BY ALISON PARIS, LEAD WRITER (CHILDREN AND EARLY LEARNING)
Dots+Loops
Vibrations
Newstead Brewing Co, Milton, 27 March
Dots+Loops curator and founder Kieran Welch describes Vibrations as “the weird house party of your dreams”. Weaving through the crowds of football fans flocking to the Newstead Brewery after the game, following a few humble signs, I walked up the flight of stairs to a dark, expansive upper level split into three sections: the garden, the dining room, and the living room, all put together in a way that looked like it had come straight out of a surreal video game. I’m not sure exactly what made me feel that way — maybe it was the pictures hanging eerily from the ceiling, or the absurd visuals on projectors. Dots+Loops left reality downstairs for its latest curation of uncanny art.
After a personal and joyful Welcome to Country, the audience was moved into the garden decked out with lawn chairs, fake grass, and a line of clothes hanging above the performers’ extensive gear. Provocative Vibrations, featuring Yvette Agapow and Mikaela Thomsen, had impressive stage presence from the moment they started their set. The three pieces performed were completely off the wall, and the duo was engaging and almost intimidatingly stoic throughout the entire set. My favourite piece was Endless Shrimp, a collage of audio and visual wackiness that commented on overconsumption through imagery of factories and soundbites that sounded straight out of American infomercials. Vibrations was the duo’s debut performance, and the artists were something fresh and original I’m sure no one saw coming.
After a brief intermission, Sydney-based duo Throat Pleats took to the dining room in their underwear. Niki Johnson, carrying a tom drum around her neck, seemed to circle Solomon Frank, who called out to her on his broken clarinet. The choreography resembled an animalistic mating ritual, and the sounds coupled with the movements made the two look like wild birds. What I liked most about Throat Pleats was the sense of humour, making the two artists so much fun to watch. The whole thing was objectively strange, and they were clearly enjoying themselves, often stifling a giggle while picking one another up and deflating their balloons.
Moving into the living room area, IDM duo Shugorei launched into some of the most exciting live music I’ve seen in a long time. Virtuoso percussionist Nozomi Omote and composer Thomas Green had an amazing onstage relationship, both in terms of musical compatibility and just in the way they talked with one another between songs. Shugorei, meaning ‘guardian spirit’, performed pieces from its debut self-titled album, including improvisations and fully realised pieces. Omote was enthralling to watch on her array of percussion instruments, especially the vibraphone, and guest vocalist Chihiro Kasagi broke up the instrumental works with her ethereal voice. A highlight of the night was their version of the Japanese folk tune Sakura Sakura, performed with a spacey, other-worldly aesthetic. Visuals by Kit Mason tied the whole set together, extending even further that futuristic sci-fi feel that Green is so passionate about.
Dots+Loops creator Kieran Welch, also known as Airport, closed the night with a DJ set, taking the time to wind down the audience from everything that just unfolded. This was a creative and beautiful night, with a space that was used to its fullest potential to compliment the wonderfully diverse acts.
Images supplied. Credit: Reuben Fenemore.
