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Enchanting and almost other-worldly this nature at night time. While flowers may slumber, certain critters are at their most active, and moonlight can cast an eerie glow over plant life that makes the ordinary seem somehow extraordinary.
Add whiz-bang lighting, cutting-edge special effects and music – all courtesy of Canadian multi-media company Moment Factory – and the result is like nature on steroids.
Moment Factory is the company that brought the popular Light Cycles experience to the Botanic Garden during Illuminate Adelaide in 2021 and 2022, so expectations are understandably high for its new 1.7km night-time trail, Resonate, which creative director Gabriel Pontbriand says is “inspired by our human capacity for emotional and physical resonance with the environment”.
Unlike Light Cycles, which began at the Garden’s Ginkgo Gate, Resonate starts at the North Terrace entrance, where a noticeboard urges audiences to “awaken your senses, attune to nature”. A map highlights the six immersive experiences we will encounter across the self-guided walk: Beginnings, Transformations, Belonging, Winterings, Memories and Aliveness.
The first of these centres on a lake, where shards of light move above the water in a pattern choreographed to a pulsing soundtrack. They appear to emerge from the depths amid the hovering mist and reach into the sky before dissolving back into the water, eventually shooting back up like fireworks as the music intensifies.
Transformations, one of the standout installations, takes place under the canopies of the Moreton Bay figs along Murdoch Avenue. As visitors walk beneath the towering trees bathed in a kaleidoscope of changing colours, a cacophony of percussive music builds like a gathering storm, the surround sound enveloping us in its beats like a nightclub DJ. Created in collaboration with Montreal folk quartet The Barr Brothers, and fusing musical composition with a range of sound effects, the soundscape throughout Resonate is an integral part of the experience, enhancing its immersive quality.
Further along, the single path diverges into several different tracks, all of which weave through a garden of pink and blue and green glowing “flowers” dotted across the grass. Belonging is an ethereal kind of space with colourful projections drawing us to different locations to watch imagery that appears like effervescent bubbles rising up from undulating sands.
There is a decent walk between each installation, which could build anticipation or impatience, depending on your mindset. But no one could be disappointed when they come to Winterings, which transforms the Bicentennial Conservatory into a kind of infinite magic forest, with the edges of the glass building invisible as visitors make their way across the elevated walkway amid palms and other rainforest plants bathed in green and blue light.
Perceptions of space and depth dissolve as we are transfixed by beams reaching down from above like friendly aliens, with the ethereal music enhancing the transcendental experience in the conservatory. This is one space in Resonate you’ll be reluctant to leave
Further on, we encounter Memories, in which a large circle of chairs is arranged around a beacon of light that sways across the night sky. Here, visitors are encouraged to stop and “remember who still lights your way”, but it’s noticeable on this night that few people take the time to take a seat before moving on to the final experience, Aliveness. Here, an Afro-Celtic soundtrack plays as lights snake up a large tree like parasitic vines, bringing it to life with colours that dance across the trunk and branches in sync with the music. It’s a beautiful visual interpretation of sound, although it lacks the wow factor of the Palm House installation that marked the finale of Light Cycles.
It’s easy to become blasé about experiences such as this; audiences are conditioned to constantly expect more and more dramatic effects from multi-media events, and Resonate relies on a similar ethos and technology as Light Cycles, despite following a different trail. But for this reviewer, at least, the magic is just as strong.
The key to getting the most out of Resontate is to move slowly and spend sufficient time within the installations to fully absorb them and also appreciate the natural environment they seek to enhance. Enjoy the special effects, but also look beyond them: take in the reflections on the water, the earthy scent of the gardens, the glow of the moonlight, the underlying beauty of the night-time flora and fauna.
On leaving Resonate and walking past Illuminate Adelaide’s Base Camp food and beverage area in Rundle Park, we noticed a couple of people looking up into a tree. There, blithely washing itself on a branch and ignoring the humans below, was a tiny possum – a reminder, if any was needed, that nature at night is pretty cool all by itself.
Resonate is in the Adelaide Botanic Garden until July 30 as part of Illuminate Adelaide.from In daily.
