INTERPLAY 02

Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th Novemver 2003
Interplay

the 2nd festival of international collaborations

at the Spitz, London

After last year's phenomenally inspiring first interplay festival of international collaborations, we have invited another set of artists to showcase existing collaborations as well as exclusive works.

Whilst many talk about the global village, Sprawl has put thought into action and put together 2 nights of country-spanning sounds that traverse the lands of twisted technology, minimal beats, fragile voice, improvisation and darn good music.

And if last year's Interplay is anything to go by, the mix will once more create an atmosphere thick with enthusiasm and the love of music.

Also as part of Interplay, Cinefeel present a selection of innovative and leftfield music promos, experimental work and animations from production outfits, graphic design studios and record labels based in Cologne and Dusseldorf. The programme, curated by Francoise Lamy, includes work by both up-and-coming and established talent such as Industriesauger TV, Popsprite and Stilianos Doussis. Labels showcased include Eleganz, Kompakt and A-musik, with classic videos for artists Mouse On Mars and Jean-Michel.

Wed 19th Nov 03, 8pm

Niobe (Sonig) + Rob Flint (scopac/Ticklish)
Andy Vaz (Background Recs) + Portable (Sudelectronic)
Iris Garrelfs (Sprawl) + Si-cut.db (Bip_Hop)

Thurs 20th Nov 03, 8pm

Vert (Sonig) + Tom Chant (Cinematic Orchestra)
Mapstation (To Rococo Rot/Staubgold) + Bill Wells (Domino)
Kumo (Spoon Recs) + Ryoko Kuwajima (Japan/Melange)

19 + 20 November 2003, 8 pm - midnight
The Spitz, 109 Commercial Street, Old Spitalfields Market, London E1 8BG
Tickets prices £8, £6 concession, £12 for both days
Box Office: 020 7392 9032
Info: info@sprawl.org.uk / www.sprawl.org.uk

B I O G R A P H I E S

ANDY VAZ (Düsseldorf)

Andy Vaz hails from Düsseldorf, Germany, the breeding ground of Kraftwerk. He runs Background Recordings, internationally acclaimed as being the most instrumental label to originate from Düsseldorf in the past decade with artists such as Sutekh, Jan Jelinek, Kit Clayton, Baby Ford and more. Andy has been a cornerstone of the German electronic music movement, providing a cultural conduit for electronic music, between Düsseldorf, San Fransisco, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, London, and countless other cities around the world. As the years have passed, house music and techno have fused, segregated, split and recombined in countless ways. Andy could not ignore his undeniable appreciation for the house movement and thus, decided to start two more labels in order to help facilitate the growing relationship between global house and techno music. The labels under Andy's belt include "ATC"

Andy Vaz has been putting out his own releases since 2001. His first 12", "Sounds Variation 1-1" was met with incredible international acclaim. His sound can be defined by the criteria of one's imagination constrained only by the definition of it being 4/4 based electronic music without following any clearly defined linear sound aesthetic or concept. All works simply defined by the criteria of re-use, recycling of same instrumentations, within the context of boundless compositional approaches.

BILL WELLS (Scotland)

Bill Wells is a musician who lives in Falkirk, Scotland. He has worked with a large variety of different artists such as Arab Strap, David Tibet, Belle and Sebastian, Harry Beckett, Kid Loco and numerous others. His recordings, both in collaboration and under his own name have been released on a number of different labels including Domino (The Bill Wells Octet vs Future Pilot AKA), Geographic (Incorrect Practice, Also in White), Textile (The Bill Wells Octet meets Lol Coxhill) and Creeping Bent. (Ghost of Yesterday with Isobel Campbell). Recent projects have included playing with the Pastels on their score to the soundtrack of David Mackenzie's 'The Last Great Wilderness' and a collaboration with Jad Fair, 'Whale' recently released on the 'Friends and Relatives' label.

