The announcement of Unsound Festival NY came very suddenly, and just as sudden was the wave of momentum provided by artists, promoters and media sponsors (like ourselves) alike. From the Upper West Side, to the West Village and throughout the bastion of “hip” that is Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Unsound NY is making its mark as a premier electronic festival in New York City. The opening weekend was a surefire to start to a week that’s still in full-on electronic mayhem mode; from breathtaking visuals to Warhol films to the debut of one of the most acclaimed techno groups in recent history, the beginning of Unsound Festival NY has cemented its status as one of the most important cultural festivities in New York City, besides that CMJ thing.
Vladislav Delay & Lillevan (A/V Performance) live @ David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, NYC 02/04/10
It opened with a grandiose dosage of dark and ambient techno improvisation by Vladislav Delay (Sasu Ripatti of Mortiz Von Oswald Trio) with an awe-inspiring visual feast provided by artist Lillevan; going between darkened clouds in the sky, hazy human silhouettes and almost robotic rainstorms, Lillevan provided a healthy canvas to Delay’s impressionistic mayhem of rusty percussion, minimal synthesizer work and a heavy atmosphere of muddled melancholy for nearly an hour. After a massive round of applause, the group Solid State Transmitter made their U.S. debut, playing original compositions and Black Flag covers (not kidding), to a smattering of reverb, delay and many more effects running piano, violin, xlyophone and drums into software and manipulating the raw sounds live. Thus was the opening event of the Unsound Festival, courtesy of Lincoln Center, who were gracious enough to let the organizers use their Atrium as well as the Walter Reade Theater. At that theater, was a highly regarded event, combining conceptual art with conceptual electronic experimentation, as two Warhol films were sound-tracked live by Sasu Ripatti/Max Loderbauer (two-thirds of Moritz Von Oswald Trio) and Carl Craig, respectively. As the crowd of spectators were told before the screening, we’d start with a “Kiss” and end with a “Blowjob”. Aside from a cheap laugh, the event was quiet reserved and academic, as the films were more of a blank for the artists to work with, and neither disappointed. Carl Craig shined as he steadily felt out his musical output through a modular synthesizer while the crowd analyzed the background, which was a camera affixed on a young man’s face supposedly getting his jollies off down below. It was interesting to say the least. But what was most interesting is what happened the night afterward.
Moritz Von Oswald Trio live @ Le Poisson Rouge, NYC 02/06/10
Moritz Von Oswald Trio’s first U.S. performance (at Le Poisson Rouge) was already a special affair to the group and the people who showed up to see them, but it became even more of a spectacle for all involved when friend and collaborator (not to mention Detroit techno legend) Carl Craig joined them along with his modular synth for a scintillating performance. With samplers, keyboards, and percussion all about the stage, it would prove to be a challenge to mesh all these elements together, but that’s when audio veteran Francois K came in, and custom-mixed the entire performance. What ensued was truly magical, as a very energized, focused and humble group of musicians stationed themselves for nearly an hour’s worth of atmospheric techno glory, with the crowd studying and dancing all at once to every bleep and beat. It was a rousing success that was the feather on an impressive cap of weekend performances. To close out the night, New York DJ Levon Vincent spun an impressive set of techno and classic house cuts to keep the good vibes going.
Levon Vincent live @ Le Poisson Rouge, NYC 02/06/10
The weekend of a festival debut is always important, highlighting the best and brightest of the roster when it needs to be implemented; from attention-grabbing to audibly spellbinding, the opening weekend of Unsound Festival NY proved to be a rousing success. Now comes the ultimate test of strength, when this upcoming weekend will feature a massive showcase of DJs in Brooklyn’s Public Assembly, thanks to The Bunker. With artists like Mike Huckaby, Anthony “Shake” Shakir, Untold, FaltyDL, Cosmin TRG, and 2562 all coming through in the span of two days, the weekend should be chaotic to say the least. Here’s to another successful weekend venture, where hopefully the doldrums of party patrons will survive and long to remember the last days of Unsound New York’s inaugural year.
For more photos from the Unsound Festival NY Opening Weekend, click HERE
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