In a way, Sounds Central’s approach to presenting music resembles the ideas of medieval European cartographers. Their mappae mundi did not claim to depict the world accurately, but rather sought to address topics that fascinated them, such as biblical stories, mythology or specific knowledge. As a DJ, Paul Paulun’s way of addressing musical phenomena is the mix. Mappa mundi with Noah’s ark and his sons (detail) by Simon Marmion (1459-1463) Accompanied by introductory texts and brief...
Having discovered space as a tangible medium, English performance artist Peter Dockley developed a multimedia theatre piece in 1969. Gymnasts, kendo fighters and dancers create a dynamic energy zone full of colours, light and excitement. The soundtrack, recorded by Canterbury rock band Soft Machine, was inspired by techniques of musique concrète, laying the foundation for experimental industrial ambient music.
In India, the connection between the universe and sound has long been recognised and is emphasised in Dhrupad singing, the oldest known style of classical Hindustani music. Italian-born singer Amelia Cuni was so fascinated by this concept that she travelled to India in 1978 to learn the technique herself, studying with renowned masters for ten years.
In the media age, imagination has come under attack. However, the interface between the unknown and the self needs to be triggered as a source of inspiration for art and science. Listening can be a key to activating one's own imagination. Jazz musician Brother Ah discovered this technique at the age of five in his family’s fifth-floor flat in Harlem, New York.
C.C. Hennix has been involved with trance-like states for decades. The Swedish-born artist uses sound as a psychotropic guide to heighten the audience's receptivity and transport them into an immersive experience. Sound, environment and the self merge together, conveying a sense of being in touch with infinity.
When Indian spiritual music became popular in New York City in the mid-1960s, one of the youngest artists was the least impressed. Charlemagne Palestine, known for his long ritualistic pieces without religious references, grew up in Brooklyn. The strong cultural environment of the Hasidic movement there shaped his early life, as he sang as a boy soprano in the synagogue choir.
