herman kolgen

bio as his website: ARECOGNIZED FOR HIS MULTIMEDIA CREATIONS FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, HERMAN KOLGEN IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WHO LIVES AND WORKS IN MONTREAL. A TRUE AUDIOCINETIC SCULPTOR, HE DRAWS HIS PRIMARY MATERIAL FROM THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOUND AND IMAGE. KOLGEN WORKS TO CREATE OBJECTS THAT ASSUME THE FORM OF INSTALLATIONS, VIDEO AND FILM WORKS, PERFORMANCES AND SOUND SCULPTURES. CONSTANTLY EXPLORING, HE WORKS AT THE JUNCTURES OF DIFFERENT MEDIA, AS WELL AS ELABORATING A NEW TECHNICAL LANGUAGE AND SINGULAR AESTHETIC. 

HIS MULTIFACETED WORK IS, ABOVE ALL, CHARACTERIZED BY A RADIOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO NEUROSENSORY IMPRINTS AND STIMULI. IT’S THIS X-RAY EFFECT, WITH ITS IMMATERIAL QUALITY, WHICH ALLOWS THE INVISIBLE TO BE SEEN: THE INTERNAL INTENSITY OF SENSITIVE REACTIONS. INSPIRED BY THIS TENSION, AS BRUTAL AS IT IS FRAGILE, HE CONSTRUCTS RECURRENT NARRATIVE FISSIONS IN WHICH TEMPORAL FRICTION CONSTITUTES THE EPICENTER OF HIS WORK. IN CONTRAST, THE NOTION OF THE ORGANIC IS AT THE CORE OF HIS CONCEPTUAL PREOCCUPATIONS. COMBINED AND ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIGITAL AND THE ELECTRONIC ACROSS A WORK OF EXTREME SENSITIVITY, THE LATTER IS THEN DIVERTED TOWARDS HYBRID AND INDETERMINATE FORMS.

HIS INSTALLATION PRACTICE EQUALLY INTEGRATES A VITAL WORK OF SPATIALISATION, NOTABLY REGARDING THE ASPECT OF SOUND. THE CREATION AND USE OF RANDOM SYSTEMS OF AUTOGENERATIVE IMAGE/SOUND ALSO ALLOWS THE CREATION OF AUDIOPHONIC SPACES MARKED BY THEIR IMMERSIVE QUALITY. NOTABLE ALSO ARE HERMAN KOLGEN’S NUMEROUS COLLABORATIONS WITH FELLOW AUDIO ARTISTS AND ELECTRONIC/ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC COMPOSERS (TAYLOR DEUPREE, AGF, SAWAKO, AKIRA RABELAIS, ETC).

FROM 1996 TO 2008, HERMAN KOLGEN HAS DEDICATED THE MAJORITY OF HIS TIME TO THE DUO SKOLTZ_KOLGEN. HIS CREATIONS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED AT RENOWNED FESTIVALS AND EVENTS, SUCH AS: BERLIN TRANSMEDIALE, DE _ ISEA 2004, (FINLAND-ESTONIA) _ VENICE BIENNALE, IT _ ARS ELECTRONICA, AT _ SONIC ACTS, NL _ CENTRE GEORGES POMPIDOU, FR _ CIMATICS, BE _ DISSONANZE, IT _ MUTEK, MTL, MX _ ELEKTRA, MTL _ SONAR, ES _ TAPEI DIGITAL ARTS, CN _ SHANGHAI EARTS, CN.

IN ADDITION TO HIS PARTICIPATION IN THE VENICE BIENNALE IN 2006, HERMAN KOLGEN IS THE RECIPIENT OF NUMEROUS PRESTIGIOUS PRIZES, INCLUDING QWARTZ, ARS ELECTRONICA, THE FESTIVAL NOUVEAU CINEMA NOUVEAUX MÉDIAS DE MONTRÉAL, THE BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM AWARD FROM THE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES, AND THE PRIX DU CONSEIL GÉNÉRAL FROM THE FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL VIDÉOFORME DE CLERMONT-FERRAND (FRANCE). 

links>


official_site>kolgen.net/

merzbow

bio as wikipedia page: Merzbow (メルツバウ Merutsubau?) is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician Masami Akita (秋田 昌美 Akita Masami?). Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.

The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence andjunk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of influences from progressive rock, free jazz, modern classical and musique concrète to BDSM and Japanese bondage. More recently he has been inspired by animals, animal rights andenvironmentalism.

As well as being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan, and has written 17 books of his own. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about art, avant-garde and post-modern culture. His more renowned works have been on the topics of BDSM and fetish culture. Other art forms Akita has been interested in include painting, photography, filmmaking andButoh dance.

In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set known as the Merzbox. Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albumsand at least one tribute album. This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded to some as the "most important artist in noise".

links>

official_site>merzbow.net/

imminent

Imminent is a Belgian musical project formerly, and still commonly known as Imminent Starvation. It is a staple act of Germany’s industrial and  power noiserecord label, Ant-Zen

Imminent Starvation was founded by Olivier Moreau, who has been its only member since its inception. In 1999, Moreau destroyed his mixing table, and gave away its pieces with the limited edition of his release Nord. Shortly thereafter, the name Imminent Starvation was shortened to just Imminent.

