RAFLOST 2024

Schedule

SATURDAY 23rd of NOVEMBER

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13:00 – 15:00 Dótabúðin-Robot Workshop – Reykjavik City Library, Gerðuberg, Breiðholt

~–~

16:00 – 18:00 Opening / Performance – Hafnarhaus, Tryggvagata 17

  • LOVE Synthesiser / Steinunn Eldflaug Harðardóttir
  • Deepa R. Iyengar
  • Silfrún Una Guðlaugsdóttir

~~~

20:00 – 22:00 Concert – Hafnarhaus, Tryggvagata 17

Hekla Magnúsdóttir

Hekla kannar hljóðheim þeramínsins og spilar lög byggð á grafískri nótnaskrift fyrir þeremín. Í gegnum grafísku nótnaskriftina er hægt að teikna myndirnar í loftinu á thereminið og þannig spila myndirnar í loftið.

Helgi Pétursson

Helgi Pétursson (1962) útskrifaðist úr Tónfræðadeild Tónlistarskólans í Reykjavík þar sem kennarar hans í tónsmíðum voru Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson Atli Heimir Sveinsson og Þorsteinn Hauksson. Síðar lauk hann einnig MA námi í Microtechnology in Music Education frá University of Reading.

Á námsárum Helga var töluvert af verkum hans flutt opinberlaga, þar á meðal rafverk og einnig voru flutt eftir hann verk eftir að hann lauk námi, meðal annars á þeim árum sem hann var starfandi sem tónlistarkennari á Húsavík.

Helgi hefur mjög lengi haft mjög mikinn áhuga á raf og tölvutónlist og einnig á tölvutækni almennt og starfaði hann um árabil sem forritari.

Eftir að hann hætti sem starfandi tólistarmaður lá tónsköpun hans að mestu niðri en nú hefur hann tekið upp þráðinn að nýju með verkinu Blindfugl/Svartflug.

Blindfugl/Svartflug er samið í júní 2024 og er byggt á samnefndu ljóði Gyrðis Elíassonar frá 1986 sem Helgi les í heild í gegnum verkið.

Hugmyndin að þessu verki er mjög gömul því það hafði verið draumur Helga að gera þetta verk nánast alveg síðan hann heyrði Gyrði lesa ljóðið upp í útvarpi fljótlega eftir að það kom út. Það hafði mjög sterk áhrif á hann.  

Verkið má segja að sé viðleitni til þess að undirstrika þau hughrif og stemmingu sem ljóðið vekur með margbreytilegum hljóðheim og búa þannig til nokkurs konar hljóðmynd með ljóðinu.

Deepa R. Iyengar

Deepa R. Iyengar explores spaces in order to discover within them what is missing, invisible, or unrealized. Her preoccupation with the hidden manifests in installations which are dominated by loaded silences of space or time. Frequently her topics have to do with power, control, and liberation.

Deepa has participated in various solo and group shows in Iceland, Lithuania, and the U.S. In Iceland, some of the places she has shown are Reykjavík Art Museum (Hafnarhús), Kling&Bang, The Living Art Museum, and Ásmundarsalur (Gryfjan) as part of the artist collective D.N.A.

Deepa holds an M.A. degree in Fine Art from the Iceland University of the Arts. She is a resident of Iceland, though originally from the U.S., where she attained an M.Sc. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in Physics and Astronomy from Carleton College.

Ægir

Ægir is a drummer and experimental musician from Reykjavík. January 2020 saw the debut of his solo project, where he explores new sonic avenues with the help of a collection of guitar pedals and other sound-manipulating devices; initially from behind the drum kit, lately using and abusing a wider variety of sound sources (voice and feedback play big roles).

He has released 8 solo albums over the last four years, each one a world of its own.

At Raflost, Ægir will perform the audio/visual work BRIDGES for breathing disaster together with his brother, Óðinn Dagur. Óðinn has previously programmed audio-reactive visuals for Ægir’s live shows – but this time he built a world that he will explore, mangle and distort in real time, while Ægir does the same with sound.


Ægir er trommari og tilraunatónlistarmaður frá Reykjavík. Í janúar 2020 frumflutti hann einyrkjaverkefni sitt, þar sem hann kannar nýjar hljómlendur með hjálp safns gítarfetla og annarra hljóðbreytitækja; fyrst um sinn bakvið trommusett en í seinni tíð hefur hann nýtt sér í auknum mæli breiðara úrval hljóðefna (rödd og hringóm spila þar stóra rullu).