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Lindi Ortega
OCA Spazio Ansaldo (MI)
19 Marzo 2013
© Mairo Cinquetti
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Nashville beckoned, and Lindi Ortega answered the call.
Armed with an inimitable, irresistible singing voice The Independent hails as “a truly magnificent instrument,” and a heart bursting with creative ambition, the Canadian songstress whom American Songwriter calls “the love child of Johnny Cash and Nancy Sinatra” decided to relocate to Music City from her
native Toronto to birth her brand new musical offspring, Cigarettes & Truckstops.
A logical follow-up to her 2011 critically acclaimed alt-country masterpiece Little Red Boots, the 10-song Cigarettes & Truckstops further flaunts Ortega’s distinctive vision; one that embraces the oft-neglected, politically incorrect realism of traditional country and frames it in a charmingly, and sometimes darkly humourous contemporary context.
Bookended by a couple of romantic road ballads in the title track and the reflective “Every Mile Of The Ride,” Cigarettes & Truckstops further evolves the promise foreshadowed by the JUNO-Award nominated-and-Polaris-Music-Prize-long-listed Little Red Boots.
The writing is stellar, her musical discipline undoubtedly galvanized by a fearless 2010-2012 tour schedule that saw Lindi open for a variety of acts, from punk vets Social Distortion; pop icon Burton Cummings; country fave Dierks Bentley; folk outfit Noah & The Whale and Academy Award winner Kevin Costner with attention-grabbing finesse, making serious inroads with North American and European audiences, and prompting Exclaim! to declare Ortega an “electrifying” performer.
Whether it’s the plucky shuffle of the hilarious “The Day You Die;” the angry harrumph of “Don’t Wanna Hear It;” the high lonesome feel of “Heaven Has No Vacancy” or the haunting twang of guilt that is “Murder of Crows,” Ortega continues to deliver a refreshing twist that walks vintage and contemporary lines in imaginative and inventive manners.
But in order to realize this next step of her artistic fruition, the two-time JUNO Award nominee (Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards) had to pull up her Canadian stakes and come to the well.
“I was really inspired by being here in Nashville,” explains Ortega, the daughter of a Northern Irish mother and Mexican father who has been performing since she picked up a guitar at age 16.
“I wanted the authenticity of my influences to shine through on this record. I knew I liked country and I think moving here, I wanted to delve into those influences more genuinely.
“To be able to read a Hank Williams biography and then go to where his house was, or the places that they talk about, and absorb that was invaluable.”
As Ortega is the first to admit, she’s anything but a “straight-up country artist,” so other elements played into the equation.
“I found that I was really inspired by going to New Orleans, after I shot that music video for (Little Red Boots’) “Black Fly” – and the Deep South.
“After Little Red Boots I read the Hank Williams biography and I learned that he was very highly influenced by a man named “Tee-Tot.” (Rufus Payne). Tee-Tot was a blues guy, and I discovered that a lot of early country drew influence from early blues. So I really started getting into listening to blues.”
She recruited a sympathetic visionary to produce the album in fellow Canadian Colin Linden, (O Brother Where Art Thou, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Bruce Cockburn, The Band), who also happens to reside in Nashville.
“When it was time to start working with producers, Colin’s name was thrown in the hat,” recalls Ortega. “I looked him up on YouTube,and the first thing I saw him perform was this crazy awesome Dobro solo.
“I realized that I loved that instrument, and I needed to have it all over my record,” she laughs.
“There was something about the sound of it that resonated so much with me. Colin was very influenced by the blues and had a lot of knowledge about its background and history, and I thought it would be cool to bring that into the record.”
The blues touch is a subtle one, a seasoning of sorts on this album of longing and vulnerability; travel and romance; of anger and passion; of fact and fiction.
A big breakthrough was Ortega’s topical candour.
“I was sort of delving into the darker corners of my mind with some things, which was interesting for me, and not being afraid to put some other things out there,” she reveals. “The song from my first record, “All My Friends,” alludes to certain things in a metaphorical way, where on this album, I’m a little more straight up about it. I’m not trying to hide.
