DJ Morgiana
: synergy of ancient spells : fractal fog : digital moss : whispers’ vibrations :
Karolina Karnacewicz, who goes by the stage name Dj Morgiana, creates mystical sound compositions and co-runs “za-duszno”, a series of musical meetings extending from ambient to weird sound experiments. Recently she organised the “Vocational School of Music. Sound Emancipation”; an instrument-building workshop for woman accompanied by a talk about the importance of women in music.
What is particular about her is her shamanistic approach to her practice — by playing with the use of light passed through crystals, and connecting with plants through contact microphones, she makes a link between worlds, just like a witch-doctor who does so by touching the painted walls of a cave. She describes the music and feelings accompanying the performance as meeting with sub-consciousness, which can also be considered a form of travel to ’elsewhere’. However, we should not associate these practices with tranquillity, because we never know whatkind of monsters hide behind a shamanistic wall or inside us… During her hybrid live/DJ sets she uses the above-mentioned organic items, extended vocal techniques (including ASMR – autonomous sensory meridian response, for example, whispering causing shivers), turntables and a DIY theremin (early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact). Pure magic.
DJ Ewa Justka
DIY noise, weird sound generators, audio-visual synths (“the simulacrum machine”, as she calls them), sonic gloves, optoelectronics (lights, torches, oscinescopes) and hardware hacking – isn’t this list impressive? All those are being used by Justka, a Polish artist, based in London, to investigate the materiality of objects, ontological systems and a variety of modes of perception. On the crossroads of sonic and visual, she not only presents recordings, DJ sets, sound installations or incredibly sharp noise performances using DIY electronics, but she is also a teacher at University of Arts in London and provides the workshops of electronics. In December 2016, she was a support act for Merzbow, one of the most (if not the most) famous noise musicians, at Cafe Oto in London.
Anna Zaradny
Sound and visual artist, experimenter in a wide spectrum of genres, structures and media. Additionally, together with Robert Piotrowicz, she organised the Musica Genera International Festival of Improvised and Experimental Music between 2002-2009.
When Zaradny plays saxophone, uses computers and electronic devices, performs on stage or creates object-installations — it’s the sound that matters, not music in the classical sense. On a constant search for new audiovisual discoveries, Zaradny plays live, creates spatial-sound installations, composes music for performances (Kana Theatre and Usta Usta Theatre) and plays directed by Marcin Libera and Paweł Miśkiewicz. Recently, she turned Bunkier Sztuki Gallery into a big audiovisual installation, where everything was thought out in the details — the perforated walls, circular shapes, objects and sounds were inspired by visionary Hildegard from Bingen, composer Witold Lutosławski, Karleheinz Stockhausen and many more. Zaradny interfered with the building itself, questioning the relation between the idea and form. That’s how she works with plenty of ideas and juxtapositions; audible also in her first solo album in 8 years “Go Go Theurgy”, which is full of substandard electronic noises.
We Will Fail
Aleksandra Grünholz’s sound-wandering project. Rhythmical use of tape samples, synthesisers, electronics and field recordings nods to techno and club music. However, the artist claims that this is music for listening, rather than dancing. What is interesting is the fact that Aleksandra Grünholz is also a designer, who creates her own video and illustration to music. In the latest edition of Unsound Festival in Cracow, she took a part in a project “Listening Stations”, where many cafes and spots in the city were dislocated by manipulation/relocation of soundscapes and the sonic play with the environment. The title of her latest album “Hand That Heals/Hand That Bites”, clearly suggest a kind of fight between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides, or rather between ‘green’ and ‘red’, following the artist’s idea of dividing the material on the album. Here, sharp and interrupted sounds alternate with rhythmical flows, disturbing electronics take control over field recordings — all these remain to be a fierce sonic discussion.
