2012 Decibel Festival

On our fourth OPTICAL showcase we explore the endless possibilities of modern classical/minimalist experimentalism: its past, present and future sonic developments, and its resurgence in electronic music cultures.

Sylvain Chauveau is a French composer and multi-instrumentalist artist currently living in Brussels, Belgium. A key figure in the European modern classical scene, Chauveau reduces song structures to clean lines on the piano, which are accented with strings, guitars, winds and voice, balancing the relationship between song and abstraction in a minimalist way. Since 1998, Sylvain Chauveau has composed music for film and dance performances, as well released albums on Fat Cat (UK), Type (UK), LesDisques du Soleil et de l'Acier (FR), and many others labels around the world. His most ambitious piece to date, however, is titled "You Will Leave No Mark on The Winter Snow" - a composition for piano and electronics with an extreme duration: 7 years of silence, with 17 moments of scattered sound through its total duration.

At Decibel Festival, Sylvain Chauveau will premiere in North America new piece titled “The Metaphysical Basis Of Wabi Sabi” - a 43 minute composition for acoustic guitar played with two e-bows, notebook electronics, shortwave radios, non conventional percussion and human voice, all converging in harmony and tonal immersion.

One of Germany's most exciting new composers, Berlin-based pianist Nils Frahm is quickly establishing himself as one of the most prominent and respected figures in the European post-classical scene. Frahm's concerts are deeply emotional and have been described as a “cathartic experience.” With three critically acclaimed albums on Erased Tapes under his belt, Nils has worked and collaborated with many contemporaries such as Peter Broderick, Ólafur Arnalds, Anne Müller, Deaf Center, Efterklang and Dustin O’Halloran amongst other fellow musicians.

ORCAS is a duo comprised of haze-pop auteur Benoît Pioulard and post-minimalist composer Rafael Anton Irisarri. Theirs is a style deeply rooted in personal variations on songform and ambient craft, bridging the furthest outlying aspects of their solo work. ORCAS' debut album was released in April 2012 on Berlin's respected Morr Music label, followed by an European tour in May and June. Their video for single “Arrow Drawn” premiered on Vice.TV while Pitchfork Media praised their album, calling it "a genuine, coherent album that conjures immense shadows and immense depths worthy of its namesake."

CFCF is the stage name of Montreal-based electronic musician Michael Silver. His music conjures far-away landscapes and voyages through a style which is at times melancholic, propulsive and ecstatic.

PLEASE NOTE: This event ends around 9:30PM, offering festival attendees the opportunity to enjoy other festival showcases that will be going until 2AM.

For fans of Erik Satie, Harold Budd and Cocteau Twins