Festival organizer/musician/producer Rafael Anton Irisarri has revealed the lineup for Substrata 1.5âwhich will be the fifth and last time this exceptionally curated experimental-music event happens. Taking place July 16-18 at Chapel Performance Space, Substrata 1.5 once again boasts an international, diverse bill, including mercurial Ukrainian pianist/composer Lubomyr Melnyk, Seattle folk singer/guitarist Tiny Vipers doing an analog-synth/tapes ambient set, microsound master Taylor Deupree, Philadelphia harpist Mary Lattimore, local ambient star Panabrite, German IDM icon Arovane doing all new material, and Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, who recently released the gorgeous ambient LP A Year with 13 Moons. (Full lineup and more info about Substrata after the jump.)
As for this being the final Substrata, Irisarri, who moved last year from Seattle to Westchester County, New York with his wife Rita, says, "It's become increasingly hard to pull off the festival (without losing an eye in the process) and really difficult to organize it from afar. I rather go with one last strong edition, than end up with a lackluster or redundant event. Substrata audience deserves the best I can give them."
Lubomyr Melnyk
Arovane
Taylor Deupree
Rachel Grimes w/surprise special guest
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma w/Paul Clipson (visuals)
Tara Jane O'Neil
Rauelsson
Mary Lattimore
Panabrite
Tiny Vipers
Leo Mayberry (visuals)
Below is Substrata's mission statement.
At its nucleus: an all-ages live performance program, workshop, and field recording trip within the beautiful Cascade region of the Pacific Northwest.
The idea behind Substrata is to explore varying perspectives of scale though the use of sound, composition and visuals. It features three live performance showcases featuring accomplished and internationally renowned artists working within the cutting edge where structural abstraction meets physical dynamics. The performance program focuses on live electronic music: applying technology to a concert setting while incorporating traditional and non-traditional instruments. The workshop explores dilemmas within the sound arts community; the field trip engages participants and performing artists in deep listening exercises and mobile recording on site.
Our goal is to create an immersive weekend experience that engages the audience in a dialog with the artists that goes beyond the constrains of traditional performer/listener interactions. Each showcase is curated to distinctly portrait different takes of the potency of minimalism, varying between weighty combinations of tonalities used to sculpt out atmospheric ambiance, or powerful dynamic structures made up of the subtlest filigree of sonic building materials. By creating compositional spaces dealing with a sense of mass, along with openness of structure, the perspective of scale and the listenerâs place in relation is shifted to allow for greater a sense of place beyond the environ of the performance in the interplay of the moment and physics of the larger world. In all, Substrata is an event that fosters appreciation for our natural surroundings and creates meaningful interaction between artists/participants while exploring a new locality.
You can purchase a three-day Substrata pass here.