IRIS GARRELFS (Germany/London)

German born Iris Garrelfs, is known for her emotive, improvised glitch-tech performances based around warped voice sounds. Classically trained, Iris employs various vocal techniques to achieve her stunning tapestry of voice, which is used in many layers, in its natural state and as a source sound. Iris performs solo as well as in collaboration with other soundartists, most recently with Robert Lippok (To Rococo Rot). Further collaborations include Kaffe Matthews, Scanner and Si-cut.db. A recent live performance at Glasgow's CCA will be released as part of the live 3" series by the Consume label, which also contains live sets by Kim Cascone and Toshimaru Nakamura. 2 of her tracks have been released on Bip_Hop Generation vs 6, whilst a remix for Tennis appears on the recent album Furlines on the same label.Together with Kaffe Matthews, Iris is working on sound pieces for a Dfuse instigated DVD project. Other recording collaborations include Scanner and Freeform, which is currently being re-released as part of the Bernt Friedman compiled and remixed Freeform compilation "Condensed" on Nonplace.

Iris is also active creating installations, Commissions have included multi-channel, site-specific sound pieces for the CCA Glasgow and Art at the Centre Reading. She has recently been commissioned to create an interactive audio-visual work around recycling issues for Watermans Artcentre. Together with Kaffe Matthews, Iris is involved with Field 61, most recently hosting a monthly radio show on London's soundart station Resonance FM.

As an outspoken person, Iris gets invited as a speaker and on panels at events In the UK and abroad. Iris has appeared on TV, for example and ARTE TV with Stockhausen in "Well Tempered Computer - Are Computers able to compose" and most recently on ITV's Mixmasters TV. This project has recently been released by Moonshine in the US and has received a nomination for Best Music DVD at the Dancestar Awards. In her other incarnations Iris has been abusing her extensive record collection in one of her radical mix-fests, for example at the ICA, Turnmills, 93 Feet East. As a photographer, Iris has been published by magazines such as The Wire, The Face, Muzik, Marie Claire, Spex, Keyboard Japan and others.

'It's somehow insanely cheerful from the word go. Driven by excellent rumbling lower mids the mildly trans-personal pacing, looping heartbeat at the core of the sound underpins quite a strong adherence to traditional musicality' (Sonic Arts Network about BitTonic live performance)

KUMO (JONO PODMORE, Germany/London)

Jono Podmore aka Kumo began to play the violin at the age of 10, and later the guitar. He studied electronic music at Middlesex University and by 1986, Jono was composing music for plays and TV. After a stay in Japan (where he continued his studies in Karate), he returned to London in 1990 to work as an engineer, producer and string arranger with artists such as Jamiroquai, The Shamen, Ian McCulloch, Robert Owens and Republica, amongst others. In 1997 under the name Kumo, he released his 1st and critically acclaimed solo album Kaminari.

Since the success of Kaminari with gigs and DJ commitments world-wide, he has worked closely with Irmin Schmidt and the entire Can family - most notably on Gormenghast, Schmidt's opera, the album Masters of Confusion and international touring as Irmin Schmidt and Kumo. He has also developed co-productions with Jose Padilla (Café del Mar), Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass), BJ Cole and Jaki Liebezeit. He has continued with his own solo work, and released a second album entitled 1+1=1 in Autumn 2000 on Spoon records, with live work in the U.K, Japan, Spain, Germany and France. A 3 track EP Kumo and Friends is now available on Electric Tones records. He currently splits his time between Köln and London.

MAPSTATION - Stefan Schneider (To Rococo Rot/Germany)

Mapstation is the solo project of Stefan Schneider, the melodic component in the modernist landscapes of Germany's To Rococo Rot. Mapstation's music is closer to minimalist techno, but even then Schneider can't help but bring a graceful glaze to the music, merging the euphoria of the genre together with charming slow-downs of pace and bpm. Minimal pulsing rhythms, fragile melodies and delicate sounds show a very intimate musical language simultaneously recalling Chain Reaction, Cluster and the new school of "clicks and cuts". Another dimension to Mapstation comes from the influence of recent Jamaican dancehall, with Schneider citing its incorporation of electronic sounds, and his own practise of mixing reggae acapella into his sets.

