The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, with the artistic direction of Advanced Music, presents Hypersounds.

Hypersounds is a multi-faceted cross-section of the processes involved in research into sound, featuring various artistic fields such as live music, DJ sets, documentaries and interactive audiovisual installations.

Hypersounds presents creativity as applied to the infinite possibilities of sound, an essential artistic expression of the modern production process. The event also highlights its physical and emotional impact on the viewer, and points to new ways of perceiving and understanding its enormous potential..

The event will take place simultaneously over two days, in five spaces in the two museum buildings.
Those attending will be able to alternate between scheduled concerts and DJ sets as well as installations/ performances that will be on display permanently.
The line-up is complemented by panels by Spanish technology research platforms investigating music and multimedia art, and the projection of a documentary on the art of music improvisation. This makes for an appealing programme that focuses on the infinite possibilities of sound from various artistic viewpoints.

Using the various spaces in its two buildings, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is providing the opportunity to take a close look at and discover some of the most interesting Spanish and international projects in sonic research in various artistic disciplines, while retaining the enjoyment involved in the ideas and the event itself. The activity also goes beyond the normal boundaries of the museum and its spaces. It reinvents their function, and makes them into a lively space for creation, experimentation and entertainment.

A Cinematic experience in audio surround 5.1
Umfeld is a joint project by the Dutch musician Jochem Paap (a European techno pioneer under the alias of Speedy J) and the North American video artist and flmmaker Scott Pagano. In their own words, it is a cinematic experience in 5.1 surround audio, in which Paap’s rhythm and sonic depth connect with Pagano’s imaginary dynamics. It is an extremely meticulous project that squeezes everything possible out of the surround system, and takes a step beyond the blending of sounds and images.

Extreme noise
Noise, seen as just another form of sound, is the central element used by this group, whose live instrumental line-up is almost unprecedented: four drummers, two basses and a keyboard, with the possible inclusion of several guitars, depending on the occasion. With this starting point, it is not surprising that their deafening sonic approach, which is often mixed with improvisation, always provokes a physical response among listeners, similar to that inspired by bands like Sunn O))), Boredoms and Wolf Eyes.

Futuristic Dubstep
Formed by Ian Carter and Adam Philips in Manchester in 2003, Various Production (or simply Various) made their name with “The World Is Gone” (2006), an original and highly personal offering featuring a combination of dubstep and folk in perfect harmony. Their remixes (for Thom Yorke, Virus Syndicate and Cat Power) and live shows, as well as a recent album with the poet Gerry Mitchell, show that they are capable of nimble leaps between genres and conventions, and have their own unique sound spectrum.

Exploring pop
Based in Portland, Oregon, France’s Melanie Valera has spent almost fve years exploring rhythms and melodies as a solo artist, under the stage name of Tender Forever, and she has released two delightful albums on K records. Her talent is revealed and expanded when she plays live: Melanie extracts and manipulates endless sounds (some are very familiar, others are very strange) using a guitar, keyboard and laptop. Her shows are a celebration of pop confession, which conceal painstaking work and the sonic capacity of her songs.

The wonky sound
A representative of the new batch of British producers from the “wonky” scene, Glasgow-born Rustie’s tracks and sessions contain a mixture of hip-hop, dubstep, techno, booty bass, electro and whatever takes his fancy, while always retaining his personal and instantly recognisable hallmark, featuring rhythms with a fresh, recently- concocted tang.

Vision of the future
Every week on her programme on BBC Radio 1 - a point of reference on the airwaves - Hobbs reveals the new talents on the urban music scene, from hip-hop abstraction to the wonky sound, by way of ambient electronica and freshly minted dubstep. Her adventurous attitude is refected in sessions in which she always drops a healthy number of exclusives, raising the profle of the future sounds on the scene.

New sonic languages
A pioneer and a key fgure on the electronic scene in Spain, and respected by Europe’s leading lights, Luís Rozalén has a frm grounding as a musician, producer and researcher into electronic language. In his numerous and always bewitching sessions, he displays a great deal of versatility and a vast knowledge of the art of mixing, and creates a new sound based on strange materials.

Crunches, echos and frequencies
An active member of the Madrid underground scene, a member of the Platforma LTW collective and net label and the cornerstone of the label spa.RK, on which he released the excellent “Madrid”, Rec_Overfow uses broken and dry hip-hop rhythms, winding melodies and a wide range of crossovers, echoes and frequencies which appeal to the heart, head and feet in equal measure.

Electronic textures
Svreca is meticulous when working with sound and all the possible textures between electro, experimental techno and the most intricate electronica. He stands out from the crowd thanks to the productions on his Semantica label – a key reference for recent electronica in Spain - and highly unconventional sets, in which he creates a sonic fabric that is diffcult to pin down, which has immediate narcotic effects on the listener.

Dark electronics for the dancefoor
In her frst releases for labels like D1 Recordings and Semantica, Madrid’s Annie Hall shows an unusual elegance when combining electro percussions with foating melodies and carefully worked IDM structures, a musical approach that she also applies to her sets, which involve careful attention to detail and a meticulous treatment of the dark side of electronica for the dancefoor.

Laser Sound Performance
LSP combines images and sound using a single laser projected on a fne layer of smoke, which enables viewers to change their perspective on their surroundings using their presence and movement. The constant fuctuations between image and audio help to understand and grasp the spatial perception of sound. As well as all this, LSP is an aesthetic experience with considerable visual impact.

Spatial Sounds
A powerful speaker mounted on a long rotating arm explores the oscillations and changes in space and sound created by the audience. Meanwhile, the visitor hears the noise of the motor that powers the revolving arm and the different sounds generated by the speaker during its exploration, thereby establishing a physical relationship between man and machine. In collaboration with Marnix de Nijs.

Amplifed Gesture is a flm about the art of musical improvisation which is a product of the mind of the British musician David Sylvian (the flm’s executive producer) as a complement to his latest album, “Manafon”. The flm is directed by Phil Hopkins, and explores the art of improvisation by means of interviews and conversations with some of its most renowned exponents, several of whom also worked with Sylvian on “Manafon”: Otomo Yoshihide, Toshimaru Nakamura, Christian Fennesz, Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost, Evan Parker and John Tilbury, among others. The result is accessible, revealing and extremely stimulating.

A flm by Phil Hopkins
“Amplifed Gesture” (run time: 55 minutes)
Directed and edited by: Phil Hopkins
Executive Producer: David Sylvian
Interviews conducted by: Nick Luscombe
Filmed 2008/2009 England, France, Austria
www.samadhisound.com

*A presentation by José Manuel Costa, a journalist specialising in
avant-garde culture and art.

**Please note: David Sylvian does not appear in the flm.

MediaLab Prado is a programme by the Arts Area of Madrid City Council, for the production, research and dissemination of digital culture. Marcos García, one of its main architects, will talk about the many projects and lines of work involved, with special emphasis on AVLAB, a platform for the creation and dissemination of sonic and visual arts.

The Musical Technology Research Group (MTG) at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University works in the feld of digital technology applied to sound and music. Sergi Jordà, the man behind the famous Reactable interactive table, will be explaining the latest features in the Reacvision software application, and the various projects he undertook in his Interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media.