OTOLITH is a series of live spatial sound performances through which Ankersmit explores the phenomenon of otoacoustic emissions. These are sounds that are created inside the ears of the listener, by the ear itself, in response to certain stimulus sounds created by Ankersmit. These sonic hallucinations offer an intimate and highly disorienting acoustic experience, where a slight movement of the listener’s head can completely change what he or she hears.

Ankersmit’s friend Maryanne Amacher (1938-2009) was one of very few other artists to have worked extensively with this phenomenon. This project is a kind of personal continuation of her research, within the context of Ankersmit’s own work.

“Nobody sets standards like Thomas Ankersmit. With his analogue synth he plays the space as well the ears of the people occupying that space. Phantom sounds penetrate the skull in disturbing ways, perform dances once inside, and disappear or transform with a slight movement of the head. Practically everything else that evening paled in comparison to the intensity and focus of his performance.” René van Peer, Gonzo Circus OTOLITH was commissioned by Cafe OTO (London) and has been performed at CTM Festival (Berlin), KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Kunsthalle (Düsseldorf), ZKM (Karlsruhe), Rewire Festival (The Hague), BOZAR (Brussels), and at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University.

Thomas Ankersmit is a musician and composer based in Berlin and Amsterdam. With highly acclaimed releases on Touch and PAN, as well as performances in many kinds of venue from contemporary art museums to major electronic music festivals, Ankersmit’s work is said by The Wire to be “densely striated and mercilessly dominating” and “raised above that of so many of his contemporaries”. Since 2006, his main instrument has been the Serge Modular synthesizer, for both live work and in the studio. Ankersmit has long-term collaborations with New York minimalist Phill Niblock and Italian composer Valerio Tricoli. Acoustic phenomena, such as sound reflections, infrasonic vibration, otoacoustic emissions, and highly directional projections of sound, play a central role in his work. His music is also characterized by a deliberate misuse of the equipment, using feedback and disruptions to the signal, and the extremes of frequency and dynamics, to create visceral but finely detailed swarms of sound.

http://shapeplatform.eu/artist/thomas-ankersmit/

Friday ticket: 10 / 6 EUR (full / reduced, valid 13 am to Midnight for all programme elements of the day)