“I guess that I’m just willing to take that risk. I’m just being honest and talking about my experiences, and by doing that, I’m not advocating anything and I’m not telling anybody they need to do anything: I’m just writing about my life and the experiences that I go through.”
But it’s not all autobiographical: “Murder of Crows,’ co-authored by Matt Nolan and one of three co-writes on Cigarettes & Truckstops, is pure Man In Black-inspired fiction.
“I was actually thinking of Johnny Cash’s Murder album when I wrote that,” Ortega chuckles. “I just wanted to delve into fictitious territory, and not write from experience – sort of make up stories.
“In a lot of old Cash songs, there’s a lot that didn’t come from his experience: he made them up. It’s cool to be able to make up crazy stories like that.”
One of the album’s real kickers is the Bruce Wallace co-write “The Day You Die,” a humorous look at love’s clichés, a future classic that begins with the opening stanza,
“You said you’d love me ‘til the cows comes home/Well I’m hoping that they all go blind.”
“That’s why I love writing with Bruce, because we never set out to write,” Ortega admits. “We just get together as friends and pick up guitars and it just happens naturally. He’s a quirky guy, because he totally gets where I’m coming from in that respect.
“We pick up the guitar and make up joke songs. We thought it would be cool if all these cliché things that people say to people, things like ‘Love you ‘til this, love you ‘til that’,” were taken literally, what would they have to do to keep the love going?”
There are more gems on Cigarettes & Truckstops that are ripe for personal discovery, a riveting tour-de-force of an album that will open up more ears and hearts to the scintillating sounds of Lindi Ortega and an appreciation of the unique perspective she brings to her craft.
Two trademarks impel her artistry: sincerity and honesty.
“I’m not going to deny it because I can’t,” Ortega admits. “It just comes out. I owe it to the song and to myself to expel that expression, put it into music and be very honest and forthright about the good, the bad and the ugly of Lindi Ortega.”
Andy Chyba -
Speech
This campaign has dominated my life for the last 3 years and for long periods of that I wondered whether we had any chance of prevailing against the power and influence of the oil & gas lobby and their allies in Government, but I am here today to tell you that I am now totally convinced that we will prevail and prevent the devastation that this industry brings.
Why am I so confident? What has become clear in recent months is that this issue resonates with people, with voters, across the political spectrum in a way that issues like climate change have singularly failed to manage.
Despite the fact that climate change science is established and only challenged by the loony right-wing fringe; despite the fact that the arguments have been won and just about every world leader now acknowledges that we are well on course for catastrophic climate change, within the lifetimes of most people alive today; despite this no major country has found it politically possible to do anything like enough to avert the impending calamities.
We have been preaching about climate change for decades and instead of weeing in the wind, we look destined to be pissing in the coming gales for all we seem capable of achieving on this issue. The threat simply does not seem obvious, immediate or personal enough to influence people’s votes.
But fracking is different. It does, of course have a critical climate change dimension, but voters of all persuasions are beginning to realise what is at stake, especially when it pitches up in their back yards.
Witness the reaction in the Tory heartland around Balcombe. Fracking was fine when it was up in the desolate North, as the profits being made would boost their dividend payouts and pensions funds. But bring it to their doorstep and all of a sudden it is their water turning shades of green and black, it is their health being threatened, it is their leisure and tourism and agriculture being ruined, and perhaps most tellingly of all for fans of capitalism, it is the value of their prized capital assets, their property, that is being decimated and made unsellable.
This is why they have welcomed us with open arms when we visit the Balcombe camp and recognise the sacrifices being made by people like Frances Crack and Caroline Lucas in risking their liberty for the cause.
We don’t fight for these people though. As eco -socialists, we in the Green Party and Plaid Cymru have long recognised that any environmental threat tends to be a socialist issue. Who is it that disregards the environmental consequences beyond ensuring they have a big enough compensation kitties for when it goes tits up?
