As mentioned before in my previous post on Unsound, it’s a festival that is known for enticing its demographic with risks, rewards and thematic atmosphere. With the theme of horror being the crux of the whole weekly event, there was ways that anything and everything could go wrong. However, just when one would think the undertaking of layering an entire festival with a theme would turn out horrific (no pun intended), somehow the curtain comes down to show off something off-kilter yet preserved in its magnificence. Unsound 2010 in Krakow, from start to finish, was one of the most daring and endearing festivals to ever come about.
Daniel Bjarnason & Sinfonietta Cracovia Live @ The Dark Side - Unsound 2010 Krakow
The start of Unsound was a relatively toned-down one, with events that started mellow, until the installations began to rattle brains. The first day brought us events like “The Hidden” a series of art installations that went from highlighting solvent abuse, fish grunts and of course, crushing doldrums and leaking fear from every audible orifice. It was followed by a concert at a movie theater that had Sinfonietta Cracovia playing a sweeping set of pieces, leading up to a fantastic suite for the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho with instantly memorable visuals provided by visual artist Jade Boyd. This then led to a sort of daily ritual, which was to go check out what was playing at the Manggha Museum. For the better part of the week, Unsound had laid out specialized shows embodying audio-visual and emotive themes that ranged from analog enchantment to visual joy and eeriness. With groups like Roll The Dice, Sza/Za and Shining, each time visiting the museum was a different and gratifying experience. Along with an excellent sound art panel, the week progressed rather quickly, but had a big turning point when a particular show took shape in a sonically scintillating way.
Tim Hecker @ St. Katherines Cathedral — Unsound 2010 Krakow: Disturbed Calm
Although Unsound had garnered a fair amount of people going to every one of their events (that would include workshops, panels, installations and concerts), the first thing that was different by sheer volume in bodies was Disturbed Calm, an event in Krakow’s St. Katherine’s Church, a gorgeous structure that would provide the perfect backdrop to the euphoric journey provided by sonic journeyman Tim Hecker. Peeling off the layers for everyone listening, Hecker played atop of the stage, near where the church organ resided, perhaps purposely staying away from the center of attention and letting the audience be immersed in sound and not sight. The performance was roughly over 30 minutes, but it definitely felt a lot longer, with sounds ranging from frequencies unbeknownst to most people, Hecker painted a picture that needed no eyes, no words but just welcome ears. This was truly a landmark performance. What came after that was the beginning of the Unsound club nights at Fabryka, an old abandoned cosmetics factory site. Using its massive space as somewhat of a canvas between music and moving picture, the first night there – entitled From Darkness To Disco – was a sort of final piece in the horror theme on a grand scale before the weekend storm of bass would settle in. Highlighting atmospheric electronic acts such as Demdike Stare and Zombie Zombie (who played John Carpenter classics under the watchful eye of Carpenter’s confidante Alan Howarth), the night was a warmup for the venue for what madness would come next.
Culture and Music. I love it!