DJ Wallizz and DJ Nomi are both from Berlin. They have run monthly parties such as “The Afro House Experience”, “Bantu’s Diary” or “Black Paper”.

Hence they created a nightlife audiovisual experience that fusions rhythms of African clubs with sounds from the Berlin clubbing scene.

Expanding their vision, Wallizz and Cambel decided to start their own project called Freak de l’Afrique (The Monster of Africa). Recently the collective has started to incorporate audiovisual in their shows and performances.

Their aim is to bring the modern side of African music to the clubbing scene.

Through music, events and fashion they continuously spread a lifestyle inspired by Africa. It is forward-thinking, unexpected, sometimes provocative but above all positive!

Among their project we find “Wena – Jame”: A Journey through Afropolitan Musical Encounters. Wena translates into the pronoun “you”. It comes from the Zulu, one of many languages in South Africa. “Wena” is often used to ask someone to do something.

The project is the result of the combined effort among Freak de l’Afrique sound system, six dancers and a team of creative light and projection artist.

They all invite you (WENA!) to join them on a journey through the modern musical landscape of Africa and its diaspora.

This trip unravels as a 90-minute stage show with DJs, dancers and visual art with music from Ghana, Congo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa and many other places.

The collective wants to develop audiovisual content and projection mapping to make the experience more immersive.

They aim to connect the dancers, the music and the audiovisual content with an urban, modern and futuristic style rather than the traditional cliché one.

I think the concept is very powerful, not only for the magical moment they bring but also because of its originality.

I definitely look forward to seeing how it evolves! We will definitely keep an eye on them, as we always follow closely any type of audiovisual innovation.

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Her profound influence and involvement in the early German Techno scene can be felt throughout her career as an artist.

She left Munich in 2003 and landed in Florence where she joined the Italian label Suite inc. Since then, she would present her slow, atmospheric electronic music through many DJ sets and live mixes at local festivals and venues. 

The minimal, immersive sounds of her music have filled contemporary art spaces such as Casa Masaccio in Rome or Nottingham Contemporary. 

Amelie has been collaborating with Marco Monfardini through the artistic Italian/German exchange project SCHNITT, born in 2007 as a result of their common interest for experimental minimal sound and visuals.

The duo have presented their audiovisual work in various formats, from artwork installations in museums and art centres to live performances in digital arts festivals and events.

Some of the exhibited artworks include Airloop 1.0 and MemoryCam, using original unreleased film material from the 40s up to the 80s as visuals. 

SCHNITT’s referential A/V project TONSTICH first appeared in 2013. It has been presented as a live performance across various festivals and venues such as Palazzo Strozzi in Firenze, Munich Fabric Start or lab 30 in Augsburg. We had the chance to enjoy the performance at Live Cinema Festival this year.  

As we have noted in our Live Cinema Festival 2020 report, Amelie’s A/V performance takes us through an abstract journey through of a textile making process her background in fashion and minimal techno.

The sharp sounds of scissors tearing off pieces of thick fabric and the mechanical stitching noises that follow in the dress creation process serve as the sewing pattern of her LP TONSTICH. The heavy atmospheric sounds, spatial vocals and rhythmic beeping are blended in seamlessly. 

During my research on Amelie’s work, I was happy to find out she was featured on the platform female:pressure.

It is a growing international network for women+ trans and non-binary artists in the fields of electronic music and digital arts, founded by Electric Indigo back in 1998. 

Wondering why this (slightly) random fact is concluding this article? I guess after learning about Amelie’s timeless precious work, I was inspired to share the importance of highlighting the strong presence of female artists and other underrepresented minorities contributing to the (digital arts) world.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE AUDIOVISUAL ARTIST

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT SCHNITT

Cover photo credits Rachele Salvioli

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Barcelona is home town of many amazing audiovisual artists. It is not a coincidence our magazine has been founded there.

The city and its surroundings have always been very active since the early stages of the audiovisual culture.

Mapping World Lab features a 360° experimental approach to projection mapping.

During 10 years of activity, they have experimented with very different formats such as façade projections, indoor immersive shows, interactive installations, dance mapping and beyond.

MWL is active internationally both in the corporate and artistic world. Their main artistic mission is to transform venues and public spaces into immersive aesthetic environment through audiovisual content.

Vertical Dance Mapping

Very intriguing experiment where acrobatic vertical-dancers from SACUDE performed onto a façade projected upon by Mapping World Lab.

In order to deliver this complex show, the audiovisual artists have utilized motion graphics, VFX, 3D animations and a bespoke motion tracking tool to achieve precise synchronization with the dance’s movement.

