(This is an edited transcript of the original podcast.)
This week GGG visits festivals that celebrate music - but not quite as we know it …
Taking place in Los Angeles, New York and Minneapolis the Bent Festival showcases the latest in DIY electronics and the circuit bending culture.
Circuit bending is the practice of re-wiring a circuit board to make sounds far from the original function for which it was intended. Bent also features concerts by artists such as the duo Beatrix Jar performing their ‘Fuzzy Sound Collage’. Listen to the podcast of this show to hear their music or visit the website http://beatrixjar.com/
Next the GGG heads to two unrelated festivals that go by the same name – Ether.
London’s Ether Festival features cutting-edge collaborations and visual culture and the line up includes Goldfrapp, Harmonia, Pere Ubu and The Brothers Quay, and a new work by composer Thomas Ades and video artist Tal Rosner. Also on the bill is Steve Reich’s Music for 18 musicians.
The Ether Festival in Ashville North Carolina is an international celebration of the theremin – one of the earliest electronic instruments ever made. It’s sponsored by Moog Music as it was Bob Moog who made theremins and analog synthesizers in his Asheville workshop, creating a whole new sonic landscape.
The line up for the American Ether festival includes Lydia Kavina (grand niece and student of the theremin inventor ,Leon Theremin), Dorit Chrysler, and Kevin Kissinger .
The Global Gig Guide is produced for KCRW.com by JC Swiatek and the theme music is composed by The Plush Interiors.