We Can Elude Control

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    Mon, Jan 12, 2009, 09:15
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  • Regis, Scorn, Secondo and Sleeparchive all contribute to an ambient collection, due for release later this week.
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  • Regis, Scorn, Secondo and Sleeparchive have all contributed to a specially commissioned release entitled We Can Elude Control. The project was conceived and curated by Paul Purgas, who at the time was the director of Bristol's Arnolfini art space. Originally, the works were only going to be aired at two audio/visual live shows in both Bristol and London, but now an edited version of the Bristol performance will see a the light of day on CD later this month. Fans of the aforementioned artists may be surprised with the results of the commission (which was partly funded by the Arts Council of England), though, as there isn't a kick drum throughout its entire duration. Mick Harris (Scorn) and Karl O'Connor (Regis) collaborate on their effort, which is full of buzzes, hisses and eerie tones, whereas Radovan Scasascia plumps for a lush, unravelling track with heavy use of delay. The relative calm of these two pieces is broken by Roger Semsroth (Sleeparchive), who goes down more of an industrial route with his composition. Eager listeners can catch a glimpse of Semsroth's live performance from the London show here. The compilation is limited to 400 copies, and is housed in an unmarked black plastic envelope. Not exactly the easiest thing to pick out when you're in your record shop, but eager buyers will be able to purchase it from Boomkat's online store as early as next week. A more widespread release is set to follow, with dates yet to be confirmed. We caught up with We Can Elude Control's curator Paul Purgas to discuss the project:
    How did the idea for the project come about? At the time I was based at Arnolfini, another gallery in Bristol. We had recently progammed Radovan performing as AM/PM and I was very inspired by Tate Modern's Extreme Economy in Electronic Music event which featured Robert Henke and Ryoji Ikeda. Hence, I started to consider what was possible in terms of commissioning new work for a gallery context. At the same time I met Roger Semsroth who was performing as Sleeparchive in the city, and he was discussing different ideas he was working and alternative ways of presenting electronic music. After some further exchanges, the project kept developing to its final form. How did the artists co-ordinate their projects with the visual artists? The intention of WCEC was ultimately to be as artist-led as possible, so I therefore tried not to lay down any hard and fast rules that could restrict working practices or inhibit development. Instead the musicians, visual artists and designers were encouraged to develop the best strategies and working models for themselves. In the case of Roger Semsroth and Karl Kliem, they had previously performed together so their collaboration was an extension of an existing working relationship and line of enquiry. Equally Radovan, Tommei and Laurent had all collaborated previously on projects relating to his label Dreck, so the live graphics programming was an extension of that working model. In the case of Joanie Lemecier working with Karl and Mick, that was a relationship that was set up and they developed their creative exchange from scratch. It was a process of just seeing what worked best for the different commissions. Did you always have a physical release in mind when doing the shows? Intially we didn't, but as I discussed it with various funders, the potential for communicating a site specific project to a wider audience became more relevant. It felt like it would be an exciting way of giving the project an after life, and would allow audiences beyong Bristol and London to engage with the project, all be it in its archival form. Do you have any plans for more events like this? It's definitely something I'm thinking about. I've always been very interested in the relationship between visual art and electronic music, and thankfully due to publications like Frieze and The Wire, audiences are becoming more willing to accept these connections. Perhaps it will be in a different form, but I'm certain there will be some tangible connection to WCEC. I'm already working on a new gallery show that is exploring the notions of technology as an anti-progressive medium, and there is already some electronics pencilled in, so the two are never too far apart with me.
    Tracklist 01. Karl O'Connor & Mick Harris 02. Radovan Scasascia 03. Roger Semsroth We Can Elude Control will be released through Baked Goods on January 16th, 2009.
RA