Hann hefur gefið út 8 sólóplötur undanfarin fjögur ár, hver þeirra heimur út af fyrir sig.

Á Raflost mun Ægir flytja hljóð/myndverkið BRIDGES for breathing disaster ásamt bróður sínum, Óðni Degi. Óðinn hefur áður forritað myndefni fyrir tónleika Ægis – en í þetta skiptið byggði hann heim sem hann mun kanna, beygla og bjaga í rauntíma, meðan Ægir gerir slíkt hið sama með hljóð.

Dótabúðin – Robot Workshop

í Borgarbókasafninu, Gerðubergi. 23.nóvember klukkan 13:00-15:00.

City Library, Gerðuberg. 23rd of november, 1 PM – 3 PM // english below

Leiðbeinendur/Worshop leaders: Sam Rees & Jesper Pedersen

REGISTER HERE: https://borgarbokasafn.is/vidburdir/born/fribud-dotabudin-velmennasmidja

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/events/969920294899120/


Fyrir krakka og ungt fólk. Hámark 16 þátttakendur.

Bókun á vef Borgarbókasafnsins: https://borgarbokasafn.is/vidburdir/born/fribud-dotabudin-velmennasmidja


Á þessu skemmtilega og skapandi námskeiði verður gömlum rafmagnsleikföngum breytt í spennandi hljóðfæri og teiknivélar með einföldum tökkum og tólum. Með því að taka leikföngin í sundur og setja saman aftur á nýjan hátt munu þátttakendur á þessu námskeiði búa til ný hljóð og einstök teiknimynstur.

Leiðbeinendurnir hvetja til verklegra tilrauna og munu virkja ímyndunaraflið. Þáttakendur þurfa ekki að kunna neitt, bara hafa áhuga á skrýtnum og sérstæðum hlutum, eins og hvernig mótorar og leikföng geta breyst í framandi og flott listaverk.

Á námskeiðinu læra þátttakendur að:

  • Taka leikföng í sundur á öruggan hátt.
  • Nota rofa til að stjórna mótorum og hreyfingu.
  • Búa til einfaldar vélar sem teikna eða búa til hljóð.
  • Finna skapandi lausnir með öðrum þátttakendum.

Það má koma með sín eigin ónothæfu rafmagnsleikföng til að taka í sundur eða nota dót sem verður á staðnum.

Um Sam samkvæmt ChatGPT

Sam Rees er breskur listamaður búsettur á Íslandi. Hann er þekktur fyrir að skapa gagnvirk listaverk úr fundnum hlutum, sérstaklega leikfangarobótum sem hann umbreytir til að mynda flóknar, sögudrifnar senur. Verkin hans eru blanda af DIY-menningu og súrrealískum frásögnum. Sam hefur kennt gagnvirka miðla við Listaháskóla Íslands frá 2014 og vinnur mikið með jaðar- og lo-fi list sem endurspeglar áhuga hans á verkum sem brjóta upp hefðbundin menningarmynstur

Um Jesper samkvæmt ChatGPT

Jesper Pedersen er íslenskur listamaður og tónskáld sem vinnur með innsetningar, blandaða miðla og hljóðlist. Verk hans kanna oft samspil tækni og náttúru, með sérstakri áherslu á rafræna tónlist og hljóðheim. Hann er þekktur fyrir nýstárlega notkun tækni og efnis sem brýtur upp hefðbundin listform. Pedersen hefur einnig unnið með hljóðverkum í tengslum við hljóðfæri eins og mótúlarsamstæður og sameinar sjónræna list við tónsmíðar


For kids and young people. Maximum 16 participants

Register here: https://borgarbokasafn.is/vidburdir/born/fribud-dotabudin-velmennasmidja


In this fun and creative workshop, kids will learn how to transform old toy robots into exciting instruments and drawing machines using simple tools and switches. By taking apart the robots and reassembling them with new functions, participants will create devices that make sounds or draw unique patterns.

This workshop encourages hands-on exploration and imagination, with no prior experience needed. Through playful experimentation, kids will discover how mechanical parts like motors and gears can be repurposed to make their own interactive creations.