BP were able to establish a $20 billion compensation fund straight after the Deepwater Horizon disaster (a disaster they had insisted could never happen) and it barely caused them a moments inconvenience. Meanwhile thousands of fishermen have lost their livelihoods and way of life forever; the tourism and hospitality industries, and the poorly paid people within it, have taken massive hits, while those with lawyers and accountants milk the compensation pot.
You see, it always the little guys that are ultimately made to pay for the mistakes of the big guys. Sound familiar? Here in austerity Britain?
So, we have voters from the left and the right finding common ground in opposing fracking, and we even have Conservative AMs championing the precautionary principle if we are to believe Suzy Davies. What a pity they are in opposition, I bet she hopes we think.
Which leaves us to consider the middle ground of the political landscape. And for that we need look no further than over my shoulder. This is, of course, crediting Carwyn and his mates with not quite being the Red Tories we see in Westminster, but where has been the leadership the Welsh people deserve on this issue?
Many of us here today have written to Carwyn, he is after all my AM in Bridgend, and what do we get? We get him peddling the ultimate myth of the fracking apologist, regarding, and I quote his letter directly: “the role that gas will have as a key transitional fuel as we move to a low carbon energy system”.
This only ever had any traction if we were to burn gas instead of coal, but there is absolutely no evidence of this happening – coal production has continued apace in the USA and a drop in coal consumption, in the capitalist world, only means a drop in price and greater demand and consumption in other, poorer, parts of the world.
The latest research coming out of the London School of Economics tells us that we have to leave between 60 and 80% of current known reserves in the ground if we are to stand a chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Wake up Carwyn – the very last thing we need is to keep looking for ever more extreme forms of fossil fuels.
If we had proper leadership here in Wales, we could be at the very forefront of the worlds low carbon economies given the staggering potential for renewable energy we have here in Wales – not just wind and solar, but ground source heating and biogas potential that would allow us to heat our homes a lot cheaper and safer than using shale gas – and not forgetting the near criminal waste of the second highest tidal range in the entire world rushing past our doors as regular as clockwork, just over there!
The latest multi-technology proposals suggest a readily available 14GW is going to waste everyday in the Bristol Channel – the equivalent of 4 Wylfa sized nuclear power stations, at least 10 Gas-fired power stations, or put another way – more than enough to meet the average consumption level of the whole of Wales today.
So what do we need? We need Carwyn to get his backside off the fence, get out here and listen to the hard cold facts of the matter rather than keep looking for a lead from the red Tories in Westminster that only ever give us slightly tamer versions of whatever the blue Tories say, and for him to recognise that we are not going away until we get the environmental and social justice of a ban on fracking in Wales.
Let’s hear you Carwyn! Thank you!
A coalition calling for a cross party motion on Shale Gas extraction Fracking in Wales.
Tues 24 Sept 2013, Y Senedd Cardiff Bay.
Twitter @nspugh twitter.com/nspugh
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Created by British artist Tony Cragg, Resonating Bodies (1996) consists of a pair of bronze sculptures resembling giant musical instruments. One resembles a lute, the other, a tuba. This playful work is based on the concept that all physical bodies—including ourselves—are constantly enveloped by various energy forms from heat, light, sound, and gravity to magnetic waves, x-waves even radio and TV signals. The sculpture displays these forces with a wave-like relief on its surfaces. The work is set on the ground at the end of the tree-lined walks at the entrance to Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park with its whimsical design and gargantuan scale, the work invites touching and interaction. Tony Cragg is one of Britain's most inventive contemporary sculptors; his works are known for embracing a wide variety of materials, textures, and conceptual approaches. He created World Events, a statue for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and was the recipient of the Turner Prize in 1988.
Photo showing an impression of the performance "Resonate".
Dancer Aakash Odedra (UK) and choreographer Lewis Major (AU) approached the Ars Electronica Futurelab with a really fascinating concept. They were interested in investigating whether and how it would be possible to audiovisually and cybernetically represent the distorted, chaotic way people with legasthenia experience language and literature.
Credit: Florian Voggeneder
I can just hear the "Heeeeeey Ooooh!" resonating within the walls of the place. Photo taken by me. Front row, center stage.