" We need people to trace the edges. It's important. And what's more, goddammit: It's lovely." (Sleazenation)

NIOBE (Germany/Sonig)

Niobe is the brainchild of Yvonne Cornelius, She presents us with a mysterious and surreal journey full of peculiar sounds, colourful arrangements and unusual vocals. In addition to producing this music, Cornelius also performs all of the vocal tracks. Her vocals are often filtered, sounding as if they were recorded usingold or cheap microphones, and the words are often cryptic and defy easy interpretation, acting more as textures than as signs. Her vocal style is built around "tongue sounds"; her voice wavers and quivers, contributing to an atmosphere of uneasy enchantment present throughout these songs. The instrumental arrangements, which open up in broad sweeps, are also inventive and unpredictable. Surprising sounds interrupt the flow of some unusual rhythms, synthesized, live or sampled instrumentation. From the rhythm of some very jolly bass bubbles in the first track to a mellow acoustic guitar loop in the closing number, Niobe takes you on a strange and dreamlike voyage with her unique and inventive sound. Yvonne Cornelius was born in Frankfurt and has been living in Cologne since 1994. For over a decade she has developed a uniquely individual approach to electronic production, as well as a style of singing ranging from diva-esque acrobatics to comic excess.

PORTABLE (South Africa/London)

Alan Abrahams, the man behind Portable, emerged out of the ruins of a post apartheid South Africa. Growing up in an impoverished Cape Town township, tagged "Beverly Hills" by the locals, Abrahams was always immersed in his sisters ritual of getting ready for a night out to a soundtrack of 80's soul, hi life and hip hop. Inspired by the first batch of Chicago house records, the foundations were laid for his future in music. Experimenting with ways of combining traditional African rhythms with the 4/4 sound of house, Abrahams completed various projects in South Africa. Most of which gave a commentary to the political turmoil of the country at the time. Abrahams inevitably became frustrated by the geographic isolation of the country and relocated to London in 1997. In the UK Abrahams went on to complete various releases for internationally recognised labels such as Context and Background Records before starting up his own label, Süd Electronic in 2002. As well as doing many of London's alternative spaces, Portable's live appearances have included a special Context night at Batofar in Paris; a spot in London with Farben, Juan Atkins and Andy Vaz; a micro tour of Japan with Background Records; and an appearance at The Kiosk in Frankfurt. Portable was also recently part of The Wire Magazines 20th birthday celebrations in Paris. A promotion of his forthcoming album "Cycling" will take him to Japan, Germany and France.

"Largely shorn of obvious tonal elements, it's a patchwork of fingernails on slate, rubber band twang, and electric fuzz, somewhere between Chicago House, Pole and William Basinski's shortwave radio collages. The Wire August 2002 on Futuristic Experiments 5, Backround records)

ROB FLINT (Scopac/London)

Rob Flint (aka scopac) is an artist who makes live visual works with musicians and sound performers. In addition to being a fulltime member of exploratory audiovisual group 'Ticklish', he has performed with Paul Hood, Toshimaru Nakamura, David Cunningham, Charles Hayward, and the High Llamas. Last year in London he performed 'the devil makes work' with Kev Hopper at the Hayward Gallery, and 'The Soap Bubble Set' in the 'Ether' festival at the Royal Festival Hall, with Steve Beresford, Tom Chant, DJ Food, and the Bohman brothers. He recently contributed a videowork in Germany for Barbara Morgenstern's 'Kleiner Ausschnitt' DVD on Monikavision.

RYOKO KUWAJIMA (Japan/London)

Ryoko Kuwajima is based in London, where she runs Melange, a label for videoart and experimental electronic music. In her work Ryoko utilises reproducing media, ie digital video and electronic sound. Her aim is to look at different methods of interaction between human thought patterns and technology. Pieces combine sampled material from existing video into collages with specifically produced sounds. The results are not video clips but organic audio-visual pieces with a meditative tech-flair.

SI-CUT.DB (London)

Douglas Benford aka si-cut.db has worked/remixed with Scanner, St Etienne, Andrew Weatherall, Moby's string outfit CHI2, Add N To X and more. He is also part of TENNIS, a co-project with Benge (Sub Rosa/Expanding) which has led to performances for Radio 3 Mixing It and the Tate Modern. Benford has remixed & produced Possset, Youth's Dub Trees, and Janek Schaefer and others. He is currently completing a collaborative project with another German artist, STEPHAN MATHIEU (Full Swing/Mille Plateaux). Benford is constantly impatient with his own sound, seeking to devolve it. He is a co-founder and director of Sprawl.