What you’ll learn:

  • How to safely take apart and repurpose toy robots
  • Using switches to control motors and movements
  • Building simple machines that draw or make sounds
  • Creative problem-solving and teamwork

What to bring: Any old or broken toy robots you’d like to repurpose (optional), or use the scrap materials provided.


About Sam according to ChatGPT

Sam Rees is an anti-disciplinary artist and educator currently teaching at the Iceland University of the Arts. With a background in interactive media and a strong focus on robotics, electronics, and creative coding, Sam’s practice blends art and technology to create interactive installations and workshops. Their work often explores themes of sustainability, play, and repurposing materials, encouraging a hands-on, experimental approach to making.

About Jesper according to ChatGPT

Jesper Pedersen is a composer, sound artist, and educator specializing in electronic and experimental music. Currently teaching new media composition at the Iceland University of the Arts and Computer Music at the Kópavogur College of Music, exploring innovative approaches to sound and technology in contemporary music.

Kristian Ross

”the result of thought operating on noise”

Monument of failed attempts to approach truth through thinking.

Pedestal, speaker, big red button, excerpt of Jiddu Krishnamurti public talk (Saanen, 1979). Words. Silences.

 

Danish musician, composer and sound artist

Located in Reykjavik, Iceland

https://kristianross.dk

Masaya Ozaki & doro sora

Masaya Ozaki is a New York/Iceland-based composer born in Niigata, Japan. His work examines the idea of space as a transient entity, the subtleties behind small moments, the sensitivity of the ephemera, and the future of sound in an exceedingly materialistic world. He often finds inspiration in nature, the fragility of human interactions, and the momentums behind them.
Masaya’s artwork materializes as field recordings and compositions for film, dance, visual, and experimental arts.

http://www.masayaozaki.com/

– – –

doro sora (Dorota Kozłowska)

https://www.instagram.com/atorod_/

 

Masaya Ozaki

doro sora

 

Þóranna Björnsdóttir

Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir: Ekkó
Performers: Ylfa Þöll Ólafsdóttir and Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir
Text: Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir, from the work “Kvika”, used with kind permission of author

Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir ( b.1976) is a sound & visual artist based in Reykjavík Iceland.
She studied music from an early age and graduated as a classical pianist. Then she immediately turned to the field of contemporary music and art. A graduate of the Royal Academy of art in the Hague Þóranna has worked as a video and performance artist in the electroacoustic field. Björnsdóttir’s works are focused on the act of listening, representing themes such as: sound as an intuitive medium and as knowledge – knowing and being; allowing sounds to ignite myriad images and associations which give rise to various outcomes in form, time and space; her work has built upon the interplay of film and live music performances and takes on the form of sculpture, performance and soundwork. Her subject matters are varied but often revolve around human nature and a person’s worldview, how it shapes and progresses. Through a multidisciplinary approach her practice often places the viewer or audience at the centre of the work.

Þóranna has exhibited her work widely and performed at numerous concerts and art festivals in Iceland and internationally. Þóranna also works as a sound- and performance artist with the international art group Wunderland. In the last years she has taken the role as a curator of individual exhibitions and in 2020 co-curated the art biennale Sequences X titled “Time has come”.

https://thorannabjornsdottir.com

 

Mari Garrigue

Immersive. Imaginative. Transcendental. Mari Garrigue is a composer, digital luthier, sound designer, and vocalist based in Iceland. Her portfolio work incorporates a rich palate of hidden soundscapes explored and collected during her travels. The tapestry of her work derives from the natural landscape, electromagnetic fields, traditional instruments, and sound synthesis, which are used in tandem. Mari’s blend of the organic with the artificial produces rich, breathing textures which flow elegantly between the boundaries of reality and surreality.

https://www.instagram.com/mari.garrigue/

Live Coding for Beginners

Live Coding Workshop hosted by the City Library.  Free!

REGISTER HERE:
https://borgarbokasafn.is/event/learning/live-coding-beginners-strudel

Live coding is the creation of art and music by writing and changing computer programs while they run live, normally in view of the audience. In the last few decades, this practice has emerged as a dynamic creative discipline, gaining attention across cultural and technical fields—from music and the visual arts to computer science. In live coding the composition happens in realtime, where performers can communicate via sound, visuals, robotic and human movements, or basically anything that can be controlled. In performance the code is often projected on a screen for the audience to follow.

