BY TAMARA KOHLER
My ensemble Rubiks Collective is in the midst of what our feature artist has deemed “the best blind date ever” as we prepare for our upcoming event Imaginarium.
It was a mild Thursday night in Melbourne as we Rubiks musicians ventured out to Tullamarine to greet our prospective companion for the week. The preceding days had been full of preparing parts, pre-rehearsals, cleaning houses and moving a mattress – the latter involving my first attempt ever of driving a van (which wasn’t uneventful, trust me on that one).
The trip down the ‘Tulla’ was full of jittery squeals and nervous excitement, which undoubtedly resulted in an early turn-off from a route more than familiar to us all. After a few U-turns and a little assistance from trusty Google Maps, we were back on our way. Our mildly hysterical anticipation became truly apparent when, walking from the carpark at the airport, we realized we had potentially chosen the furthest spot available from the terminal entry.
By the time we arrived at the terminal, we were not only starving, but also busting to use the bathroom. Our pianist Jacob Abela and I ran for the nearest toilet, while percussionist Kaylie Melville went on a hunt for hot chips. Eventually, we passed off all of these distractions and swiftly made our way to the International Arrivals gate.
Walking up to the gate signalled what felt like my personal moment to shine. Although it is slightly embarrassing to admit, it has always been a bizarre little dream of mine to hold a sign up for someone in the arrivals terminal of the International airport, ready to greet them with dorky glee after their long journey. I had spent the past day designing the perfect poster, complete with ‘Marcus Fjellström’ in the closest bold font I could find to that of the multimedia artist’s own animations. Below the text lay a little picture of Australia with Marcus’ characters ‘Odboy and Erordog’ from his loveable cartoon. I also had the sign laminated, just for that extra special touch.
It came time to hold that sign, which I did with absolute pride and conviction, lending a hopeful smirk to any tall European looking man…and eventually, there he was! I don’t think any of us could really believe the moment we had been obsessing over for a month had finally arrived.
Rubiks has been fascinated with Marcus Fjellström’s work for well over a year now, after Jacob discovered his music and animation one evening while down an internet rabbit-hole. We introduced ourselves to Marcus via email, opening a conversation in which we began sharing our recordings of his musical works and admiration for his art. When Rubiks shared our plans for a feature evening of Marcus’ work, he floated the idea of joining us from Europe in what would be his first ever trip outside the continent. I certainly remember the shrieks of disbelief between us all that came with those consequential phone-calls.
So, here we are! He’s here, and the concert is raring towards us! Join us on April 9 to indulge in our fresh love affair for both Marcus and his fascinating creations.
Go see Rubiks present Imaginarium: the Music and Animation of Marcus Fjellström, 7.30pm April 9 in Melba Hall, Parkville. Free event, more info www.rubikscollective.com.
Image supplied.
