Secret Rhythms
by Jeffers Egan (US)+ Burnt Friedman
& Jaki Liebezeit (US/GER)
World Premiere
A live AV performance intertwining Liebezeit’s binary approach to rhythm, Friedman’s electro/acoustic improvisations and Egan’s digital abstractions. Exploring tone, texture and movement between audio and visual elements the performance connects the worlds of electronic/acoustic music and abstract painting, creating an advanced, dynamic relationship between sight and sound.
About Jeffers Egan–
Jeffers Egan's work explores a new digital aesthetic at the intersection of abstract painting, algorithmic animation, and real-time computer visuals. Viewing live AV as a platform for experimentation, Egan's sets explore the inscription of visual culture in time, suggesting new methods of viewer ship based upon the molecular parameters of Deleuze-ean "pure perception". By utilizing custom algorithms and animation software and without the use of prerecorded video or still footage, Egan's works result in a hyper real fluidity of visual mutations, ranging from tightly synchronized passages, to moments of free improvisation.
Egan has performed live visuals internationally for over a decade, including twice competing at the Netmage World VJ Championships. In conjunction with techno artist Jake Mandell, Egan released Slither, the world's first audio/visual DVD album to feature 5.1-surround sound. Egan's Live AV performances, motion paintings, and videos have been showcased worldwide at festivals, galleries and museums including Transmediale, Netmage, Cimatics, Dissonanze, Mutek, Interieur Biennale, Walker Art Museum, Guggenheim Bilbao, and the New York Video Festival. Egan's work has achieved international critical acclaim, nominated for media art awards at the D-Motion, Popkomm and Backup festivals, and hailed as "astounding"(Groove), "beautiful"(New York Times), "fascinating"(Musicwoche), "an extremely provocative multi-media performance with an absolutely unique aesthetic"(KEYS), "a mesmerizing and meditative experience(ArtWeek)" and "the most advanced trip imaginable in the current field of video art."(De:Bug)
About Burnt Friedman–
Burnt Friedman is a german musician and producer who works under a variety of project names in the fields of Electronica, Dub und Jazz. Friedman was raised in Kassel where he studied painting, performance and video. His first recordings of found and self-built instruments, done with Wolfram Der Spyra from 1978 to 1982, have been released under the name TOXH in 1989. Since then the ever-growing list of projects includes: Some More Crime, Drome, Nonplace Urban Field, Flanger and Nine Horses. Friedman's music defies easy categorisation. His instruments include ambient noise and speech samples, analogue synthesizers and organs, as well as toy piano, steeldrum, kalimba, vibraphone or Melodica. Over the years his trademark sound became easily recognizable even in his remix work for other artists. Often complex polyrhythmic patterns stand beside long passages without audible drums.Since 2000 Friedmann runs his own "nonplace" label.
About Jaki Liebezeit–
Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can, who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral". In the mid-1960s, he was part of Manfred Schoof's quintet, who were early exponents of European free jazz. He subsequently moved towards the new possibilities being opened by psychedelic music as a member of Can. His drumming was prominent in the band's sound, particularly in his much-admired contribution to the side-long "Halleluhwah" on Tago Mago.
Liebezeit is best known for his exceptional style of playing: "half man, half machine". In 1980, he became a member of Phantomband, and has formed drum ensembles such as Drums off Chaos and Club off Chaos. Later he recorded with numerous musicians, such as Jah Wobble and has contributed drums and/or percussion to many albums of bands as Depeche Mode and Brian Eno. Recently, he has worked with Burnt Friedman on the Secret Rhythms albums.