An ambitious, gravity-defying mixed media show that didn’t fail in inspiring awe and wonder in the audience through the interaction among body, music and projection.

Interactive Projection Mapping

Based on the classic SIMON SAYS game, Mapping World Lab have developed this playful interactive audiovisual installations.

The audiovisual game has been projected onto the façade of the Sabadell council building, near Barcelona.

It consists of four large pushbuttons (green, yellow, red and blue) placed on the ground, so the player can interact with them.

The game sets a colour sequence, adding one extra colour at every turn. The player needs to repeat the exact pattern in the correct order.

The result? An highly engaging installation that connects strongly with the younger audience, by encouraging them to carry out a creative physical activity while the rest of the viewers enjoy the live show.

Body Mapping

Building facades have been utilized widely by projection mappers worldwide. What about using our own body as a live painting?

Mapping World Lab has been experimenting together with several performers to offer live audiovisual shows where the body in movement is the main expressive medium.

An alluring sensorial experience that captivates the audience and triggers an interesting dialogue between audiovisual artists and body performers.

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Maotik has produced a wide variety of audiovisual projects during his long lasting career. He is highly interested in the relationship among science, art and technology.

His aesthetic is refined, well paced and alluring. Pixel by pixel, beat by beat, Maotik builds up immersive environments where the audience gradually and seamlessly slips in.

By developing his own algorithms he is able to design unique artistic experiences where the sounds and images are intrinsically connected. Nevertheless he doesn’t seek full control over the audiovisual outcome.

Across his very different projects there is one interesting component that links them all: the inclusion of outside inputs, such as data feeds or audience interaction which are not totally under his control.

By incorporating these external inputs Maotik enriches the audiovisual experience. His polished aesthetic structure is shaken by the random elements from the outside world, making each show different from the previous one.

A mesmerizing contrast between his precise geometry-based audiovisual aesthetic and the chaos born from the random elements, that are manipulated live by the performer or by the audience.

Maotik has presented his work in various festivals around the world, such as Mutek Festival, Live Cinema in Rio, Signal Festival in Prague, the British Film Institute in London and ARS Electronica in Linz.

Maotik recently moved to Berlin where he continues his artistic research by taking part in the art residency organized between Sonar+D and Factory Berlin.

He also joined the CODE university where he works as a professor giving lectures about interactive design, generative design and AR/VR environments.

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VJ sets, projection mapping, art installations, video art… Kalma embodies the true spirit of the new media artist: restless and constantly striving for innovation and reinvention.

Sometimes we see the practice of VJing being dismissed similarly as it happens to the Djs: “It’s not really a form art as you are only mixing content.”

Well, Kalma couldn’t disagree more. By using using real-time generative visuals she developed a remarkable style that intrinsically connects audio and video.

Across a variety of formats her signature is undoubtedly the profound synaesthesia between the soundscape and her visual structure.

She dives deep into the ocean of sounds bringing up beats and synths to explicit them visually.

Kalma thoroughly investigates each sound elements she comes across with. She goes beyond the simple harmonic structure to investigate the emotional fields and subtexts expressed by the music.

A/V REFORMOTION

In this intriguing Audiovisual work, Kalma connects each sounds to a particular visual object creating a multi-symphonic orchestra formed by dress making machines.

The video is an excerpt of the projection mapping performance for the opening of Mmmrr, a clothes shop in Berlin.

MIMICOF + KALMA: Audiovisual Performance

Following the eclectic musical work by Mimicof, Kalma designs a mystical visual experience featuring a fine-drawn, slender aesthetic crescendo.

Midori hirano aka Mimicof is a Japanese sound artist based in Berlin. Her work is a mixture of modern digital sounds with subtle electronic processing and field recordings.

Kalma combines her work as audiovisual artist with her passion for teaching. Since 2010 she has been hosting and organising workshops around the topics of mapping and video in real time.

Her creative pedagogic and practical approach provides the best ground for people willing to immerse themselves in this field with endless creative possibilities.

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He is constantly seeking new means of artistic expression to enhance the audience’s synesthetic experience.

He performed in the collaborative event presented by MUTEK.JP and the 22nd Japan Media Arts Festival last year.

Akagawa has recently premiered “Geist on the lake” (filmed and recorded in a hidden lake in Kyoto) at MUTEK Montreal 2020.

Through this intriguing audiovisual performance, he questions the Internet as a medium to share and archive “truth” and “reality”. I enjoyed how he illustrated his point through the ambiguous nature of the performance – it wasn’t quite clear whether he was ever “really” in the lake.