Enchanting and almost other-worldly this nature at night time. While flowers may slumber, certain critters are at their most active, and moonlight can cast an eerie glow over plant life that makes the ordinary seem somehow extraordinary.
Add whiz-bang lighting, cutting-edge special effects and music – all courtesy of Canadian multi-media company Moment Factory – and the result is like nature on steroids.
Moment Factory is the company that brought the popular Light Cycles experience to the Botanic Garden during Illuminate Adelaide in 2021 and 2022, so expectations are understandably high for its new 1.7km night-time trail, Resonate, which creative director Gabriel Pontbriand says is “inspired by our human capacity for emotional and physical resonance with the environment”.
Unlike Light Cycles, which began at the Garden’s Ginkgo Gate, Resonate starts at the North Terrace entrance, where a noticeboard urges audiences to “awaken your senses, attune to nature”. A map highlights the six immersive experiences we will encounter across the self-guided walk: Beginnings, Transformations, Belonging, Winterings, Memories and Aliveness.
The first of these centres on a lake, where shards of light move above the water in a pattern choreographed to a pulsing soundtrack. They appear to emerge from the depths amid the hovering mist and reach into the sky before dissolving back into the water, eventually shooting back up like fireworks as the music intensifies.
Transformations, one of the standout installations, takes place under the canopies of the Moreton Bay figs along Murdoch Avenue. As visitors walk beneath the towering trees bathed in a kaleidoscope of changing colours, a cacophony of percussive music builds like a gathering storm, the surround sound enveloping us in its beats like a nightclub DJ. Created in collaboration with Montreal folk quartet The Barr Brothers, and fusing musical composition with a range of sound effects, the soundscape throughout Resonate is an integral part of the experience, enhancing its immersive quality.
Further along, the single path diverges into several different tracks, all of which weave through a garden of pink and blue and green glowing “flowers” dotted across the grass. Belonging is an ethereal kind of space with colourful projections drawing us to different locations to watch imagery that appears like effervescent bubbles rising up from undulating sands.
There is a decent walk between each installation, which could build anticipation or impatience, depending on your mindset. But no one could be disappointed when they come to Winterings, which transforms the Bicentennial Conservatory into a kind of infinite magic forest, with the edges of the glass building invisible as visitors make their way across the elevated walkway amid palms and other rainforest plants bathed in green and blue light.
Perceptions of space and depth dissolve as we are transfixed by beams reaching down from above like friendly aliens, with the ethereal music enhancing the transcendental experience in the conservatory. This is one space in Resonate you’ll be reluctant to leave
Further on, we encounter Memories, in which a large circle of chairs is arranged around a beacon of light that sways across the night sky. Here, visitors are encouraged to stop and “remember who still lights your way”, but it’s noticeable on this night that few people take the time to take a seat before moving on to the final experience, Aliveness. Here, an Afro-Celtic soundtrack plays as lights snake up a large tree like parasitic vines, bringing it to life with colours that dance across the trunk and branches in sync with the music. It’s a beautiful visual interpretation of sound, although it lacks the wow factor of the Palm House installation that marked the finale of Light Cycles.
It’s easy to become blasé about experiences such as this; audiences are conditioned to constantly expect more and more dramatic effects from multi-media events, and Resonate relies on a similar ethos and technology as Light Cycles, despite following a different trail. But for this reviewer, at least, the magic is just as strong.
The key to getting the most out of Resontate is to move slowly and spend sufficient time within the installations to fully absorb them and also appreciate the natural environment they seek to enhance. Enjoy the special effects, but also look beyond them: take in the reflections on the water, the earthy scent of the gardens, the glow of the moonlight, the underlying beauty of the night-time flora and fauna.
On leaving Resonate and walking past Illuminate Adelaide’s Base Camp food and beverage area in Rundle Park, we noticed a couple of people looking up into a tree. There, blithely washing itself on a branch and ignoring the humans below, was a tiny possum – a reminder, if any was needed, that nature at night is pretty cool all by itself.
