Season 1 Archive
Missed Rational Rec's Season 1? Where were you? See what you missed or relive our 05/06 glory days below.
4 July 2006
The Rational Rec Gala Musical Finale
Prequel
Igor Stravinsky - Tango
Darius Milhaud - Kentuckiana
Steve Reich - Piano Phase
Music for 2 pianos performed by Plus Minus members Roderick
Chadwick & Mark Knoop.
A classic of early minimalism, in Piano Phase (1967) the two pianists begin by repeating a rapid figure in unison. One player continues while the other slowly speeds up until they converge, at which point a new figure is introduced and the process begins again.
More information at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Phase
Intermission
Randy Newman - Sail Away
Performed by Joe Seamons.
James Saunders - 040706
Performed by Plus Minus with guests John Lely and
Tim Parkinson.
Since 2000 all of Saunders work has been devoted to the project titled #[unassigned], where he overlays short pieces in different combination. A unique version is prepared specifically for each individual performance.
Plus Minus is an Anglo/Belgium octet committed to avant-garde, improvisational, and experimental open instrumentation pieces such as Stockhausen's 1963 classic, from which the group takes its name.
More information at www.james-saunders.com and www.plusminusensemble.com
During the breaks, we held our American Independance
Day celebratory watermelon seed spitting competition, with top prizes.
6 June 2006
Irrational Reels Film Night
The first annual Rational Rec film night
Presented by Russell Martin
If those cheeky Victorian rational recreationalists had invented film, we're pretty sure they'd have screened some. So we will. Come along and eat popcorn and cake, join in the Sean Connery and Alfred Hitchcock quizzes and enjoy a night in with a DVD at Rational Rec.
We will be screening:
Chameleon
Laura Malacart
www.daniellearnaud.com/laura%20malacart.htm
A woman is able to escape from the confinement of a domestic jungle in the
only way she knows how: through the flicker of her own eyes.
Edgar Hinton's Fun Park
Joanna Callaghan
www.joannacallaghan.co.uk
Ever dreamed of working in TV? Heres your chance to find out how it really
works. Your behind the scenes guide in how to make a television program.
Control Group
Richard Squires
www.richardsquires.net
A woman stands at the end of a hallway, an egg in one hand, balloon in the
other. A man dreams he is sleeping next to the victim of a particularly virulent
form of scabies. A woman receives a nighttime visitor with a rash on his
neck. A dog's anus becomes a hypnotic communicator.
Entr'acte
René Clair
Premiered as entr'actes (interludes) for the ballet Relâche in 1924.
This short film was directed by René Clair with the music for both
the ballet and the film composed by Erik Satie, the last music he composed.
The cast includes cameo appearances of Francis Picabia, Erik Satie, Man Ray
and Marcel Duchamp. Live musical accompaniment by Mark
Knoop.
Pianist, accordionist and conductor Mark Knoop has performed with Ensemble
Modern, ELISION, Plus-Minus, Expose and is co-artistic director of the Libra
Ensemble.
See: www.markknoop.com
Swinging a loaf of bread around my head
Dave Ball
www.daveballartist.co.uk
BLOCK
Emily Richardson
www.emilyrichardson.org.uk
Day through night BLOCK is a portrait of a 1960’s London tower block,
it’s interior and exterior spaces explored and revealed, patterns of
activity building a rhythm and viewing experience not dissimilar from the
daily observations of the security guard sat watching the flickering screens
with their fixed viewpoints and missing pieces of action.
What it looks like when two years pass you by and it feels like
two seconds
David Brazier
Then we rounded the night off with some disco dancing...
Tuesday 2 May 2006
RATIONAL LO-TEC
Curated by Ansuman Biswas, interdisciplinary artist and musician
A Quiet Night Out while Rational Rec unplugged
A lesson in how to listen cut loose from the National Grid. No electricity, just pure entertainment with zero fossil fuels and maximum emissions. A cross between Neolithic shamanism and Nissen Hut music hall, Pre-Edisonian memory and post-apocalyptic vision.
************************************************************
With sets from:
Marcia Farquhar, in Bisto Legs - revisited some of the bright spots of the dark days of WWII. From stained legs to sausage meat ducks, with cheerful resourcefulness in the face of lack, Marcia and a bevy of lovelies conjured bunker spirit from a candlelit world.
Opal Lorbin - some piano tunes you may be able to hear.
Mark Espiner - a chorus of voices out of the pitch black.
