Sonisk Selskap 2024

Sustained Vibrations - 11th - 13th April

Musicians (residency and concert):

Amund Nordstrøm - Trommer / perk

Anders Hannevold - Organetto

Daiyen Jone - Fløyte & elektronikk

Feronia Wennborg - Fiolin & elektronikk

Sergej Tchirkov - Trekkspill

Tijs Ham (Sonic Sheriff) - Elektronikk & DIY celo

Dancers from ImproLaBergen:

Ine Terese Hogstad

Malin Nøss Vangsnes

Monica Reksten

Ewa Lorenc

Roskva Yasmin Andersen

Eik Leknesund Elnes

Katja Nyqvist

Guest: Veronica Robles Thorseth

Choreographic score:

Monica Reksten and Veronica Robles Thorseth

Live painting:

Mariano Pignatiello

Crew:

Sound Engineer - Mathias Grønsdahl

Assistant Sound Engineer - Priscilla Alejandra Miranda Navas

Cameras (dance and painting) - Øystein Nesheim

Streaming & video-over-network - Andreas Lassen

Camera (concert) - Nils J Nesse

Technical Director - Leo Preston

This was the sixth edition of Sonisk Selskap in Wrap’s AV Lab. The three day studio residency was led by Tijs Ham and recorded by Mathias Grønsdahl. The last day culminated in a 30 minute improvised multi-media concert (on the 13th of March) with dance improvisation by dancers from ImproLaBergen in two different rooms, and live painting/performance by visual artist Mariano Pignatiello. The dancers performed in the canteen and in the Big Project Room, and Mariano Pignatiello was stationed in the Paint & Polymers workshop.

The ensemble was put together by Ham, based on encounters and acquaintances from his recent PhD in Artistic Research at the Grieg Academy, as well as his involvement with nyMusikk Bergen. As the ensemble came together, he identified the theme of sustain, which inspired the title (and a theme) for this edition of Sonisk Selskap, Sustained Vibrations. This led further to discussions with our appointed Sound Designer and Engineer, Mathias Grønsdahl, who has extensive experience in working with very extended reverbs and pitched reverbs. Based on these discussions, it was decided that we would implement a quadraphonic speaker configuration, and that Grønsdahl would work in the same room as the musicians, which enabled him to create a more immersive mix, playing with creative spatial techniques.

Having the sound engineer in the same room as the musicians, and using a quadraphonic sound system, was a break from previous Sonisk Selskap tradition which created a different atmosphere. However, there was also a parallel mixing position in Studio A (using Grønsdahl's own modular Avid VENUE mixer system) which enabled Assistant Sound Engineer, Priscilla Navas, to control the mix for the livestream and other rooms at Wrap, from a neutral (isolated) listening position.

The dancers used scores by M Veronica L Robles Thorseth, and Monica Reksten, for improvisations in the canteen and in the Big Project Room.

Mariano Pignatiello, who also painted the mural in Wrap's long corridor, was installed in the Paint and Polymers workshop, where he could paint a very large canvas on the floor, which was filmed/streamed by a camera mounted in the ceiling. Sound was distributed to all the rooms with dancers and painting, using Wrap's dLive mixer system, and sound-over-network infrastructure, and video was streamed from cameras in all these rooms to three projectors in Studio B where the musicians were, as well as to Andreas Lassen, who made the live stream.

Recording was done simultaneously on two separate platforms for backup as well as for the simplicity of having files in appropriate formats for Logic Pro and for Pro Tools.