[ISEA95] Artists Statement: Eric Rosenzveig, Phil Giborski, Willy LeMaitre, Dan Farrell, Philip Food, Saynho Namtchylak, Barry Guy, Randy Raine-Reusch & Slava Egorov — Fleabotics

Artists Statement

Electronic Cabaret Performance

Fleabotics is a spontaneously generated narrative in the tradition of free improvisation. They create a hypermedia drama through live video projections, onscreen text, electronic and acoustic musics. The improvised narrative unfolds by the graces of the players’ inter-wired media, the audiences’ attentions shifting from the created art to the creators themselves. The show was selected as a keynote event at this year’s International Computer Music Conference (Banff Center, Sept. 4th).

Fleabotics — Hypermedia improvisations for a group instrument: a peopled body and its collected brain, is a spontaneously generated narrative, articulates from the playground, elaborating the political metaphor inherent in the tradition of free improvisation. The instant cinema is shaped by all performers: contributing to the visual realm through MIDI controlled lighting, video mixing and switching, motorized character control and improvising on screen subtext. A feedback loop is effected by the images themselves playing music via the ‘Very Nervous System’.

With the assistance of: The Canada Council-Media Arts, Canada Council-Touring Office, Banff Centre of the Arts, Midivox, Eastside Wondertree Independant Elementary School of Vancouver.

  • Eric Rosenzveig (Canada) is founding member and guitarist of the trio FAT. Between 1987 and 1991, he worked exclusively with the group while living in Europe. He has aspired to an uncompromising aesthetic vision while learning to write, tour, record and produce his own music internationally. Since 1982, the trio (Phil Giborski drums, Jeff Noble electric bass, and Rosenzveig on electric guitar) has recorded six albums and toured in Europe, Canada, the US and Morocco.
  • Phil Giborski, Canada. With the electric improv trio Fat (as co-founder) and through the Screen trio, this intuitive and instinctive drummer studies ritual music, using MIDI and computer to create sounds from his travels and studies of Mexican, Moroccan, Javanese and Balinese influence. With Fat, he has released five albums for ReR, Megaphone and Sultan N’Joum records.
  • Willy LeMaitre, Canada. This multimedia artist presently uses the live camera in performance as a means of integrating his painting practice with the time-based spontaneity of improvised music. He has exhibited and performed in Germany and Czechoslovakia and with the group Roughage, in Montreal, Toronto, Tokyo and Kyoto, using paintings, photography, films, video and/or live performances.
  • Dan Farrell (Canada) is a Vancouver-based poet, author of Ape and Thinking of You, (Tsunami Editions) and co-editor of Boo
    Magazine.
  • Philip R. Food (USA) [the ISEA95 Book of Abstracts mentions “Phil Foodveyor Bonner, Canada”] This visual assistant has been performing in live video for over five years, both in New York and San Francisco with Lord Knows Compost, 77Hz, and ESMP. He also breeds tropical cockroaches.
  • Saynho Namtchylak was born in Tuva, South Siberia, a region neighbouring Mongolia. This vocalist is often called “the voice of Asian Russia”, capable of expressing nuance, emotion and drama using all the possibilities of he human voice without words. Her radical extended techniques are augmented by the traditional multi-phonic overtone singing of her homeland. Presently based in Vienna, she has worked with Peter Brotzmann, Ned Rothenberg, Andreas Vollenweider and can be heard on some ten albums.
  • Barry Guy, UK. His innovative double bass work is renowned in the fields of jazz, free improvisation, solo recitals, chamber and orchestral performances both as player and composer. He regularly performs with Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, the Evan Parker trio and as leader of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra. His work can be heard on some fifty albums.
  • Randy Raine-Reusch (Canada) is virtuoso on dozens of traditional folk instruments. He has studied and performed widely throughout Europe, North America and Asia, playing Salvadoran ocarinas, Hawaiian ichigenkin, Thai, Chinese and Guinean mouth organs, Australian didgeridoos and more. He is a founding member of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.
  • Slava Egorov (Russia) is a professional musician, technician and soundman He is a former member of Aquarium and co-producer of their 14 albums. In the 1980’s, Aquarium was the Soviet Union’s largest selling music group. He has also worked as sound engineer and musician with Brian Eno, David Byrne and others.