Resonate is in the Adelaide Botanic Garden until July 30 as part of Illuminate Adelaide.from In daily.
On Saturday, July 7, 2018 I travelled to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland to see one of my musical icons from the 80's and 90's, James George Thirlwell (a.k.a. J.G. Thirlwell, Clint Ruin and Foetus). In particular it was the Australian's work as "Foetus" that resonated with me, forever changing my tastes in music. I have in my collection almost everthing that he produced at that stage of his career from 1981's single "OKFM" (OK Freeze Mother) until 2013's "Soak" (on both LP and CD). Though popularly known as simply "Foetus", Jim released albums under diverse variations of the name, including: Foetus Art Terrorism; Foetus Über Frisco; Foetus Corruptus; Foetus In Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe; Foetus Inc.; Foetus Interruptus; Foetus Over Frisco; Foetus Under Glass; Philip and His Foetus Vibrations; Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel; The Foetus All-Nude Revue; The Foetus of Excellence; The Foetus Symphony Orchestra; and You've Got Foetus On Your Breath.
I was incredibly privileged to see Foetus live on September 2, 1996 in a venue in Prague called "Bunkr" which was formerly a Cold War nuclear fall-out shelter. And what a mind-blowing gig that was! In Dublin, Thirlwell was the supporting act for another one of my favourite groups from the 80's and 90's, Matt Johnson and "The The" who were on their much anticipated "2018 Comeback Special." Johnson and Thirwell are long-time friends and colleagues.
The gig was at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin and featured Thirlwell's latest project called "Xordox." For this iteration of Xordox, he was joined by long-time musical collaborator Simon Hanes (of Tredici Bacci) on additional keyboards. My old connection from Pretoria (South Africa), Helgard de Barros was there with me right at the front of the stage. These unedited photos capture some of what we experienced on that fine evening in Ireland.
Enchanting and almost other-worldly this nature at night time. While flowers may slumber, certain critters are at their most active, and moonlight can cast an eerie glow over plant life that makes the ordinary seem somehow extraordinary.
Add whiz-bang lighting, cutting-edge special effects and music – all courtesy of Canadian multi-media company Moment Factory – and the result is like nature on steroids.
Moment Factory is the company that brought the popular Light Cycles experience to the Botanic Garden during Illuminate Adelaide in 2021 and 2022, so expectations are understandably high for its new 1.7km night-time trail, Resonate, which creative director Gabriel Pontbriand says is “inspired by our human capacity for emotional and physical resonance with the environment”.
Unlike Light Cycles, which began at the Garden’s Ginkgo Gate, Resonate starts at the North Terrace entrance, where a noticeboard urges audiences to “awaken your senses, attune to nature”. A map highlights the six immersive experiences we will encounter across the self-guided walk: Beginnings, Transformations, Belonging, Winterings, Memories and Aliveness.
The first of these centres on a lake, where shards of light move above the water in a pattern choreographed to a pulsing soundtrack. They appear to emerge from the depths amid the hovering mist and reach into the sky before dissolving back into the water, eventually shooting back up like fireworks as the music intensifies.
Transformations, one of the standout installations, takes place under the canopies of the Moreton Bay figs along Murdoch Avenue. As visitors walk beneath the towering trees bathed in a kaleidoscope of changing colours, a cacophony of percussive music builds like a gathering storm, the surround sound enveloping us in its beats like a nightclub DJ. Created in collaboration with Montreal folk quartet The Barr Brothers, and fusing musical composition with a range of sound effects, the soundscape throughout Resonate is an integral part of the experience, enhancing its immersive quality.
Further along, the single path diverges into several different tracks, all of which weave through a garden of pink and blue and green glowing “flowers” dotted across the grass. Belonging is an ethereal kind of space with colourful projections drawing us to different locations to watch imagery that appears like effervescent bubbles rising up from undulating sands.
There is a decent walk between each installation, which could build anticipation or impatience, depending on your mindset. But no one could be disappointed when they come to Winterings, which transforms the Bicentennial Conservatory into a kind of infinite magic forest, with the edges of the glass building invisible as visitors make their way across the elevated walkway amid palms and other rainforest plants bathed in green and blue light.
