meira asher + guy harris
Mittwoch, 09 November, 2005 - 22:30
Meira Asher + Guy Harris
OpenCuts
Meira Asher and Guy Harries in concert
Bodylab
art foundation – The
Hague
mit Unterstützung der Botschaft der Niederlande Berlin
Meira Asher and Guy Harries return with
a new performance, presenting their unique mix of electronic textures, sampled
environments, vocal experimentation and intricate beats.
As in their previous projects, the duo
combines the ‘theatrical’ with the ‘documentary’, shifting rapidly from the
violent and tragic to the comic and grotesque. Exploring issues such as child
abuse, civil conflict and women in war-afflicted areas, Asher and Harries
create an intense listening experience that cannot leave you indifferent.
The performance will consist of a selection
from the projects Infantry and Face_WSLOT as well as new material
created this year.
Meira Asher
Composer-performer
and image-sound artist born in Israel, living in the Netherlands. Studied Tabla
and Dhrupad in Varanasi-India, and traditional drumming, voice and dance of the
Ga, Eve and Dagomba people of Ghana. BFA in percussion-California Institute of
the Arts (1990). Mmus in Sonology-Royal Conservatory, The Hague (2002). Art
projects ‘Dissected’ (album and performance 1997), ‘Spears into Hooks’ (album
and performance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 1999), ‘Infantry’ (album
and performance with Guy Harries, on child manipulation and child soldiers
2001), and Face_WSLOT (album, book and art installation with female ex-child
combatants in Sierra Leone 2004)toured
and published throughout the world. Co-founder (2001) of the Bodylab art
foundation in The Hague. Additional info: www.meiraasher.com
Guy Harries
Composer-performer born in Israel, living in London. He studied sonology and composition at the
Royal Conservatory in the Hague. He has worked extensively as flutist and
vocalist. His current musical work consists mostly of the interactive
combination of live electronics and acoustic instruments. His compositions were
broadcast and performed in various venues around the world. He was winner of
the Henriette Bosmans prize of the Association of Dutch composers (GeNeCo) for
the year 2000.
He collaborated with musician Meira
Asher in the project Infantry (performance and album), and with ensembles in
Europe as performer of live-electronics. His compositions have been performed
by contemporary ensembles such as: Tate Ensemble, SOIL and LOOS. At the moment
he is studying for a PhD in electro-acoustic composition with Simon Emmerson in
London.
2001-03 performances
Rote Fabrik-Zurich, Hiroshima mon amour-Torino,
Brakke Grond-Amsterdam, New forms
fest- Spui theater-Den Haag,
Meltdown 2001-Royal festival hall–London,
Zeitfluss fest-Salzburg,
Words&Voices fest-Heidelberg,
Fillmore-Piacenza, Teatro di Scandicci-Firenze, Grand theater-Groningen, New Electronic Serie-Kikker
theater-Utrecht, Kees van Baren
zaal-Den Haag, B.B.I.-Fribourg, Tom de Festa-Tondela, ZDB-Lisboa, Reithalle-Bern,
Teatro Pasubio-Schio, Alter Art-Travnik, Mochvara-Zagreb, Periferias02-Huesca,
Bolzanopoesia- Bolzano, Mercat de
les flors-Barcelona, Zeebelt
theatre-Den Haag.
THE WIRE / 1997 / UK
"This
is music which combine a driving force with dextrous and sensual technique
(...) An album that stands squarely at crossroads. European, Middle
Eastern, Indian African textures and polyrhythms abound. They represent
Asher's own background as a student of percussion and dance in Ghana
and India. But there is also a palpable interest in non-national genres:
her vision takes in low-level techno and ambigious electronic divergences.
There are numerous musicians working today who litter their music
with 'ethnoc' tat as a way of dressing something that is intrinsically
dull with a bit of glitter. There are fewer performers who are actively
engaged in seeking a methid by which several systems of sound may
meet in creatively profitable terms. Asher is one."