The Sonic Garden Party invites you to discover in a bucolic setting (public green space, park, private gardens open for the occasion) intimate, astonishing sound performances of various adventurous genres (electronics, sound arts, crossroads music, etc.) of about half an hour each.
In the framework of the Sonic Summer 2024, this second Sonic Garden Party gives pride of place to sound arts with a Belgian discovery, Thanas Kas, who has just released his first solo album, Dans la Mogador, on the Transonic label, and a reference in Spanish experimental music, Eli Gras, who invites his long-time accomplice, Alain Wergifosse, also an artist associated with Transcultures in 2024.
Throughout this “Sonic Summer 2024”, you will also be able to discover, in various spaces of this magnificent convent of Hautrage, video selections (carte blanche to Christophe Bailleau and Gauthier Keyaerts in a subtile dialogue between sounds and images), participate in beneficial workshops (Body & sound with Isa*Belle) and listen to funny insects in the garden and hidden here and there in the convent (installation ‘Sonic Bugs’ by Alain Wergifosse).
Thanas Kas (De/Al/Be)
Thanas is a Belgian multi-instrumentalist musician of German and Albanian origin. As a young teenager, he explored noise and psychedelic rock and formed the music group Antichronique with his brother Milaim, then he decided to study this art more deeply at the Jazz studio. in Antwerp and at Jazz Bxl.
Not being very satisfied with teaching and too curious to discover other music, he then traveled to Argentina, India, Mexico and studied at the National Institute of Arts in Bamako and at the School of La Dernière Trumpette in Ouagadougou in West Africa to immerse yourself in traditional music. On his return, he created the independent Brussels label Matilemstudio.
A professional drummer, he explores this instrument in more than ten groups and, more recently, practices other instruments such as acoustic guitar, percussion but also electronic treatments. He devotes himself to his solo project, Grand Than, which combines poetry, song and soundscapes.
He is also part of the world music quartet Les Frères Barezzi, the Oriental/flamenco group Rihhal Duo with Karam Al Zouhir and Guillaume Vanespen’s contemplative/meditative music project Ocean Voices Duo.
Eli Gras (Es)
Eli, a multidisciplinary artist, has contributed to various creative domains, creating notable artworks such as “Museum of the Dry Bugs,” “Grass Velvet,” and “Xylotheque,” along with music albums like “Tasmanian Robinet” and “Duplicat” with Pelayo Arrizabalaga. She has collaborated on projects like “Deep Gray Organics” by Alain Wergifosse and featured in compilations for labels like Classwar Karaoke and Ego Twister. Eli also appears in the documentary “Visionary Sounds” by Pablo López Jordán and has published collections of tales and poetry.
Her musical journey since the early ’80s spans genres from experimental music to pop rock, including stints with groups like Etnia and OBMUZ, and collaborations with artists across various disciplines. Eli has performed extensively across Europe at venues and festivals like Sonar and Worldtronics and has held residencies at institutions like Worm and Estruch. Her solo projects include the “UnPop” series, blending dada-folk with a one-woman band format.
Eli, primarily a composer and experimental DIY luthier, constructs and performs in sound and visual installations such as “Esmolets,” “Peeled Piano,” and “Saló Sonor,” often collaborating with Mar Morey on visuals. She also engages in solo experimental music performances and educational workshops for all ages. Beyond music, Eli has worked in diverse creative roles including graphic design, scriptwriting for animation, special effects in advertising, and as a radio illustrator, photographer, and videographer.
She founded and directs the NoNoLogic Festival since 2007 and the publishing label La Olla Expréss since 2002, showcasing a broad range of musical, visual, and literary works.
Alain Wergifosse (Be)
Belgian video artist and experimental musician having resided in Barcelona for 30 years, Alain Wergifosse has participated in countless sound projects solo and with groups such as Obmuz, Macromassa and Specop (in Spain).
For 10 years, he created interactive sounds and music for Marcel.lí Antúnez (founder of La Fura dels Baus). He co-organized the LEM and NoNoLogic festivals in Barcelona and published 3 albums: “Deep Gray Organics” in 1999 on the Geometrik label (Es), “Flux & Densités” in 2020 and the CD (+ booklet) “Spectres & Neons ” in 2022, both published by the Transonic (Be) label. In 2010, he composed the music for the film “Petite anatomy of the image” by Olivier Smolders.
He has produced numerous videos and immersive and sound installations regularly supported by Transcultures (and the City Sonic and Transnumériques festivals), the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and also, among others, by/for KIKK, Recyclart (Be), Zone Libre, European Pepinieres of Creation, and Vidéoformes (Fr), as well as concerts and sound and visual experimentation workshops.
Informations
- 08.08.2024 | 19:00
- Couvant d’Hautrage
- 6, Place d’Hautrage 7334 Saint-Ghislain
- Free entrance
Production
- Transcultures/Transonic
- In partenership with Septem et Ad Libitum.
- Banner : Sonic Garden Party 2011 (Vincent Tholome + Xavier Dubois)
Sonic Summer 2024
Transcultures, Centre for Sound and Digital Cultures, joins its partner Septem (Cultural Centre of Saint-Ghislain) to offer, this summer 2024, a program of friendly events open to all.
Workshops, concerts, installation, sound art video selection… dialoguing with the spaces of the Hautrage convent (16th century), around sound and intermedia creation with the participation of leading artists from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and abroad.