“Geist on the Lake”

If a tree falls in the forest but there is no one to witness it, did it really fall? If there is sound but no one to listen to it does it really exist? Within Geist on the Lake Junichi Akagawa explores the question of truth as a relational matter. Captured at a hidden lake on the outskirts of Kyoto, a place without any real connection to the outside world, Akagawa asks the question, did he really perform, if there was no one to witness his performance? Does a mere recording of a performance really constitute the truth that a performance did indeed take place? Through these questions Akagawa critically approaches the current age of increased online streaming activities and the related questions of the internet as a medium, as an archive, and what constitutes truth in the virtual world.

On “Geist on the Lake” – Junichi Akagawa

He has produced and released his own music through labels such as Hz-records or Shrine.jp, and presented his audiovisual work through many screenings, live performances and installations across Japan and abroad.

The multidisciplinary artist is also part of the creative collective 1-10 (one to ten) formed by almost 200 creative professionals with a diverse background. Their aim is to work on bringing innovation to today’s society through creativity and advanced technology.

The artist is currently participating in Jeep Japan’s Real Hybrid e-creators campaign in collaboration with MUTEK.JP. Until the 4th of October you can vote the audiovisual works presented by 7 artists, including Akagawa’s shown below. The theme is “New freedom and adventures”, and jury members include Hiroaki Umeda.

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They craft beautiful light geometrical shapes, slowly pulling the viewer into a trance-like state. The soundscape is dense and absorbing, precise and analytical.

Their immersive environments are pervaded with a dreamy, hermetic atmosphere.

NONOTAK explore the full potential of minimal forms by combining lights and sounds to build delicate audiovisual architectures.

Instead of offering a colorful audiovisual feast, NONOTAK prefers basic structural elements slowly appearing and conquering the dark space.

We are hypnotised. We step into a dream-like state by wandering around this otherworldly and ethereal landscape, built upon three key elements: light, sound and movement.

Fascinating and mysterious, each installation leaves the viewer with an impelling feeling of wanting to know and explore more of their audiovisual art.

The studio is the result of the collaboration between the illustrator Noemi Schipfer and the architect musician Takami Nakamoto.

Commissioned by the Architect Bigoni-Mortemard to create a mural in the lobby of a public housing building in Paris, NONOTAK was created in late 2011.

In early 2013, they started to work on light and sound installations capitalizing on Takami Nakamoto’s approach to space & sound, and Noemi Schipfer’s experience in kinetic visual.

NONOTAK have been commissioned by the Mapping Festival ( GENEVA ), EM15 ELEKTRA / MUTEK ( MONTREAL ), MUTEK.JP (TOKYO), MUTEK.MX (MEXICO), MUTEK.SF (SAN FRANCISCO), MUTEK.ES (BARCELONA), la Nuit Blanche ( PARIS ), Roppongi Art night ( TOKYO ), Axcess Art Gallery ( NEW YORK ), Stereolux ( NANTES ), Playgrounds Festival ( TILBURG ), Mirage Festival ( LYON ), Vision’R, Insanitus Festival ( LITHUANIA ), FUZ Festival ( PARIS ), Lunchmeat Festival (PRAHA ), KIKK Festival ( BELGIUM ), Nokia by Lumia ( ISTANBUL ). 

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The audiovisual duo makes use of the limitless creative possibilities offered by the generative art and creative coding.

Their live performances are astonishingly complex and aesthetically aggressive, bombarding the audience with an intense sensorial stimulation.

Synspecies creates immersive abstract architectures populated by computer-generated objects evolving and disintegrating under our eyes.

The audiovisual embryos are constantly battling for co-existence, never quite settling within a defined shape.

The sum of these AV objects generates an entropic abstract world, constantly fluctuating in between geometrical shapes and organic forms.

We are lost in that infinitely dangerous and mesmerizing audiovisual space. There are no spatial references. The abstract creatures as they appear conquering their world, they vanish leaving us wondering again, in the dark.

Technically speaking, what really strikes me about Synspecies performances is the absolute precision in the audio-video relationship.

The synaesthetic effect is superbly achieved by a combination of computer-generated feeds and analogue inputs. Sound and image are always intertwined, coming to life and collapsing together within an endless AV cycle.

Elías Merino and Tadej Droljc make use of algorithmic computer-generated sound, Stockholm’s EMS Buchla and Serge modular systems, and 3D geometry synthesis. 

Synspecies is inspired by virtual ecologies – unstable morphological spaces that emerge from a devastating interaction of co-existing unrelated entities with the void.

The project emerged after several long discussions and conceptual drifts regarding virtual audiovisual objects, digital art paradigms, and narrative exploration.