Mervyn Millar - the cinema at the end of the world
Rodhri Davies - playing his harp in unimaginable ways.
Richard Wilson - intervening in the fabric of the room.
Kazuko Hohki - giving a demonstration of her BINstruments
Helena Goldwater - inviting us to enjoy a few minutes of watery intimacy with her.
Jem Finer - DJ on a hand-cranked sound system with old 78’s heard through the iconic HMV horn. A soundtrack for when the lights have gone out and there¹s nothing left to burn.
Bohman & Paolini - surreal conversation and inane garden shed tinkering.
Aaron Williamson and Simon Raven as flamboyant, exhibitionist anti-singer and skulking keyboard player - ‘The Cattleprods’, the world¹s first synth duo to play without electricity.
And 'Drinking Songs', a convivial, communal percussion piece for raised glasses.
Tuesday 4 April 2006
We'll
Count You
FIRST SET
Emmett Wiliams -- Counting Song (Louise - with raisins, ca. 50)
Lois V Vierk -- Go Guitars (Tom - electric guitar & tape)
Gerhard Rühm -- '12! Ein Zahlengedicht' (David - poem)
Audience -- counting games
David Helbich -- aldinorm, table-tennis, aldidivers (David - toy-piano & tape)
SECOND SET
Three counts in 3 languages (Louise+Tom+David)
Counting duett by T. Johnson (Tom+David)
David Helbich -- Hallo 2-5 (Tom - guitar & air-guitar)
THIRD SET
Questionnaire (Louise) : see below
David Helbich -- schnipsen (David - body performance)
Helmut Oehring -- 'Foxfire Eins "Natriumpentothal"' (Tom - guitar).
David Helbich -- klatschen zählen (David+Tom)
Russian Doll demonstation (Louise)
Ryan Miglavs -- magic tricks with rope
Tom Johnson -- Counting duet III (Tom and Matthew Shlomowitz)
The Questionnaire: Louise asked the following questions to the audience and recorded the results:
- How many men? 28.
- How many women? 26.
- How many wore glasses? 24.
- How many liked contemporary classical music? 27.
- How many had had sex in the past week? 9.
- How many were foriegners? 32.
- How many liked contemporary classical music and had had sex in the past week?
3.
- How many wore thongs? 4.
- How many liked contemporary classical music, had had sex in the past week, and used sexual tools? 0.
THE CALCULATORS
Tom Pauwels (Belgium, b.1974), guitarist and artistic advisor of Ictus, and
also plays with Plus-Minus, Black Jackets Company and Elastic 3. He teaches
at the Conservatory of Gent.
David Helbich (Germany, 1973) studied composition with Mathias Spahlinger in Freiburg. In addition to composing music, he works on installations, choreography, photography and conceptual art, primarily collaborating with live-artist Shila Anaraki.
Louise Baduel (France, 1984), dancer and choreographer, finishes this year her studies at p.a.r.t.s./Brussels.
Friday 3 March 2006
Whitechapel Art Gallery
A special evening hosted by Whitechapel Art Gallery. Rational Rec decamped from the Working Men's Club for one night only as a part of the Whitechapel's Friday Late Nights season.
Helmet Lachenmann, "Salut für Cauldwell"
for
2 speaking guitarists.
Performed by members of asamisimasa - Anders Førisdal and Håkon
Stene
Phil Niblock, "The Movement of People Working"
for video
and ensemble). Performed by Plus Minus ensemble
Just a Fucking Minute
Based on the popular
quiz show on BBC Radio 4
Complimentary drinks for one with live artist Laura Malacart
Two-minute lecture-performances by composer Alex Hills and guitarist Anders Førisdal.
Surrealist-inspired textual, visual and musical hands-on activities. supervised by Emma Lipp.
Magic with Ryan Miglavs.
7 February 2006
Rational
Fete
See some images of Rational Fete
Inspired by Buckminster Fuller's hopes for an open university, curated by John Lely.
A simultaneous panoply of performances, stalls, sounds, lectures, tasty bites, games and more.
Featuring:
Bristol Art Library (head librarian Annabel Other)
Talks in the Lecture Theatre -
Jade Hamilton on Bio-Dynamic Farming
Peter Lely shows photographs of London Then and Now
Tom Perchard on The History of Verulamium
Music and performance stalls-
Ian Stonehouse - Museum of Fruit Wrapping
Tim Parkinson - sonic something
John White - PT-30 Cross-Talk
Matt Wright - Private Disco
UNST collective
Seth Kim-Cohen - something sonic involving a paper bag
Pedro Gomez-Egana - join the dots
Food from Seymour and Paula Wright
A Raffle!
