A group of artistic adventurers who found each other in a shared fascination for the compositional possibilities of Soundpainting.
The ensemble was founded in 2023 at the request of Music Centre De Bijloke in Ghent, to create a live-composed soundtrack for Harold Lloyd’s silent film Safety Last. The name sums up its philosophy too: together on the tightrope, without a safety net, in search of ephemeral compositions that leave the beaten path.
The ensemble looks for sound structures that could be made neither by improvisation nor by written composition. Nothing is agreed in advance: all music and text is composed live through Soundpainting, the sign language developed by New York composer Walter Thompson.
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Soundpainter
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Voice & spoken word
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Violin
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Synthesizer & voice
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Viola
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Viola da gamba
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Bass flute
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Accordion
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Percussion
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Double bass
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Piano
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Foley & video
A performance that attunes itself to its surroundings. It can stand on its own as a performance, or connect with themes that live within a venue, city or community. From ecology and nature to urban development, heritage, architecture or the relationship between people and their environment.
In consultation, the performance can be extended with participatory trajectories or local input, so that it resonates with a specific place, festival or audience.
The ensemble composes a new soundtrack, live, to this 1923 film classic. The iconic scene of Harold Lloyd dangling from the hands of a skyscraper clock gains a whole new dimension.
Every performance is different, the music is born on the spot, in dialogue with the film. Also available as a school performance, with a teaching pack full of background and follow-up material.