The Sound of Seeing is a series of three film screenings which present an alternative history of Aotearoa experimental music, seen through the prism of artists film and video 1973-2020.
Presented by CIRCUIT and Epic Sweep Records in association with Pyramid Club, The Sound of Seeing offers a survey of Aotearoa experimental music informed not only by radical sonic aesthetics, but also contemporary critical practices.
Several films perfectly calibrate sonic composition to the image. Other works use sound to bring historical materials into the present, or to explore ecological, social or political concerns.
Curated by Mark Williams and Epic Sweep records, The Sound of Seeing was programmed not by watching the films, but by extracting the audio, and sequencing the screening like a record. The first two evenings have been imagined as a double vinyl album using existing films, and are divided into Side 1, Side 2, Side 3, Side 4. The third night on Friday 13 October - The Sound of Seeing Live! - features several new live audio and visual commissions.
NIGHT TWO:
Night Two features moving image and sound by: Nova Paul, Bic Runga, David Downes, Nathan Thompson, Expansion Bay and Del, Popular Productions, Tone Cornaga, George Hubbard, Sean Grattan, James Duncan, Mireya Lucio, Kim Pieters, William Henry Meung, Janet Lilo, Harry Lilo, Owairaka District School, Waimarama Puhara, The Parasitic Fantasy Band.
We conclude with a new live soundtrack by Erika Grant, Isaac Smith and Rosie Langabeer who will accompany Laura Duffy's Garden of Purity (2018). This performance is part of Pyramid Club's series of commissions through 2020.
The Sound of Seeing is not only a new way of imagining the history of experimental music in Aotearoa, it is also the first time some of these films have been shown in public for many years. Our thanks to the many artists who have contributed to this project. Thanks also to our major sponsor, Wellington City Council, and Pyramid Club, not only for their hosting of this programme but their ongoing support of the experimental sound community in Aotearoa.
Finally, special thanks to CIRCUIT’s co-curator in this project, Epic Sweep Records.