Moreau participates in a number of side-projects and other collaborations, such as Axiome, Myrza, Ambre, Delta Files, 2 Be Freak, Torsion, and Urawa.

links>

official_site>ant-zen.com/imminent

drumcorps

Aaron Spectre started off playing drums and going to all ages shows in the wasteland of suburban Massachusetts. In 2003 he dropped out of college and relocated to Berlin, Germany, to launch his music career. He released several vinyl 12”s, and soon found a following playing at squats and raves around Europe. Spectre founded Drumcorps to synthesize the unlikely mix of electronic music production values and the raw power of American hardcore. The result is not for everyone, but to Drumcorps' devout fans, it delivers: Drumcorps shows are notoriously high-energy, cathartic affairs. 

Drumcorps' debut full-length, Grist, won an Award of Distinction at the 2007 Prix Ars Electronica, a prestigious yearly prize whose past winners include Aphex Twin, Chris Cunningham, and Peter Gabriel. 2008 was Spectre’s widest-reaching year to date, with 58,000 miles of travel, gigs on four continents, including return trips to Russia and 
Japan, and debuts in Mexico, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Spectre spent the better part of 2009 and 2010 putting the finishing touches on a much-anticipated follow up to Grist, as well as resettling in the US. 

For Summer 2010, Spectre will be joined onstage by vocalist Leo Miller. Leo came of age in acclaimed San Francisco metal band Animosity. Beginning at the age of 14, he graced stages 
all over the world for eight years with his signature growl and compelling presence. Leo is the first band member to be added to the Drumcorps stage lineup and will be providing vocals and support on electronics.


links>


official_site>drumcorps.cc

igorrr

Prepare for some spastic thrashing and epic vocalizing: Igorrr  might very well be the great white hope of whatever-core. With  "Nostril", this French musician draws from his impressive       recording experience to create a dense and particularly wild    ride that puts enthusiasm and energy back in your stereo: fast  beats, sudden breaks, majestic moments, the whole thing crystal clear and more detailed than the most roccoco paintings. Free of any recognizable influences, new and very fun: here's quite a   tremendous slap in the face from an act to follow closely. And now for something radically different. The oldest among us  might remember a time when a crazy new sound labelled as        "breakcore" took its first bars, mixing fresh ideas and renewed energy into a club scene grown stale. Fast forward a decade     later: geeky time signatures and louder-than-thou attitude have for the most part met their expiration date. That's when Igorrr comes in: call it whatever you want, but this French act's      "Nostril" brings back enthusiasm and frenzy in your stereo. Following two self-released albums (which recently got pressed  onto vinyl by Greece's Impulsive Art), "Nostril" is the big step onto the stage by this French act. And what a leap: one would be hard pressed to find something to compare this album to. Fast   staccato beats? Check. Heavy guitars and screams? Check. Baroque strings and chanson samples? Check. It might help that Gautier  Serre, when he's not writing tracks for Igorrr or for Whourkr   (his metal side-project) works as a recording and mastering     engineer, as we imagine him using the time after his shifts to  juggle, experiment and play around with all kind of deranged    sounds, instruments and arrangements available. It's the variety and sheer freshness that makes Igorrr such a   stand out act: marrying the energy of newcomers with the        composition talent of an experienced act, he infuses in his     music elements which have truly never met before, giving birth  to songs whose ancestry would be hard to trace. A compact, dense and wild affair, "Nostril" is Igorrr's coming  of age album, in which the skills gathered with the previous    ones are focused into a highly musical, seductive whole. Carried on by its playfulness, insanity and self-assurance, we find     ourselves bouncing up, thrashing out or head-nodding furiously, as we all wished we would again one day. Welcome to "baroque-   core". links> igorrr@facebook igorrr@myspace

100blumen

bio as the facebook page: Since the beginning 100blumen have constituted a firm combination of powerful electronics and political acuteness.
started as a one man project by marcel van blumen, the project amplified to a duo after chris van blumen's guitar supported marcel during live performances and on a few past tracks - now chris is a permanent band member and together they're stronger than ever. on the fourth album on ant-zen their versatility is audible on each track, way beyond any 'industrial' or 'electropunk' clichés.

supported by l. delogne (le moderniste) who is responsible for the spoken word on 'la fin absolue du monde' and 16pad noise terrorist collaborating on 'dig that shizzel', 100blumen have created a deep expression of 'feelings while living in a surveillance society'. this album contains a multilateral spectrum of vibes ranging from melancholic violence to belligerence. a multitude of rhythmic variations - broken and straight - appended with stirring basses lay the groundwork for subtle melodic excursions, synthesized fury and razor-sharp six-string attacks, all kept together with epic artificial string entries. stylistic boundaries are non-existent: ambient, technoid industrial, punk and breakbeat add up to an explosive bouquet - play loud!

links>


official_site>100blumen.com/


100blumen@facebook
100blumen@youtube
100blumen@lastfm
100blumen@soundcloud


discography>100blumen discography