Feet on the floor

Published on November 30, 2007

Cutting-edge technology and music meet in "Inter Action: Art In Motion", an event that is being promoted as a full-blown electronic show with a massive screen, stylish installation and groovy music.

For the concert series, computer maker Hewlett Packard is asking multimedia artists to take its laptop to new heights on a six-city party tour, with shows in Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai. For the Bangkok show, the party is taking place at 808 on Royal City Avenue, the new club emerging from Club Astra's ashes.

"This is one of the most full-blown electronic shows I've seen organised here," says Denis Hemakom, event organiser and manager at 808. "We all saw the unique potential of this show. Usually, there is one really strong act, but in this case we have three amazing international acts along with two of Bangkok's finest talents."

The spacious club will be panelled with massive projectors on three walls, equipped with quality sound and light system, Denis says. "Really, this is like a concert and IMAX movie rolled into one."

Apart from Bangkok's Ketsue and Invert Soul, the multi-sensorial show features the Berlin design collective Pfadfinderei. Its eight designers, VJs, artists and typographers produce media combination from their different styles, ranging from graphics, photo realism, image video, logos, room design, visual effects, print folders to fonts. They have worked for brands like Adidas, Levi Strauss and Nokia.

Using Apple computers, the HP's Dragon multimedia laptop and Modul8, the group is planning to feed the audience with gigantic, full-fledged graphics and pictures.

"Mostly we do live shows, that means we perform the visuals live," explains the mash-up expert in an e-mail interview. "You can imagine it as a visual jazz session - two or three people trigger their individual motifs they consider to fit to the played music. These three layers get composed together in order to create the final live mix where every note is represented. The key is always the human himself and the spontaneous reaction on the music. We like coincidences."

With more emphasis on aesthetic narrative rather concrete storytelling, Pfadfinderei transcends boundaries and integrates their works with any kinds of music whether it's rock, electronica or classical music. As far as you can see and hear, any mash is doable.

"The challenge of it is to reinvent yourself every time. It is nice to find a visual line that fits to classical music - you can put completely different content than you can on anything. This time in Bangkok, We will do a live panoramic installation. The content will focus on liquid colours, hands, reduced vector graphics and much spontaneous decisions." With their cutting-edge installation, UK groovy duo Coldcut and hip-hop DJ Nu-Mark from California will be integrating their tunes.

Innovative electronica duo Coldcut, consisting of former art teacher Jon More and programmer Matt Black, was formed in late '80s and have been building their DJ reputation on the rave and house party scene. Their first collaboration in 1987, the single "Say Kids, What Time Is It?" which determined their relationship as a group, became the UK's first sample-built record. The duo redefined "remix" with their acclaimed "Paid In Full" originally by Eric B and Rankim where they cut and pasted Israeli singer Ofra Haza's vocals, making the track a worldwide classic. In 1990 Coldcut won BFI's Producer of the Year Award and their debut album "What's That Noise?" went silver. Cutting and pasting, Coldcut broaden their sphere to digital interactivity and experimental multimedia. With Rob Pharrell, Coldcut began developing toys and art installation pieces for computer games, art galleries and clubs all over the UK.

For over a decade, DJ Nu-Mark has been among hip-hop's most respected DJs and producers. Known widely for his membership in the group Jurassic 5, Nu-Mark is also recognised for his works, "What's Golden" and "Work It Out", featuring Dave Matthews.

He ties a rubber band to the turntable's needle to create an upright bass and sometimes would tap on the turntable's cover to intensify the bass drum sound. His eclectic mix of soul, funk and hip-hop as well as his energetic live act make him a superstar that never fails to keep the crowd jumping.

The multimedia DJ spinning show Inter Action: Art in Motion starts at 9pm on Tuesday at 808 (formerly Club Astra) on Royal City Avenue. Register for free pass at hpinteraction.com by Monday. Tickets at the door cost Bt500. Patrons must

be 18 or older.

Manta Klangboonkrong