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Breifly: a man (Ickarus / Kalkbrenner) tours clubs around the globe with his manager and girlfriend. On the eve of their largest album release he is admitted to a psychiatric clinic after overdosing at a gig. And various tribulations pre/post. But the story almost seems like a Trojan Horse for what interests me more: a patchwork portrait of hard-to-get shots of the camera-shy Berlin night-scene.
Usually these types of films are post-posthumous accounts of inherently self-destructive artists of UK or US origin. Using a living artist and riding on the phenomenon of Berlin has facilitated a unique promotional campaign. Running the film's releases alongside a tirade of Kalkbrenner’s club fixtures has mutually generated interest in both the film and Kalkbrenner's music.
Paul Kalkbrenner was/is a real-life dj, the film’s protagonist and sountrack artist, thereby creating a surreal unification of realities. And he delivers the perfect music for the movie: the soundtrack contains ten exclusively produced tracks, including the movie´s hymn “Sky and Sand” [with vocals by his brother, artist Fritz Kalkbrenner]. In addition there are five previously released tracks, all exclusive Berlin Calling edits. Alone or in the context of the movie, they are good.
Check the official website for release dates and give the trailer and tracks a look.
PS I had drinks with the Director and female lead a few weeks ago.
The scene is bizarre and filled with enigmatic hopefuls, and I was bare pleased when I stumbled across Director/Producer Amy Grill’s documentary ‘Speaking In Code’ which follows some of the hopefuls. The official site nd featured links explain more. Synopsis:
‘Speaking in Code is an intimate account of people who are completely lost in music. A heartbreaking and lighthearted documentary, it's a vérité glimpse into the world of techno. Captivating and entertaining, the film takes you around the world, following the people who make electronic music ... their lives.’
Trailer
[Images: Record sleeves; Exhibition manuals; Letterheads; Shopfront design]
Double Standards. No, not like feminism, but more like a design studio from Berlin that I investigated after noticing a string of their posters hovering around. There's fairly sparse descriptive prose on the website, but judging from the pictures and menu sorting, it's principally a surface-based, visual communication/graphic design co, doing books, catalogues, posters and mixed campaigns etc. Using block colours and typography, the work is comparable to the contemporary school of rational Dutch design, and shares some of its clarity, unlike a fair amount of more cluttered communication around the city. Their strategies and mediums are also interesting and original, and worth a look.
installed at the San Jose Museum of Art, Robots:Evolution of a Cultural Icon, Michael Salter 's 22 ft robot is constructed from polystyrene packing materials (styrofoam). The massive installation examines the development of robot iconography in fine art over the past 50 years. Associate professor of digital arts at the University of Oregon since 2005, he has been building these fabulous sculptures for several years, each one growing in size to suit the available exhibition space.
Recycling the discarded packaging creates reflective sustainable imagery, but is also formally ideal, as the expanded foam creates the impression of extruded or stamped metal components, like a prototypical scale-model. Sadly though, Salter’s unique creations are usually destroyed because no one has bought one yet or figured out how to get one through a gallery door. Gr8
Time-lapse of Salter working with professionals at the San Jose Museum of Modern Art to install one of his trademark styrobots
[Above: A robot writing religious texts; robot rides, and a robot trebuchet]
These industrial grade robots, such as the FANUC and KUKA shown typically have around 6 axis, and can have a number of attachments mounted to the heads, performing assembly, fixturing, machine tending/part transfer, spot welding, material removal, Paletizing/picking/packing, material handling, dispensing. Or programmable hilarity. They are surprisingly versatile, and the little robo-slags will do whatever you tell them, if you're familiar with their 'software'.
Publisher's web-blurb:
'Beyond Architecture' is the first publication of its kind to document the creative exploration of architecture and urban propositions in the contemporary arts. The projects collected in this book demonstrate how not only architects and designers, but also artists are taking architecture as a starting point for experimentation. They range from performance, installation art and crafted sculptures to architectural models, alternative ideas for living spaces and furniture, as well as illustration, painting, collage and photography. Through stunning photography, visuals and complementary texts, these visionary concepts reveal the hidden creative potential for architecture and urban environments in inventive ways.'
Futurecop! is a heavy dj/production duo formed in Manchester a couple of years ago. Consisting of 1 brown man and 1 white man, the are the salt and pepp...gurumasala of tasty music. Though don't be misled by culinary analogy, as that's really beside the point.
Founding member Manzur Iqbal started with no knowledge about music production and wanted to create a sound inspired by 80s teen flicks, especially the movies of John Hughes and Sci-fi cartoons like Transformers or Thundercats, not caring about being different or trying to be commercial, even though the music might as well be called pop music. Peter Carrol from London teamed up with him and together they are now recreating the atmosphere and vibe of the soundtracks to the best 80s movies that never existed. Crystal Castles and Van She Tech have already shown Futurecop! some love.
Importantly, the duo have also reignited music's long affair with imagability [as above]: the supporting artwork is impressive and uplifting, and certainly evocative of their sound. Check out their Myspace or do an image search.
However, despite their promise, it seems that they're being let down by poor promotional enterprise and a sparsity of foreign fixtures and foresight. Gigs in Sheffield are gonna get noone nowhere. Although they have got some festival dates this summer, notably at The Big Chill. Their techy sounds would go down a treat in France, as a lot of the stuff competes strongly with that of comparable kitsune or EdBanger Records' outputs.
Photocopying/scanning a wayward boob or wiener is a great office shout. Therefore I was very pleased when my collegue Wolfgang (not amadeus + that is his real name) valiantly made these recently. I'm putting them forward for a book cover. Trapped in prose.
[Above: Daft Punk’s Pyramid set: crowd shot merged with pyramid interior detail, revealing analog synths, light boards, Ableton, moogs and laser consoles; Video stills from De Crecy's live 'Beats and Cubes' performance]
Everyone will be familiar with Daft Punk 's Pyramid (above), which set a precedent for performance architecture. Reevaluating the genre and straying from surface-mounted installations, Etienne de Crecy 's 'Cube' uses 3d camera mapping and 3 high-powered projectors that project onto a 2oft., 3x3x3 frame, covered in a fine net, creating ethereal, beat-matched light volumes in the dark. The lightweight construction is a refreshing innovation and is moreover cheaper and more transportable. De Crecy plays perched smugly in the midddle cube.
Cube Video