Perceptions of space and depth dissolve as we are transfixed by beams reaching down from above like friendly aliens, with the ethereal music enhancing the transcendental experience in the conservatory. This is one space in Resonate you’ll be reluctant to leave
Further on, we encounter Memories, in which a large circle of chairs is arranged around a beacon of light that sways across the night sky. Here, visitors are encouraged to stop and “remember who still lights your way”, but it’s noticeable on this night that few people take the time to take a seat before moving on to the final experience, Aliveness. Here, an Afro-Celtic soundtrack plays as lights snake up a large tree like parasitic vines, bringing it to life with colours that dance across the trunk and branches in sync with the music. It’s a beautiful visual interpretation of sound, although it lacks the wow factor of the Palm House installation that marked the finale of Light Cycles.
It’s easy to become blasé about experiences such as this; audiences are conditioned to constantly expect more and more dramatic effects from multi-media events, and Resonate relies on a similar ethos and technology as Light Cycles, despite following a different trail. But for this reviewer, at least, the magic is just as strong.
The key to getting the most out of Resontate is to move slowly and spend sufficient time within the installations to fully absorb them and also appreciate the natural environment they seek to enhance. Enjoy the special effects, but also look beyond them: take in the reflections on the water, the earthy scent of the gardens, the glow of the moonlight, the underlying beauty of the night-time flora and fauna.
On leaving Resonate and walking past Illuminate Adelaide’s Base Camp food and beverage area in Rundle Park, we noticed a couple of people looking up into a tree. There, blithely washing itself on a branch and ignoring the humans below, was a tiny possum – a reminder, if any was needed, that nature at night is pretty cool all by itself.
Resonate is in the Adelaide Botanic Garden until July 30 as part of Illuminate Adelaide.from In daily.
Enchanting and almost other-worldly this nature at night time. While flowers may slumber, certain critters are at their most active, and moonlight can cast an eerie glow over plant life that makes the ordinary seem somehow extraordinary.
Add whiz-bang lighting, cutting-edge special effects and music – all courtesy of Canadian multi-media company Moment Factory – and the result is like nature on steroids.
Moment Factory is the company that brought the popular Light Cycles experience to the Botanic Garden during Illuminate Adelaide in 2021 and 2022, so expectations are understandably high for its new 1.7km night-time trail, Resonate, which creative director Gabriel Pontbriand says is “inspired by our human capacity for emotional and physical resonance with the environment”.
Unlike Light Cycles, which began at the Garden’s Ginkgo Gate, Resonate starts at the North Terrace entrance, where a noticeboard urges audiences to “awaken your senses, attune to nature”. A map highlights the six immersive experiences we will encounter across the self-guided walk: Beginnings, Transformations, Belonging, Winterings, Memories and Aliveness.
The first of these centres on a lake, where shards of light move above the water in a pattern choreographed to a pulsing soundtrack. They appear to emerge from the depths amid the hovering mist and reach into the sky before dissolving back into the water, eventually shooting back up like fireworks as the music intensifies.
Transformations, one of the standout installations, takes place under the canopies of the Moreton Bay figs along Murdoch Avenue. As visitors walk beneath the towering trees bathed in a kaleidoscope of changing colours, a cacophony of percussive music builds like a gathering storm, the surround sound enveloping us in its beats like a nightclub DJ. Created in collaboration with Montreal folk quartet The Barr Brothers, and fusing musical composition with a range of sound effects, the soundscape throughout Resonate is an integral part of the experience, enhancing its immersive quality.
Further along, the single path diverges into several different tracks, all of which weave through a garden of pink and blue and green glowing “flowers” dotted across the grass. Belonging is an ethereal kind of space with colourful projections drawing us to different locations to watch imagery that appears like effervescent bubbles rising up from undulating sands.
There is a decent walk between each installation, which could build anticipation or impatience, depending on your mindset. But no one could be disappointed when they come to Winterings, which transforms the Bicentennial Conservatory into a kind of infinite magic forest, with the edges of the glass building invisible as visitors make their way across the elevated walkway amid palms and other rainforest plants bathed in green and blue light.