"excellent...startling...ambient acupuncture of the highest order" THE WIRE

TOM CHANT (Cinematic Orchestra/London)

Tom Chant started improvising in the early 1990's with people such as Maggie Nicols and John Bisset. At the same time he was recording music in a duo called The Sycophants for record labels such as Ninja Tune and Lo Recordings. Since then he has worked with many improvisers including Steve Noble, Veryan Weston, Rhodri Davis and Gail Brand while continuing to work with dance acts like Coldcut and DJ Vadim. He has appeared on the recordings 'Touch' and 'The Virtue of If' as a member of the Eddie Prévost Trio, 'Proceedings' and 'The Hearing Continues' as a member of the London Improvisers Orchestra and 'Motion' and 'Remixes' as a member of the Cinematic Orchestra.

VERT(Germany/London)

Adam Butler's mooseical life started at the age of 6, when he began to learn the piano. Two particular experiences have stayed with him - the music of Scott Joplin, and of Eric Satie. In particular, he recalls being upset and confused - but also fascinated - by a dissonant note that occurs in the last section of Satie's First Gymnopedie. Around the age of 14 he discovered electric guitars and skateboarding; that was the end of the piano lessons. Skaters don't listen to Satie, after all. But the dissonant note remained, and his first band, O, was psychedelic grindcore with bizarre guitar tunings. Their first gig was reviewed by John Peel, who announced "I like this band". Unfortunately, that was also their last gig.

After a short stay in Paris, he moved to London studying Philosophy. In 1996, Bovinyl Vert's Broken Breakbeat and Butler returned to University to study Computer Science. In 1998 he was recalled from early retirement by Jan Werner from Mouse on Mars, who contacted him for their fledgeling Sonig label. Vert's first Sonig release was the Mewantemooseic 12", the launch party of which was the performance which became The Köln Konzert. - a live deconstruction of Keith Jarrett's piece, for piano and electronics - was released in 2000 to critical acclaim (The Wire listed it as one of their albums of the year).

2001 saw the release of Nine Types of Ambiguity, his first "normal" album. The New York Times described his mooseic as "like the tape music of the composer Otto Luening or John Cage's compositions for toy piano", while LuckyKitchen.com preferred to compare it to "Jan Hammer's funny little pre-techno anthems".

Vert toured Japan, Europe and the USA with Mouse on Mars in Spring/Summer 2001, and upon returning home promptly moved to Cologne. He spent the next year and a half trying to make sense of that single dissonant note, and exploring the phenomenon of emergence, eventually releasing the fruits of this research - Small Pieces Loosely Joined - in Summer 2003 on Sonig. Currently Adam Butler is working on his next Sonig release, and initiating an open source software project That will provide new possibilities for realtime midi processing.

CINEFEEL

Cinefeel was established in 1995 to promote the work of young filmmakers, digital artists and artists working in new electronic music. Since its inception the organisation has programmed for major festivals, events and venues worldwide, including the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the ICA, The Montreal Festival of New Cinema and New Media, Sonar in Barcelona, the BBC British Short Film Festival's 'Shooting From The Hip' and more. In London, with Addictive TV, Cinefeel organise 'The Audiovisual Lounge', mixing film, digital art, electronic music and music videos from accomplished and emerging talent.

SPRAWL

Underground sonic playhouse Sprawl showcases the more adventurous of today's technology inspired musicians and artists via live events and releases on the Sprawl imprint. Events include monthly surgeries at the Lifthouse in Farringdon and festivals at other venues, for example Tate Modern and the ICA. Over the past 7 years both have featured a wide range of artists, such as Talvin Singh, Scanner, Vladislav Delay, Kaffe Mathews and countless more. "the future of music" (EVENING STANDARD)

An nrw@uk project supported by the Goethe-Institut London and the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Culture and Sport NRW