One night event and subsequent site specific installation with sound, lighting, appropriated and fabricated objects.

Produced in collaboration with local musicians, DJs, VJs, and promoters as part of IZOLYATSIA Artists-in-Residence Program 2012-13 and presented as part of TURBOREALISM (Breaking Ground), curated Victoria Ivanova & Agnieszka Pindera
12 July 2012 – 03 November 2013
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From the folder accompanying exhibition:

Upon entering the train depot with the evocative number “1990” laid out in brick above its closed gates, we encounter a scene that escapes precise characterisation. On the one hand, everything within these walls hints at an event that has already taken place, while on the other hand, the space feels poignantly, if somewhat hauntingly, alive.

On the night of 22 June, 2012, Daniel Malone organised a rave party – 1990NOW! – in a defunct train depot with the participation of Donetsk-based musicians, DJs and VJs such as That Black, September27, KFR Records, Golos Ottuda Promo, Musika-Smert and Versus Promo. Malone masterminded the rave as an occasion that ties together the various elements he activated during his residency in Donetsk: restoration of found instruments previously used by the factory’s band, the setting up of a music studio, as well as ongoing research into the history of industrial rave parties and music with a focus on the 1990s, and philosophical thinking on the significance of science fiction. In the words of the artist, the event functioned as an “engine” that brought nascent and previously disjointed ideas and realities together, and which continues to spin its wheels even after its presumed conclusion.

Malone uses theorist Frederic Jameson’s idea of the “radical potentiality of science fiction” in proposing a scenario which defies the normal operation of time and matter, instead proposing diachronic temporality or a sense of absolute simultaneity that flows out of the most ubiquitous strategy of science-fiction – time travel. The installation’s audio-piece conveys this approach: composed strictly from sound sourced on site; field recordings of factory machines being turned on again in 2012, samplings of Soviet built synthesisers and other instruments long in storage complemented by ‘industrial’ metallic percussion played on the ruins of defunct machinery, with snippets of 1980s pop-music, in-house Soviet cultural events, and a canonical speech announcing the end of the Second World War all extracted from reel-reel tapes found on the territory of the former factory.
Other references function in a similar key: a train platform that has been rolled in for the rave-party has reestablished the building’s purpose; a suspended sculpture modelled on the one that adorns the ceiling of the Yunost Palace of Youth – the venue of the first ravers’ club in Donetsk in the 1990s called Mystik; a curtain also based on the clubs makeshift decor now seems to be cordoning off a prohibited zone; remnants of leaflets and posters from the party with the latter based on the poster designed for Dziga Vertov’s Enthusiasm, Donbass Symphony (1931); and last but not least the fact that the event was held on the same day as the beginning of the Second World War.

The installation presents a 2 hour sound piece made exclusively using sounds sourced at the factory complex during the residency last year; field recordings of factory machines being turned on again after many years, samplings of soviet built synthesisers and other instruments long in storage complemented by ‘industrial’ metallic percussion played on the ruins of defunct structures, along with snippets of 1980s pop-music, in-house Soviet cultural events and Party meetings and a canonical speech announcing the end of the Second World War — all taken from reel-to-reel tapes found on the territory of the former factory (see Sound Resources in the header above). This was composed—mixed/recorded live using a DJ controller & software. The sound-collage is accompanied by sound-responsive use of laser, strobe and dry ice.

The day after the party the rail platform which had been used as a stage was moved from the back of the Depot to sit over the steel grill dance floor in the center, and the Yunost ceiling sculpture was lowered to hover above it. All of the debris from the party was left but most of the lighting and PA was taken out and a very minimal version installed (mostly underneath the grill below the rail platform) to present a sound piece made for the installation. An industrial curtain was added to cordon off this central component and complete the installation as it will be presented in the building for the remaining period of exhibition.

Recently when thinking about this project I realised it was a perfect opportunity to add a new edition to an ongoing series I’ve been making called “A Set of Sets”, conceptual DJ sets basically, taking advantage of digital djing processes’ and aesthetics’ allowance for putting just about anything together and my own eclectic tastes to build ‘mixtapes’ around narrative or conceptual ideas… I’m up to about number 9 now, this one is called History in Locomotion and uses ‘train songs’ to trace the collision course between European electronic music and US funk music that ultimately produced dance music as we know it today… which is a lot of what’s informed this project really. I’ll post the playlist and a file of the mix here soon, in the meantime when I was working on it on the long haul back from Venice (Ryan Air then 6 hours on Polski Bus) I looked up and saw this, IZO here I come…

Here’s the freshly designed poster for the party, feel free to drag and drop these for your own networks and promo (click for bigger size email for full file), and IZO will print them and have them posted around town too, so there will copies made available soon.

And here is a simplified version to use for the much smaller flyers—like the poster I think it works pretty well vertical as well as horizontal…

I guess many of you recognised the source of my design? The amazing 1930 poster for Dziga Vertov’s incredible “Enthusiasm—Donbass Symphony”. Filmed in Donetsk of course and one of the first documentary films with sound, amazingly experimental and sophisticated cinema-musique-concrete (or rather zvuk i kino pravda I guess! )

So I’ve been trying to make a “set list” for the party, and I had this stupid idea that I should play all ‘rave’ tracks from 1990!  The thing is, IMHP, it is really hard to find good dance tracks from that year!! With the passing of time it’s become even clearer that 1990 was really transitional, between the underground party scene and mainstream radio play, between US and European artists and audience, between anonymous DJ/producers and basically pop stars… Interestingly, a lot of this seems to be signified in the use of vocals. Not the raw soul of disco diva’s or even the jacking samples of acid, but sing-along-narrative-y hooks. I used to hate vocals in dance music back in the early 1990s, since then I’ve grown to appreciate them more (well the above/earlier variations anyway)—but I have to say, so much stuff from that year sounds really cheesy primarily because of the vocal component 🙂 So, I’ve set myself a difficult challenge!  But, conceptually I guess it makes sense, I mean just listen to those words!—”1990 is (guru) time / to infinity / we’re justified, and we’re ancient, eternal / eternity is passed / it’s time for real time”…

1990—whose time is it?

1990—what time is it?

1990—was it in real time?

Hi !

Here is digitalized old tapes from Izo:

www.songbook.com.ua/izotapes.rar

It can be used for music production for the event

CHEERS VLAD! IF YOU LOOK IN THE SOUND LIBRARY PAGE ABOVE, or click
Sound Library Tapes
you’ll see I’ve posted these already, in easy to listen / download MP3 versions too.

And much more stuff besides! ENJOY!

Here is the noble building that will HOUSE our PARTY & the after-party (otherwise known as an art installation). One of the buildings of the amazing factory complex, this one was specifically used as a train depot and has rails running right into it!