The evening will end with music for dancing from Matt Wright.
10 January 2006
The Rational Review
Programmed by Cecilia Wee
19.00-20.00
1st public airing of Jonathan Lely’s Launch of the
Red Bird
www.johnlely.dsl.pipex.com
20.00-20.30
Rees Archibald sound/film installation
www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/destech/artfash/muma/ra_cv.htm
21.00-21.30
The Rational Review debate – see below
22.00-22.30
Genital Panic music performance
22.30-23.00
music to dance to from 2005
The Rational Review debate
With:
- Michael Connor (Head of Exhibitions, bfi) - www.thousandsofcolors.com/2005/11/michael_connor.html
- Sacha Craddock (art writer, curator, judge of BBC’s
Art School) - www.braziersworkshop.org/sacha.html
- Kenny Schachter (gallerist) - www.rovetv.net
- Tom Service (the Guardian, Radio 3) - www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/presenters/tom_service.shtml
Chaired by Cecilia Wee (‘New Art on Mondays’ Resonance
FM) – www.resonancefm.com
What cultural thing or event from 2005 would you most like to applaud,
damn or question?
On Tuesday 10th January 2006, Rational Rec invites you to The Rational Review,
a chance to discuss the burning artistic issues of 2005. The Rational
Review will give you the opportunity to discuss the burning artistic topics
of 2005. The Rational Review live debate is the centre-piece of a night incorporating
sound art, installation, discussion, performance and music from 2005. Nominate
your favourite, most despised or most challenging art work or cultural thing
of 2005. No media or content excluded. We want to know what you think has
made the most impact on artistic life in 2005.
To take part in the debate, email cecilia@rationalrec.org.uk by
Monday 9th January 2006 with nominations for:
1) your favourite cultural happening / object of 2005
2) your least favourite cultural happening / object of 2005
3) the most puzzling cultural happening / object of 2005
Nominate for one category or all three. All nominations will be randomly picked for discussion at the Rational Review debate
6
December 2005
Anton Lukoszevieze
See some images of Rational Fete
I talk to the trees
Set 1
Cello solo by Laurence Crane – Raimondas Rumsas
Film by Anton Lukoszevieze - Score
Set 2
Films by Anton Lukoszevieze:
Make Fake Paik
Bird Sentence
Tree Sounding
Cello solo by Malcolm Goldstein – Ashi Man Waxati Soundings
Anton Lukoszevieze in conversation with Cecilia Wee
Set 3
Cello solo by Christopher Fox – Arc
Fluxus performances:
Kosugi – Micro 1
Nam June Paik – 1 for Violin Solo
Alison Knowles – These Shoes (with members of the audience)
Cellist Anton Lukoszevieze plays avant-garde, experimental and improvised music, makes films and photographs, and directs the ensemble Apartment House. As a soloist, he has performed at the Bath, Huddersfield, Oxford New Music, Sonorities, LMC and Aldeburgh Festivals and at numerous international festivals in Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine, Slovakia, Canada, Belgium, France and the USA.
See www.kettlesyard.co.uk/music/fellow_m.html
1
November 2005
Music Gala no.1
See some images of Music Gala no.1
Tim Parkinson: Two Cardboard Boxes
Performed by Tim Parkinson and Matthew Shlomowitz
www.untitledwebsite.com
butterflyCut
butterflyCut is an experimental laptop music duo comprised
of Tom Hall and Sam Hayden. Their approach to live music-making
encompasses technical as well as musical collaboration achieved using real-time
synthesis software on linked computers. Each performer is thus able to influence
some of the musical output of the other's software, working autonomously
but interconnectedly.
www.ludions.com/bfct.html
Fucked Up Karaoke
With live accompaniment by Mark Knoop on keyboards - www.markknoop.com
Nick Goode
Busking between sets
4
October 2005
FUNDRAISING GALA PREMIERE OPENING MUSIC NIGHT
For the launch of Rational Rec Season 1.
Performances by:
- Kirsten Le Strange (Toovey - Lament, Strathspey, Reel)
- Simon Bookish (www.simonbookish.com)
- Mark Knoop (Ives - Sonata No 1, fourth movement)
- Aloi (www.aloi.org.uk)
Background piano sets by Mark Knoop, Roderick Chadwick and Kerry Yong.
Included the Grand Prize Raffle and a recreation of the famous 6 Degrees of Separation mail experiment.