Electric Light Orchestra Manoeuvres in the Dark.
Live video performance:
Physical objects placed between a camera and a light source are used to adjust the wave-shape of the video signal which doubles up as the audio signal. Stuck to an ELO record the lights both flash and revolve, rhythmically shifting between harmonics of the PAL 50hz humm.
Below, performing for the first time at Feedback: Visual Howl and Reflexive Music with a program of films curated by Rob Gawthrop for Hull Film. I hadn’t realised at that time that I could just split the video cable, and so had 2 cameras - one to send to the TV and another to send to the projector, so there isnt quite as much contrast as I might have liked, please excuse the bad encoding for youtube.
And below, playing at Bent 2008 LA, playing on some beautiful box monitors that the venue (and my temporary digs) had just rescued from a guy who apparently used to be Zappa’s key tech… They had a facility to chain through from one to the next and the sound was a lot clearer due to the NTSC scan rate.
This video was captured by univac, who also has some pictures here including a nice one of my setup.
The engineers at Bent also did some great recordings from this performance in high quality and mp3 can be found here.
Performed at:
- April 2007 - Feedback: Visual Howl and Reflexive Music, Hull Screen, curated by Rob Gawthrop.
- April 2008 - Bent Festival Los Angeles.
- April 2008 - OMSK, London.
- April 2008 - Annexinema, Nottingham.
- May 2009 - Olsen, Leeds.