Clamor and Toll / Cultural Olympiad 2010
Absurdus is an instrumental psychosomatic noise experiment that relies on the dynamics of improvised sound, free of convention/assumption/categorization. Their recent endeavor uses indeterminacy as a compositional principle and involves electroacoustic conversions. Korean born Joomi Seo is a multi-disciplinary artist. From Fluxus to New Music, her research investigates sound in relation to performance art, and graphic and text based musical scores. Seo is pursuing interdisciplinary study at UBC. Heidi Nagtegaal is an interdisciplinary artist, investigating social dynamics through installation, performance, video and sculpture. She is also apart of White Pillows, founder of the Hammock Residency and a member of Dance Troupe Practice. Vester Badenhorst is a Vancouver based sound artist originally from Cape Town, South Africa. Badenhorst works with a variety of sound mixing devices to reflect the modality of modern consciousness and inter-cultural forms of communication and expression.
For this performance with the Cultural Olympiad, Heidi Nagtegaal will not be playing with Absurdus due to political reasons. However, Verster Badenhorst will be joining Absurdus for this performance to collaborate with Joomi Seo.
Clamour and Toll
Absurdus has been asked to participate in Clamour and Toll, February 2010. Below is the information.
PERFORMANCE
CLAMOUR AND TOLL
C\R\I\T\I\C\S, Josh Rose, Absurdus, Christian Nicolay and Ya-chu Kang
February 17, 8pm, 2010
Curated by Eli Bornowsky
Clamour and Toll is the first in a series of evening performances based in Vancouver’s robust noise/performance community. Vancouver has a history of conflating experimental music and performance art. In the 1960’s and 70’s, free improvised jazz influenced the performances of artists such as Eric Metcalfe, Hank Bull, Al Neil and others. Since then spaces such as the Western Front, Blim, 1067, Sugar Refinery, and Emergency Room have served as hubs for performances where sound is an important component. This series seeks to explore this element of performance, where sound is the agent that propels the performer creating an immersive world in which the performance takes place.
The Candahar Bar
PTC Studio, 3rd Floor
1398 Cartwright Street
Granville Island, Vancouver, BC
10$ (with 5 dollars redeemable for food/drinks)
Performed at LIVE Biennale, 2009.
Absurdus was asked to perform for the LIVE Biennale, at their Opening Cabaret party, October 2009.
Hammock Residency, Solder & Sons and Absurdus!
After staying at Graveley Street for May & June, Phoebe came back and Joomi moved back to her house. We needed a new practice space and Robert Pedersen made up an awesome trade! I made coffees on Mondays and for July & August, Joomi and I had a practice space at Solder & Sons. Joomi was a participant of the Hammock Residency during this time, with Solder & Sons an official, unofficial sponsor.
http://www.heidi-nagtegaal.com/hr/index.cfm?pg=previous#Joomi%20Seo%20-%20July%20To%20August%202009
How We Started, as told by Heidi Nagtegaal, 2009
“Absurdus was started when Joomi Seo stayed over at my house while Phoebe went on vacation, May 2009. We stayed up all night, jamming, too many nights in a row, and decided to explore musical sounds (of all sorts) together. Spirituality, poetry, peacefulness and beauty were topics of continual navigation, with Joomi on keys and myself on vocals.”
