THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. Open Lab: Composer Gudjon Andri explores the creative possibilities of rare machines and old electronic sound equipment from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
The electronic composer Gudjon Andri used to make music exclusively on laptop. But for the last month and a half she has been diving deep into the quirks and possibilities of the old sound equipment in ‘The Sound Laboratory’ in Musikhuset København – discovering interesting stuff about the creative process along the way.
“It has had a great impact on my creative workflow that every process has become really difficult and slowed down. All the changes to a track that I can implement so quickly on the computer take forever on the old machines, so I have to think much more about whether it’s worth it, making this or that tiny modification”, Gudjon says.
On October 11th, at 19.00-20.30, Gudjon hosts an open lab experience at the studio. She will be working exclusively on the original old machines – with the newest one in the setup being from 1983.
Using signal generators, amplifiers and filters originally intended for acoustic measurements, she’s spent the last few months exploring detachment from the strict pitches and timekeeping of traditional electronic instruments – and experimenting a lot with drift – the interplay that occurs when two or more rhythmic figures are almost synchronized, slowly slipping in and out of sync with each other. The audience at the open lab can expect minimal, dubbed techno over dissonant, hollow soundscapes – and echoes that resonate in infinity.
“I have discovered that when the computer gives me endless opportunities it’s much harder to achieve a concise artistic expression – because I can do anything. I can always just jump onto the next preset or try something completely different if something doesn’t work. But with these machines I have to find the right channel and connect the cables all over again and remember if it was channel 7 or 8 I used before…. and it just makes me try harder to make things work”, Gudjon says.
Join us in the lab on October 11th as we (once again) uncover what we left behind. Be aware that the amount of tickets for the event is very limited.
About The Sound Laboratory
‘The Sound Laboratory’ (Lydlaboratoriet) is a project launched by Strøm and Art Music Denmark to preserve and activate old sound equipment and electronic machinery used by the Danish electronic sound artists in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
In this studio, musicians Guðjón Andri and Anton Friisgaard have been experimenting with the machines for three months, exploring the possibilities, the sounds and the musical expressions they can achieve with them.
Anton Friisgaard hosted the first open lab experience at the studio during this years Strøm Festival (on August 31st 2023).
About Gudjon Andri aka Gavnlig
A Sound Designer by trade, most of Gavnlig’s life has been spent exploring electronic music from every conceivable angle. Being quite the generalist she’s been involved in everything from music production, performance and DJ’ing through DIY electronics and programming, to community building, rave organising, and sound system setup.
While she draws from all over the UK hardcore continuum, her sound tends to orbit around dark and gritty textural soundscapes underpinned by punchy, polyrhythmic drum beats. Over the last few years she’s accumulated a diverse body of work released on both local and international labels as well as a string of VA appearances and radio residencies.
About the machines
The machines, electronic instruments and sound equipment has been lent to Strøm and Art Music Denmark by sound pioneer Gunner Møller Pedersen. In addition, DTU (Technical University of Denmark) and others have donated several musical devices and machines to the collection as well. The equipment has been collected in cooperation with Maple Pools.
