2023-05-01 07:16:29
Although his songs were created in isolation, they still feel like a hug: British electronic artist James Holden recently released his new album “Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities” and performed it live on Sunday evening at the Kremser donaufestival to much acclaim presents. It’s nice when, like him, new things blossom out of a supposed low point.
“We lived in my studio back then, there was no hot water, and my dog died at that time,” Holden recalled to the APA regarding the development phase of the new pieces, which oscillate between meditative sketches, powerful beat structures and delicate melodies. Corona has also left its mark on the successful DJ and producer. Nevertheless, the maxim applied to him: Don’t think too much. “Otherwise you get stuck or cramp. I knew I wanted to make music that was wild and free.”
How wild the new numbers actually are is probably in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. But the twelve pieces definitely sound free. In any case, once morest the background of social and personal depression, Holden sought the way to light. “There was no hope. But I was grateful for what I had achieved up to that point, so I wanted to do something positive.” And he certainly succeeded with this often trance-like, very psychedelic record.
But how does he find the right balance between control and free-flowing energy? “I actually think the conscious part of our brain isn’t as good as the rest,” Holden said with a smile. “Of course there are things that go along specific lines in the recording process: building the system, making certain decisions and so on. But when it comes to recording a take, it’s best when your brain is off. You have to forget it’s a recording.” Do what you have to do. Always a good tip for Holden’s music.
Speaking of closing your eyes: That also applied to Harald Beharie on the first weekend of the festival, who performed quite a few moments of his rather intense performance “Batty Bwoy” with his eyes closed, always racing past his audience by a hair’s breadth to pulsating prog rock sounds. The Norwegian-Jamaican dancer, who acted naked except for shoes and knee pads for his piece, which can also be seen at the Vienna ImPulsTanz Festival in summer, dealt with homophobia and queer stereotypes in this study of physical stamina and the ability to suffer. Although the salivation at the beginning was obviously too much for some, it was definitely worth persevering here – on both sides.
Hüma Utku’s performance in the Minorite Church was also not for the faint of heart: The musician from Istanbul presented her current album “The Psychologist”, which opened up a gloomy world – both in terms of sound and in the oppressive visuals, which are often reminiscent of psychedelic horror, which (like much at this year’s festival) with all sorts of nature and forest associations. Layer upon layer, Utku piled up her roaring Doom Scenarios, only to then explode them with great skill and all sorts of effects. In this dystopia, man has long since abolished himself.
Eglé Budvytytè’s video work “Songs from the Compost: Mutating bodies, Imploding stars” also fit the festival theme “Beyond human”. The Lithuanian artist has filmed a group of young people roaming through forests with deliberate slowness or kneeling in the water at coastal areas. Only gradually does it become apparent that their bodies are irritated in various ways: First, fingers seem to lengthen like branches, then mushroom-like structures proliferate out of their backs. Underlaid with elegiac music and lyrics that convey the overcoming of the human body, it became an aesthetically very appealing excursion into a foreign world, which ultimately only scratched the surface – despite some quite courageous pictures.
Oliver Ressler, on the other hand, acted much more directly: His “Climate Feedback Loops”, which can be seen in the Kunsthalle Krems, were created as part of a research project on the Svalbard archipelago. For 23 minutes, the “Hothouse Earth” was thrown on the wall by means of two videos that complemented each other but never completely matched. The CO2 increase has never progressed as quickly as it is now, it was learned. The “man-made hellhounds” one read regarding was joined by a crackling and shimmering sound that further depressed the mood. Mutually fueled tipping points, a lack of climate justice and the collapse of the network of life – as idyllic as nature appeared in the recordings, the downfall seemed inevitable.
Looking into the abyss and dancing one last time, that was also possible at this donaufestival – and not too narrowly: Yeule, for example, lured the audience into the more forgiving 90s days, with pop settled between kitsch and edge, which actually only has a hint of the big litter is removed. Every pose, every tone was beyond what was allowed, and yet this mixture worked so brilliantly that any fog quickly cleared. And the Syrian singer Omar Souleyman is already a safe bet in Krems: sunglasses on, disco mode on and off into the night. Always happy.
(S E R V I C E – www.donaufestival.at )
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