In this introductory workshop participants will get hands-on experience working with the popular browser-based live coding platform Strudel. The workshop will be led by Jack Armitage and Sigríður Birna Matthíasdóttir from the Intelligent Instruments Lab.

Participants ages 16 and older from all backgrounds are welcome, no coding experience is necessary. Please note the workshop will be held in English, and there are only 12 seats available. Participants must bring their own laptop / computer, although a limited number of on-site computers will be provided upon request.

At the end of the workshop at 15:30, participants are invited to share their ideas to help kickoff a new Live Coding Meetup, an open space for artists and programmers of all abilities and backgrounds to meet regularly, work on individual projects or collaborations, and learn about new technologies and practices. The meetup, launching this fall at the library, is a chance for participants to review and share live coding skills, as well as to dive even deeper into Strudel and other topics of interest.

The program for this workshop is as follows:
12:00-15:30: Introduction to live coding using Strudel TidalCycles
15:30-16:00: Live Coding Meetup kickoff

For more information about the international live coding community, see TOPLAP (https://toplap.org/) and Algorave (https://algorave.com/).
More on Strudel and TidalCycles: https://strudel.tidalcycles.org/

For more information regarding the workshop:
Karl James Pestka (he/him)
Project Manager — Makerspace
karl.james.pestka@reykjavik.is | +354 665 0898

 

Owen Hindley

Owen (he/him) is a collaborative digital artist, working with software, sound, and electronics for the web, VR, performances, devices and installations.

His commercial work has included serving as technical lead on large, cutting-edge projects for clients such as Oculus Studios, Google, Microsoft/Xbox, Samsung and Mercedes, collaborating with digital creatives such as Universal Everything, FIELD and B-Reel. These projects have ranged from an interactive web-connected musical installation at the London Science Museum for Google, Web Lab, to a pneumatic live-streamed pinata-smashing robot.

He is co-founder of Huldufugl, a Reykjavik-based theatre and events company experimenting with new mediums in theatre, both technological and immersive.

He is also co-founder of Horizons Studio, a London-based creative studio producing interactive musical experiences in VR. Their debut title, Horizons VR was commissioned by Google as a launch title for their Daydream platform, with releases on Oculus and HTC platforms planned for 2019.

He was also Sound Supervisor and on-set sound recordist on two short independent films, The Fallow Field and Who We Are, and sound editor on the Subsource Dubumentary.

https://linktr.ee/owenhindley

Þorsteinn Eyfjörð & Owen Hindley

A audio-visual collaboration between sound artist Þorsteinn Eyfjörð and digital artist Owen Hindley. It will be their first time working together as a duo to create an immersive audio-visual experience consisting of choral-esque laments, field recordings and infra-bass married to LIDAR-inspired point cloud structures, geometric ruminations on the space that exists between light and shadow.

The performance will involve two tall blokes, live audio manipulation, projected visuals, lighting design and possibly turtlenecks.

https://cargocollective.com/teyfjord
https://linktr.ee/owenhindley

MC MYASNOI

MC MYASNOI is a Russian born, Iceland based band/collective that’s been a part of the Reykjavík grassroots collective Post-Dreifing for the past years.
Their current music can be described as deconstructed electronic music from outer space but things can always move in a completely different direction before you even notice.
Recently the band has been collaborating with exciting artists to establish a new visual aspect in their live set in the form of costumes and visuals.

“MC MYASNOI is guiding the masses through a cathartic, communal experience” — Studentablaðið
Prepare yourself for mental death & rebirth.

https://linktr.ee/mc_myasnoi

Dalin WaldoOoOoOoo


YOUR LOCAL ELECTRICITY WITCH: Dalin WaldoOoOoOoo an esoteric engineering enthusiast, one of the founders of the neo-fluxus anti-art movement Nægtularism with a big heart for old soviet synthesizers. She/he/they has an x-pertise in eloptic engineering and uses this knowledge in designing more organismic synthesizer interfaces together with SOMA Laboratory. She/he/they is the designer of The Ethermorphic FM Analyzer and the ENNER synthesizer. Which are both machines that can transmit your direct emotional energy and make the operator become a part of the circuitry, becoming one self an Emotional Machine Activator indeed, indeed. X-citing!

