ECSTATIC MATERIAL combines sound and substances from two original figures in their respective fields; musician and producer Beatrice Dillon and artist Keith Harrison.
Drawing upon Keith Harrison’s renowned art practice transforming raw materials and Beatrice Dillon’s rhythmic computer music compositions, this jointly developed palette of playdoh pumping sound system and sound synthesis summons the euphoric and alchemical aspects of the everyday in a mingled sensory suite of elasticity, interference and reaction. Or as Harrison defines it “a live experiment in which our respective systems are set in motion, bending sound and material. We have an overall structure but have factored in a capacity to react to what’s happening each night and change as the tour progresses and material accumulates.”
This live experiment with sound and substance will be conducted through a modular system made up of malleable materials, light and multi-channel audio which is constructed, choreographed and diffused by the artists into the performance space. Beatrice remarks “I’m interested in creating a sense of a physical, tactile presence through sound, one that bumps into and spills over into Keith’s sculptures. I’m excited by the messy physicality of this project, exploring different scale and spatial opportunities and responding to the different constraints of each site.”
Artists
BEATRICE DILLON is a London-based producer and artist with releases across Boomkat Editions, Hessle Audio, The Trilogy Tapes, PAN and Where To Now?. Recent performances include Atonal Berlin, Documenta Athens, Masåfåt Cairo, Moscow Save, MUTEK Montreal and Barbican Centre. She has collaborated widely with award-winning visual artists for film, installation and performance across ICA, TATE, Lisson Gallery, Palais de Tokyo Paris, Nasher Dallas and MACVAL Paris amongst others. She presents a show on NTS Radio. Dillon was the recipient of Wysing Arts Centre’s artist residency in 2016 and the Somerset House Studios artists residency from 2018.
KEITH HARRISON is an established artist particularly known for his work with ceramics, public experiments and the transformation of raw materials to unpredictable effect. Harrison’s work shows an awareness of social issues: the relation with audience; the value of physical things; references to popular music and social housing. Well documented was his collaboration with sensationally loud grindcore music pioneers Napalm Death, whereby Harrison built a ceramic tiled wooden sound system which changed form in response to the groups raw energetic sound reverberating inside the structure and assistance from the crowd. Comparatively Keith shall be building a structure from which sound and substance shall transform in front of the audience in truly unpredictable fashion.
ECSTATIC MATERIAL combines sound and substances from two original figures in their respective fields; musician and producer Beatrice Dillon and artist Keith Harrison. Commissioned by Outlands, this brand new collaborative performance will expand and
National experimental music touring network
About OUTLANDS
OUTLANDS is a new national experimental music touring network, championing the genre-resistant bringing adventurous interdisciplinary music to the forefront.
OUTLANDS developed out of a motivation to pool expertise and resources, to encourage diversity and accessibility, build local audiences, and to support engaging and ambitious interdisciplinary music productions across the country, and the organisations that strive to promote them.
The OUTLANDS network currently brings together visual arts and music organisations, independent venues and creative producers in eight regions, as the partners for its pilot phase. Network partners shall commission and tour six new, interdisciplinary productions over two years during 2018-19.
A free interconnected participation programme offers new experiences to audiences through workshops, open rehearsals and Q&A’s to shine a light on the artistic processes within experimental music.
This tour was commissioned by OUTLANDS, curated and produced by Jennifer Lucy Allan and Al Cameron and supported by Arts Council England and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.