that the human ear barely registers, but which does affect the environment. Equally curious, I attended something else in the Sonic Acts programme: the piece Pasvikdalen by Jana Winderen. In her performance in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ she penetrated the ‘dark ecology’ of the planet and revealed sounds from the edges of the earth. She was inspired by the almost deserted and heavily polluted industrial area between Norway and Russia and composed pieces that relate how ‘Mother Earth’ watches over this zone. When & where: Friday 27 February at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Mark Minkman is director of Paradiso.

Koen Nutters - DNK Amsterdam

This edition, or any edition, of Sonic Acts is not to be missed because Sonic Acts is simply the most important and most exciting festival for new music and media in the Netherlands. I am very much looking forward to this edition and will try to attend as much of it as I can. Koen Nutters is a musician, composer and curator based in Berlin and Amsterdam.

Tijs Visser - Zero Foundation

Both Otto Piene and Sonic Acts have succeeded in crossing artistic and geographical boundaries, and even caused them to disintegrate. This edition of the [Sonic Acts] festival proves this yet again. When & where: Friday 27 February at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Tijs Visser is director of the Zero Foundation.

Kees Heus - Paradiso

My tip for the Sonic Acts Festival is the performance by Burnt Friedman and Jaki Liebezeit. I think it’s really cool when an artist strives for originality, and even more so if they can underpin their ideas with great quality. This is what I hear these guys do all the time. Very, very good! When & where: Saturday 28 February at Paradiso Kees Heus is programmer at Paradiso and dj KC The Funkaholic.

Bob Rusche – X-rated tips:

Sonic Acts has been at the helm of audiovisual experimentation since 1994, and with The Geologic Imagination, it presents yet another excellent programme. The highlights include BJ Nilsen (also known as Hazard) in collaboration with Karl Lemieux on visuals. Also in the programme are Murcof and Rod Maclachlan, on the same day and also in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. On Saturday, you can enjoy performances by Krautrock legend Jaki Liebezeit (CAN), collaborating with Burnt Friedman on the Secret Rhythms project; and by former Ultravox singer John Foxx, who has been making exciting soundscapes for years. He will perform with Steve D’Agostino. Performances by Shackleton, who you may have seen at Trouw recently, and living dub/bass legend Kode 9, will end the series. Programme Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ on Friday 27 February Programme Paradiso on Saturday 28 February Bob Rusche is dj at X-Rated, a radio show exclusively focussing on experimental music, avant-garde, industrial, ambient and electronic music at the Concertzender. Sunday 22 Feb at 21.00pm X – Rated will focus on Sonic Acts.

Olof van Winden – TodaysArt tips:

Sonic Acts is a true jewel in the festival landscape in the Netherlands. A consistent and focused programme distinguishes Sonic Acts from the fragmented and superfluous range of other festivals. Again and again, Sonic Act’s thematic approach and strong focus on content has resulted in topical and interesting programmes. We are particularly looking forward to the presentation of Otto Piene’s work, because we will be presenting a major project in the spirit of the ZERO Movement next year. Otto Piene's work is part of the programme on Friday 27 February in Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Olof van Winden is director of TodaysArt Festival in The Hague.

Hajo Doorn – Worm tips:

This year, Sonic Acts once again presents an impressive programme in keeping with a special theme. Of all the festivals in the Netherlands, Sonic Acts is unmatched in its consistently high level of quality when it comes to speakers and performers from a broad spectrum of artistic and scientific fields. While other organisers mainly use festivals to ramp up the level of entertainment and to present a cut and dried programme, Sonic Acts uses the festival format to explore topics at great depth, and to bring together leading speakers and artists, for whom the festival can in turn contribute to a deepening of their work. An international meeting between people who are engaged, who think about the future and who create solid work in keeping with it. Why wouldn’t you want to be there? Why wouldn’t you want to participate? Hajo Doorn works at WORM in Rotterdam.

Rutger Wolfson - IFFR tips:

Sonic Acts is an international torchbearer when it comes to art/technology festivals. During its most recent editions, the organisation has increased the scientific input and reinforced art’s connections to society; after all, art also has a social function. Good art can be empowering, and is about life itself. Again and again, Sonic Acts has been a rich source for intense reflection and extreme experiences. What is of utmost importance is that the festival offers a perspective. Rutger Wolfson was director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam until the 2015 edition.