Mick Raubenheimer
Edge Of Wrong is SA’s longest-running experimental music festival, dreamed up and manifested by Norwegian Morten Minothi Kristiansen whilst studying at UCT in 2006. Entering its second decade as a meeting space for weird fresh musics, Edge of Wrong (hereafter EOW, a near onomatopoeiac acronym) 2017 continues bringing curious folk together, on stage and off, to explore different angles and undulations of musical im/possibility.
Weird, fresh musics
Last year’s highlights included Horns Noise dropping jaws all everywhere with their masterfully looming presence; the trio seeming to be a crackling distillation of some larger band or entity, horns lumbering then crashing through their own sonic undergrowth, renting unexpected images into one’s fields of hearing.
Highlights abounded, as it were – there was founder Morten Minothi’s unbearably visceral orchestra of noise, bashing and bleeding from his trembling laptop, Aragorn Eloff’s sound choreography, where the musical phrases and fractals emitting from his laptop were conducted by dancer/puppetmaster Amantha23’s impromptu movements. There was spiritual co-founder Righard Kapp’s long-form coaxing of four guitar effects pedals (sans guitar) into unexpected, revelatory harmony; the haunted cinema of Helo Samo’s ambient musings, and the interweaving, melancholy improvisation of Gunfire Orchestra, comprising four highly innovative and experimental guitarists on three guitars, a computer, and a Khayelitsha skyline.
Unexpected settings – sonically, philosophically, geographically
Setting is a considered aspect of EOW. Essentially an exploration of what constitutes music, and champion of persons and groups that experiment with its boundaries and possibilities, EOW invites attendees into unexpected settings – sonically, philosophically and geographically. An evening can be set underneath a busy overpass where the flow and starts of traffic and other environmental noises inform performances, a set can be arranged around incidental or explicit audience participation, or an ‘obvious’ gigging space can be infiltrated by a merry, vandalizing soiree.
This year’s EOW kicks off at Amuse Cafe – a friendly space in Linden, Jozi, known for good food and beautiful atmosphere, which oft caters improvised art of all shapes and seizures. Expect happy noise – Minothi unveils his MONOMORT situation, “I use guitars sometimes, as feedbackers. Also to execute a riff, or get a slow doom vibe going. Otherwise it’s pedals connected wrong and creating internal feedback on a mixer. Plus I make my own software that makes my computer hurt and heat up.”
Also up are Healer Oran, Datsrok and Thomas Holme (the latter two are from Norway). Says Holme: “The project that I am bringing to EOW is Terms of Endearment, which is a noise project with poetic quotes randomly running in the background. I use a contact mic with effects running through a laptop, and the poetry is text to speech samples.”
The Capetonic legs kick off, prettily appropriately, with the deft pianistic precision of our very own Jill Richards (whom books should be written about, of, and for!) – Jill is an anomaly of sorts: Ruthlessly exact in her pianistic temperament, she explores the most dangerous of scores and humours the most fearsome tangents of improvisation with a flurry of sonic smiles. She’s kiff.
Also up at the Bijou are the duo of Coila Enderstein and Daniel Grey, the lovely electronic explorer Daniel Mackenzie [UK], a short film, Dolly Turing [UK] and one of my very favourite musical situations, Khoi Khonnexion – representing the deepest sonic soil our continent is structured around.
Transisting the new
Also intriguing is the new ensemble RISK, a large freeform band that promises the unexpected, and perhaps the outfit most associated with EOW, in terms of appearances and musical philosophy, As Is, will be performing with two guests. Brand new to EOW is the exciting vinyl press Contour Vinyl, which aims to “make vinyl accessible. To encourage creative explorations of this unique medium. To discover and release interesting artists on our in-house label.”
Elaborates co-founder Aragorn Eloff: “Lathe-cutting vinyl is an artisanal, real-time process that’s suited to very small runs of 1-50 copies, meaning that artists with less money – or who don’t need hundreds of copies of their music – can release records. Small quantities also encourage creativity: releases can be packaged and presented as unique artworks, for instance, and it’s easier to release more innovative and experimental music that wouldn’t sell in large quantities. Lathe-cutting also opens up some interesting new possibilities: collective member Aragorn23, whose music is generated using algorithmic processes, is able to cut unique variations of each composition onto each copy of the records he releases, meaning that no two people will every hear exactly the same piece of music. And, of course, releasing music on vinyl is a wonderful indulgence that’s far more fun that most other things people do to pay the rent.” Records will be available at the fest.
This year’s line-up looks excellent and intriguing as always! Expect the unexpected! See the link for the line-up, and click into their FB space for clips, pics, and general exciting data and EOWness.
What: Edge of Wrong 2017
Who, Where, when:
– Jill Richards, Coila Enderstein/Daniel Grey, Daniel Mackenzie [UK], Darkroom Contemporary (short film), DATSROK (Kenneth Korstad Langås, noise) [Norway], Dolly Turing [UK], Khoi Khonnexion at The Bijou, 178 Lower Main Rd, Cape Town, Thurs 27 April, 8pm
– Aragorn23, RISK (lliezelellick, nonentia, choir, four drummers), As Is – Didi Didloff/Vasti Knoesen, Belinda Blignaut/Jacques van Zyl, Cara Stacey/Hanan Benammar [Norway] – at The Bijou, 178 Lower Main Rd, Cape Town, Fri, 28 April, 8pm
– Justin Allart/Thomas Holme [Norway], Gareth Dawson/Rhea Dally, Jason Stapleton, Lucy Hazard (projection to audio by Justin Allart), Chantelle Gray/Anastasya Eliseeva, MORKEN [Norway], Sat, 29 April 8pm – at The Common Room, 135 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town
– Afterparty at The Common Room, DJ’ing by 3EYE, Violet Beausoleil/Kenneth Angerhand [UK/SA/UZ], Sat, 29 April.
Official line-up: https://www.facebook.com/edgeofwrong/?fref=ts
Workshop: https://www.facebook.com/brendon.bussy/posts/10210629248181825?pnref=story
WS