Can synthesizers transmit emotional energy, the so-called “eloptic energy”? Can we consider improvisation as a way of conversing with our synthesizers? – and can we build synthesizers in the future based on the understanding of eloptic energy? Thoughts about esoteric engineering, deep listening and the aesthetic of electricity. Followed up by a presentation of the ENNER synthesizer project.

Mikael Lind

Mikael Lind is an electronic musician that has released many albums under his own name, and in collaboration with among others Hoshiko Yamane from Tangerine Dream and the cellist Johanna Sjunnesson from Radiosymfonikerna.  He has also composed sound pieces for visual art, most recntly the exhibition Andardráttur á glugga in Ásmundarsafn.  His music is often ambient with an experimental side, but for RAFLOST he will perform a new piece with emphasis on experiments.

 

sideproject

sideproject is an electronic music trio from Reykjavik, Iceland. In the last year they contributed beat programming to Björk’s “Fossora” , as well as releasing an official remix of the single “Atopos” .

With an equal focus on studio work and live performances, the trio have been working hard at a new LP as well as performing a new live set.

They have been very active in the local Reykjavik scene, organizing concerts and parties as well as releasing albums, with their 2021 release “radio vatican ep” winning the electronic album of the year at the Icelandic music awards and their most recent project being the 2022 EP “kingfisher” .

Their music is characterized by heavy, fast-paced, intricate beats and textured, flowing synths. stealing from everyone and everywhere, sideproject’s music becomes a cryptic mix of electronic influences.

 

Possimiste

Possimiste is a lucid dreamer who brings songs into this world from other galactic dimensions she visits. This explains the stellar essence of that catchy pop dedicated to humankind.

Possimiste’s debut album “Youniverse” was released in summer 2021 and has brought the artist numerous awards, such as “Best Female Act” at X977 “Sykurmolinn 2020”, “European Emerging Band 2021” winner, one of the most notable albums of 2021 by The Reykjavík Grapevine, and “Album of the Year” by Musica Islandese Italia.

At RAFLOST, she will join forces with Tálsýn visuals to take you on a special trip through numerous galaxies.

RAFLOST Workshops

This year we will host short workshops in collaboration with Hafnar.Haus , a new creative space in the center of Reykjavík.

The workshops will be on Saturday the 20th of May and Sunday the 21st.  Click the links for details and descriptions.

Workshop #1 – TouchDesigner / Saturday 20th / Owen Hindley / 10-15 / food / presentation at 17 / 6000isk   FULL!  send a message to workshop@raflost.is  to be on the waiting list

Workshop #2 – Extra workshop / Sunday 21st / announced very soon 🙂

 

Workshop #1

Making Live Visuals In TouchDesigner

Owen Hindley

 

We’ll be looking at how to create fun real-time visual machines in TouchDesigner that you can use for VJ performances, installations, or creating motion graphics. 

 

The workshop will be aimed at people who have some experience and/or interest in image making or visual spectacle – be it drawing, graphic design, video, lighting, stop motion or just wearing a really colourful shirt.

 

We will aim to cover some or all of the following :

  • Creating controllable 2D graphics from scratch
  • Controlling effects from an audio input or MIDI controller
  • Processing video or webcam feeds
  • Importing 3d models and using them in your work
  • Performing alongside live music.

 

To end the workshop, we’ll put on a brief sharing for Raflost guests in the style of a Bring Your Own Beamer event (byobworldwide.com), where we take over a room with a bunch of projectors and cover every available space with moving images. 

 

You will need to bring :

(Please make sure you run it once before coming to the workshop, to make sure it actually starts up)

  • (Ideally) a projector for the Bring Your Own Beamer sharing.
  • (Optional) Some visual material you’d like to experiment with, e.g. your own drawings, video, 3d models, animations, or just a picture of your cats.
  • (Optional) A MIDI controller or keyboard. 
  • (Optional) A mouse that has a clickable scroll wheel – Touchdesigner is much easier to use with a physical mouse rather than a trackpad.

 

Date: 20th of May.
Time:

  • course 10:00-12:00
  • lunchbreak 12:00-13:00
  • course 13:00-1500
  • food break 15:00-16:30
  • optional presentation at 17:00

Location: Hafnar.haus, Hafnarhúsinu, Tryggvagötu 17, Reykjavík
Registration:  fill out this registration form
Fee: 6000 krónur
Language: English
Participants: max 12

 

www.owenhindley.co.uk

www.huldufugl.is