Live performance event IV24 at Montez Press Radio, Canal St, NYC.
"So, Nane—remember Nane?—she co-founded Montez Press, but then she left to do her PhD, or maybe she just wanted a break, but she swore she’d still be around because, you know, it’s hard to leave friends behind. A year or two passed, she was supposed to come to New York but couldn't, we were supposed to see each other in Paris but missed each other, so we ended up talking about how we should just come meet her in Belgium. Make radio there. A good excuse. Next thing we know, it's happening—Nane somehow gets us money from the consulate, equipment to borrow from a friend, a venue to host us for three days, because she knows people. Of course, we all know people, some more than others. The venue is this gallery she’s tied up with—unclear if she just hangs out there or shows there or both—and she loops in her whole Brussels crew. That’s the big secret behind our curation—find a friend, expand the web, keep it moving, growing, it’s friends all the way down... And then Jack and Jeff (from New York) tell us their Belgian friends Jef and Ran (with an F, not a G) are passing through, they are dating by the way, not that that really matters, but if we’re telling the whole story we think that’s kind of a cute part of it, and they want to do a set at MPR under the name In vitro, which isn’t a band but an experimental project space? We say yes, obviously. Simpatico. And then months later, we’re the ones passing through Brussels, and Jef—Belgian Jef, not the New York Jeff—says, “Let’s flip it, I’ll organize something for you,” and now we’re doing a show at Needcompany because of something with his old spot shutting down and his friend opening a new spot, or having access to a spot, or something, we don’t ask too many questions. Unfortunately we had to rip up the floor when our friend Dan dropped his passport down a crack in between the floorboard but that's a different story. Anyway, Jef is doing sound, Jef’s friends are running the bar, Ran is keeping tabs at the door and it’s all very reciprocal. By the time we put together a joint Instagram post tagging every venue, artist, and distant acquaintance involved, we’ve basically built a temporary economy out of favors and Belgian beers. Oh, and some government money. Because somehow, there’s always government money. It’s almost like they don’t know what it is we do. Which we kind of like, and is why our website seems broken. Totally intentional, just trying to keep it between us…
Anyway Jef is back in town and he’s bringing some new friends with him. We’re excited to hear them."
In vitro #24
On April 17, we present four Belgian artists—each distinct in their own approach—representing different facets of the Belgian sound culture.
Lukas De Clerck’s practice revolves around the Aulos, an ancient Greco-Roman double-reeded double pipe that went extinct over a millennium ago. His reimagination of the instrument, focusing on microtonality, psychoacoustics, and sound texture, has given it a second life, introducing it to new musical fields. Lawrence McGuire (aka hogobogobogo) explores vocality in sound—both in its production and reception—while using the synthetic as a suggestive probing tool to investigate psycho-linguistic and acoustic phenomena. His work exists somewhere along the continuum of computer music and sound poetry.
Farida Amadou, on the other hand, lets her body do the talking, exploring the physicality of music-making through her distinctive style playing the bass guitar. Amadou has cemented herself as a key figure in contemporary improvisational music, engaging in a wide array of collaborations. Bear Bones Lay Low, is the moniker of Ernesto González, a fellow veteran of Brussels’ noise scene for over a decade. His musical compositions weave dissonant abstractions with high-energy rhythmic pieces and melodic reveries.
Iv (In vitro*) is a project space and event series based in Brussels, dedicated to promoting contemporary music and sound art through live performances, time-based exhibitions, and occasional discursive events. By cultivating new frameworks for experimental sound practices, it tries to nurture an artistic community that’s often overlooked in their commercial and institutional fields. In vitro aims to create a platform for the dissemination of sound on an international scale.
This event and radioshow is a collaboration with Montez Press Radio, Blank Forms, and Giorno Poetry Systems, supported by Flanders State of the Art.
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