Now that I finally have a moment to breathe, I can post a treat for you. Last Friday I saw Flying Lotus and Dr Strangeloop — an experimental hip hop artist and visual artist (and sometimes musician), respectively — perform a “live musical score to Harry Smith’s 1962 animated avant-garde classic Heaven & Earth Magic” (as the press release put it). The show, which took place at the Michigan Theater, was arranged as part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
Sadly I didn’t arrive until 7:15, so I not only missed the beginning of the main feature, but also Dr. Strangeloop’s opening performance of “2010: (or) How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Technological Singularity.” I hadn’t heard much about “the Singularity” before the show. But actually, just that afternoon Kaliptus had been talking to me about author Terence McKenna, who it seems was the first to elaborate on the concept. Dr. Strangeloop explains it in the third video below, so I’ll leave it to him.
The first two clips are from the live score performance. It was a pretty wild ride. I’m glad that I was there. As I explain in the YouTube info box, the videos are a bit wobbly and/or crooked because I was covering the viewing screen on my camera. I didn’t want to disturb anyone’s viewing experience. At least you can get a basic idea of what went down. The audience did ask the duo if they intended to release an official version of this performance. It sounds like they’re interested but not sure, although they would consider repeating the live score in the future. For more info on the program, you can view this press release or this tickets page.
I also attended and took videos at the “after party show” at the Blind Pig. But Flying Lotus, or someone purporting to be him, contacted me on YouTube and asked me to take those ones down. He didn’t explain why, and while at first I thought it would be because his new album Cosmogramma doesn’t come out until May 4, later on I realized he’s probably planning on selling a DVD of live performances. Dr. Strangeloop — who is part of Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label — provided live visuals with a midi board and laptop.
Anyway, enjoy the videos below. Just use the left and right arrows to navigate between the three.
Similar Posts:
- Mind-Expanding Music from 2010, part 4: Flying Lotus (February 21, 2011)
- Tryptophantasia Event: Feb 13 in NYC (February 1, 2010)
- My 10 Favorite Films of the Decade, 2000-2009 (January 6, 2010)
- Mind-Expanding Music from 2010, part 2: Emeralds (January 25, 2011)