Based on these dichotomies, dialogues, and conflicts, the duo gave birth to the bases of an unique audiovisual language which framed Synspecies. They have showcased their world premiere at LEV Festival in 2019.

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Their artwork range from audiovisual performances and new media theatre to design, interactive installations and projection mapping.

mammasONica approach to audiovisual reveals a fond social aesthetic and a strong relationship with the public space.

Their most recognized works are undoubtedly their large scale mapping projections.

mammasONica have projected onto prestigious locations such as European Parliament in Strasburg, the Atrium in Weimar, the Palace of Parliament in Bucarest, the Romisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne, the Lancaster Caste in Lancashire.

The Italian collective has won several art awards during their busy career. In 2014 and 2015 they won the Genius Loci Weimar Competition with their TRA-DIGITAL Projection mapping onto the Anna Amalia Bibliothek and Zoetropolis on the Weimar Atrium.

mammasONica design complex AV storytelling experiences that require more than a simple look to be fully appreciated.

They are technically outstanding and conceptually advanced, leaving the viewer with thoughts and feelings that lingers way after the performance.

Their AV artwork is too dense and utterly complex to be described from a single perspective. To better grasp their meaningful aesthetic I have picked a few works sent to me by the collective:

ZOETROPOLIS

This massive 400m projection mappings has been developed for the Gauforum in Weimar in the frame of the Genius Loci Weimar festival.

The building is a symbol of the dystopian Nazi society. The painful human odyssey has been brilliantly transposed by the creative studio, within a dark and unsettling storytelling.

As many other works of the collective, it incorporates a clever fusion of different techniques such as 3D Animation and Stop-Motion.

A superb immersive audiovisual work, triggering historical reflection through a mesmerizing visual impact.

‘KHOR

Very different from the dystopian storytelling of Zoetropolis, ‘KHOR features a beautifully crafted representation of the natural elements.

The main protagonist of this abstract storytelling is the ever-flowing energy that animates the static structure Palace of Parliament in Romania.

Matter and antimatter, light and darkness, hyperbolic fractals and invisible quantic forces. The space boundaries are fragmented leaving the spectators dumbfounded and lost in this constant flow of light.

PLANAR.S & FRAME.S

A very playful light installation engaging with audience of all age. An irrefutable prove of how versatile mammasONica are. And how diverse is their audiovisual narrative.

The light shapes reinvent the urban fabric by engaging with the passer-by and dematerialising the space of predesignated trajectories.

They are placed within the urban fabric to open a dialogue with the public; like a metaphor, where our relationships are filtered through perception and construction.

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The overwhelming beauty of data visualization. Our world evolves at staggering speed. With it the gathering and processing of the new world currency: the data.

The importance of the audiovisual data visualization resides in the sensorial connection with the audience.

Ouchhh are absolute master of the data-visualization technique. They create awe-inspiring aesthetic representation of data through audiovisual technologies.

Their installations and data sculptures draw the complexity of big data closer to the audience, by converting it into mesmerizing audiovisual experiences.

Reading through data only provides us with a two-dimensional hint of the information landscape we live in. Through the work of the audiovisual artists, the data is turned into a meaningful immersive environment.

By experiencing this environment, we can just about grasp the scale of the information that rig our hybrid world. And we let ourselves go into the shockingly beautiful universe of data.

Ouchhh always manages to balance the big data complex analysis with the delivery of a stunning audiovisual experience to the audience.

The studio integrates art, science, and technology in every work they create. A multidisciplinary creative hub focused on new media platforms, offering direction and art direction and also producing video mapping projections.

Skilled in animation, design, illustration, 3D, 2D, interactivity, interaction, and live-action -and seamlessly combining some or all of these- OUCHHH considers each project as a challenge and takes a fresh and unique approach to each other.

They have an office in Istanbul, and partnerships in L.A., Vienna, Barcelona, Paris, and Berlin.

Ouchhh has created the “POETIC AI” Solo Exhibition at Atelier des Lumières, the largest AI exhibition using 50K pixels and 136 projectors. One million people visited the exhibition!

The studio worked with many brands such as Google, Cern, Nike, Wired, their collaborators transcend all industries and all continents.

Their works have received multiple accolades and awards in the international arena. Ouchhh has been featured at Ars Electronica 4 times and will be attending for the 5th time this year.

They became Istanbul’s first new media agency to win Reddot design awards, German Design Award, 10th Annual IDA Awards (The International Design Awards) and ADC Awards ( The Art Directors Club), in addition to an Honorable Mention from the City University of Hong Kong.

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