Perceptions of space and depth dissolve as we are transfixed by beams reaching down from above like friendly aliens, with the ethereal music enhancing the transcendental experience in the conservatory. This is one space in Resonate you’ll be reluctant to leave
Further on, we encounter Memories, in which a large circle of chairs is arranged around a beacon of light that sways across the night sky. Here, visitors are encouraged to stop and “remember who still lights your way”, but it’s noticeable on this night that few people take the time to take a seat before moving on to the final experience, Aliveness. Here, an Afro-Celtic soundtrack plays as lights snake up a large tree like parasitic vines, bringing it to life with colours that dance across the trunk and branches in sync with the music. It’s a beautiful visual interpretation of sound, although it lacks the wow factor of the Palm House installation that marked the finale of Light Cycles.
It’s easy to become blasé about experiences such as this; audiences are conditioned to constantly expect more and more dramatic effects from multi-media events, and Resonate relies on a similar ethos and technology as Light Cycles, despite following a different trail. But for this reviewer, at least, the magic is just as strong.
The key to getting the most out of Resontate is to move slowly and spend sufficient time within the installations to fully absorb them and also appreciate the natural environment they seek to enhance. Enjoy the special effects, but also look beyond them: take in the reflections on the water, the earthy scent of the gardens, the glow of the moonlight, the underlying beauty of the night-time flora and fauna.
On leaving Resonate and walking past Illuminate Adelaide’s Base Camp food and beverage area in Rundle Park, we noticed a couple of people looking up into a tree. There, blithely washing itself on a branch and ignoring the humans below, was a tiny possum – a reminder, if any was needed, that nature at night is pretty cool all by itself.
Resonate is in the Adelaide Botanic Garden until July 30 as part of Illuminate Adelaide.from In daily.
Photos of part three of the series of workshops on 'Professional Readiness', 'Professional Development' and 'Storytelling for leadership', as part of Imbuto Foundation's Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Programme, which since 2007 implements an array of activities on a national scale, to fully engage, educate and empower young people.
This third part of the series of workshops was attended by scholars and mentees from different parts of the country.
The two day workshop was led by Solange Impanoyimana from Resonate, a Rwanda-based organisation that primarily trains women to build on their strengths and create change in their communities, these workshops designed to empower a total of 650 youth, began with the theme of ‘Professional Readiness’ (1st Workshop), and continued with the topic 'Professional Development' (2nd Workshop) and finally 'Storytelling for Leadership'.
The two day workshop was held in Rwamagana, at Avega Rwamagana on 15 and 16 June 2016.
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Photos of day two of the series of workshops on 'Professional Readiness', 'Professional Development' and 'Storytelling for leadership', as part of Imbuto Foundation's Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Programme, which since 2007 implements an array of activities on a national scale, to fully engage, educate and empower young people.
This workshop was attended by District Supervisors, Coordinators, and Caregivers among other groups of people that work under various programs implemented by Imbuto.
Led by Ayla Schlosser and Solange Impanoyimana from Resonate, a Rwanda-based organisation that primarily trains women to build on their strengths and create change in their communities, these workshops designed to empower a total of 650 youth, began with the theme of ‘Professional Readiness’ (1st Workshop), and continued with the topic 'Professional Development' (2nd Workshop).
The two day workshop was held in Kigali, at Croix Rouge (Red Cross) on 10 and 11 June 2016.
View photos of the first day of the series of workshops on 'Professional Readiness', 'Professional Development' and 'Storytelling for leadership', as part of Imbuto Foundation's Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Programme, which since 2007 implements an array of activities on a national scale, to fully engage, educate and empower young people.
Led by Ayla Schlosser and Solange Impanoyimana from Resonate, a Rwanda-based organisation that primarily trains women to build on their strengths and create change in their communities, these workshops designed to empower a total of 650 youth, began with the theme of ‘Professional Readiness’.
This first workshop took place in Kigali, at La Palisse Hotel on 8 june 2016.