Announcement: Recombinant Rebound 2021
Announcement: Recombinant Rebound 2021 @ Gray Area
June 29, 2021
Elise Mills
The Cine Chamber has returned to Gray Area for a limited run, now extended until August 1st! Secure your spot ASAP.
The Cine Chamber displaying “Birds Fly” by Biosphere and Egbert Mittelstädt. Image courtesy of Gray Area.
Recombinant Media Labs’ (RML) lauded Cine Chamber system is back at Gray Area for Recombinant Rebound 2021, now extended to August 1st*. The 360° Cine Chamber has brought together artists and audiences from all around the world to participate in stunning, highly sensory panoramic audio-visual experiences and performances. For artists who were (and are) curious to try their hands at audio-visual technology as a part of their artistic development, the Cine Chamber is a customizable vessel for hosting immersive image-driven, strange sound universes from both lesser-known and established artists alike.
According to RML, the Cine Chamber “can be "played" or "manipulated" as an AV instrument and provides international artists the opportunity to take their creative impulse to the furthest frontiers of aural, optical and film collage languages.” On the spectator side, the Cine Chamber envelops the audience in both surround sound and image, resulting in a stimulating hyperreal environment. RML founder and Cine Chamber artistic director and curator Naut Humon describes this phenomenon as a “VR experience without the headset.”
The Cine Chamber displaying “Saffron Revolution Forever” by Fennesz and Lillevan. Image courtesy of Gray Area.
Despite the impressive sound system and flashiness of the 10-screen projection installation, Naut Humon reminds us to redirect our attention to the works themselves; the role of the Cine Chamber is that it is a means for engaging with sound and image differently, panoramically across multiple frameworks rather than through a single perspective:
NH: The most important thing is the content and finding a context for that content. In other words, it’s the artworks themselves rather than the technology that runs it, that is the focus of a lot of the curation and participation for many of these international artists…
We (RML) spend a lot of time searching for the character and personality of the artists themselves and try to bring that out in the presentation. If there's an art and technology hub, we’re more about the art than the technology. I’d say our emphasis or philosophy is more centered on the creative work that can be done when you think about things spatially rather than as things through a single frame.
Intrigued? Here’s what you need to know about attending the event.
Tickets are available for purchase on Gray Area’s website. From now until July 4th, Recombinant Rebound 2021 presents the following two programs each night with several timing options, $25 each: Filaments in Strata and Panorama Paranormal. While you could attend one or the other on separate nights, Naut strongly recommends witnessing both programs on the same night to capture the full experience. In light of this, Recombinant Rebound will now offer a double feature option which includes a Q&A with Naut Humon ($40!), and more limited single showing options from July 7th to August 1st (more info below).
Each ~60-minute show consists of an exciting collection of solo works and collaborations that were specifically designed for the Cine Chamber. You can learn the details about each work and artist on the event page.
I. Filaments in Strata (2006-2009)
Until July 4th: Available for viewing at 5:30pm and 8:00pm ($25)
Update: From July 7th–August 1st: Available for single showing at 7:00 pm ($25) or included in double feature bundle ($40 total), starts at 7:00 pm
This program includes “captured experiential tracks from live archived concerts in the 2000's at the Recombinant Media Labs theatre in San Francisco. Octagonal swings from ambient to abrupt.”
Works by: Biosphere & Egbert Mittelstädt, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Semiconductor, Masako Tanaka & Oval, Scott Pagano & Joche Paap, and Scott Arford.
II. Panorama Paranormal (2010-2021)
Until July 4th: Available for viewing at 7:00pm and 10:00pm ($25)
Update: From July 7th–August 1st: Available for single showing at 8:45 pm ($25) or included in double feature bundle ($40 total), starts at 7:00 pm
This program explores the “surround sound paradigm as applied to the panoramic image.”
Works by: Naut Humon, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Egbert Mittelstädt, Burial & Masako Tanaka, Paul Clipson & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Fennesz & Lillevan, Biosphere & Egbert Mittelstädt, and an “embryonic” premiere of a new work by Dimensional Holofonic Sound (aka Ben Stokes).
Don’t sleep on this exciting event! I’ll be attending on July 1st–hope to see you there!
The Cine Chamber displaying one of Ryoichi Kurokawa’s works. Image courtesy of Gray Area.
*announcement updated 6/30/21 to account for Gray Area’s recent event extension update
Elise is a recovering 2020 graduate, sound artist, and noise lover born and raised in San Francisco. Especially interested in the metaphysicality of sound, she spends her time attempting to prototype DIY synthesizers and experimenting with (and lamenting!) the whims of magnetic tape, among other experimental electronic projects.