This one is as unique as it can get. To celebrate the anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, the Alliance Française of Pondicherry, Alliance Française of Madras and the Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan are putting together Electro Heritage Concert with a light show with artistes DJ Psychorigid, Blindoff and Golden Disko Ship.
The banyan tree, emblematic of India, signifies a living culture that is constantly evolving. Taking a cue, the concert represents an India-Germany-France trinity demonstrating that the mix of cultures of origin is an integral part of the answer to the questions surrounding the resilience of culture. The concert will witness the meeting of three groups of specialised artists — a DJ, a German-Indian group and a lighting artist — who will create two shows in historical places in Chennai (Madras Literary Society) and Pondicherry (Consulate General of France in Pondichery) representing their architectural memory. Musicians will create ancient musical traditions and modern sounds to produce a harmony that stretches through time, in turn offering a new perspective to a population that has forgotten the richness of a monument. “I’m a visual artist from the electronic alternative scene and it’s important for me to actually see the sound. I pretend in my mind I’m the one making the music, but my instrument will actually make all kind of lights that create a scenography, like live street art painting but with lights. So, people can expect lights, abstract graphics, video loop art and some pictures/movie recorded both in Pondicherry and at Madras Literacy Society in Chennai,” says Blindoff, adding, “This is my first time in India. I have already spent a week in Chennai to prepare the mapping, and all I can say is that the heritage building design is very beautiful, and the meeting of history and IT design is very inspiring. I am very lucky to be offered to work on this project.”
In addition, the light artist will create a façade in a mandala of seeds sprouting and growing towards a light source which will be superimposed on an opening in the building on the background. The video will be produced in time lapse and then mapped upstream. The building is seen offering its own discourse while strengthening the link to nature. This intertwining of nature and architecture, gives a glimpse of architectural heritage as an ecosystem with plant life.
For Golden Disko Ship too, this is her first time in Chennai, and she says she is, “very curious to get to know the city and make memories for the future.” The Berlin-based sound artist and multi-instrumentalist, known for experimental, electro-acoustic audiovisual pop music, has earlier played at concerts in Kolkata and at Magnetic Fields Festival (Rajasthan) in 2018.
DJ Psychorigid is from Reunion Island and produces electronic pop music focused on dancing, with beats and rhythms from his island, from East Africa, South America and India of course. “So, the audience can expect a lot of it at the Electro Heritage concert. Also, it’s been 10 long years since the last time I played here. I have missed Chennai, and I am so excited to make new memories!” he says.