The acclaimed choreographer and Present Futures curator speaks to us about the festival s digital programme, and the future of live arts beyond the pandemic
With its focus on our complex and ever-evolving relationship with technology, the return of Present Futures fourth edition has perhaps never been more timely. Many of us have turned increasingly to screens and tech as a means of coping with and navigating the lockdown restrictions imposed by COVID-19, whether it be Zoom meetings with colleagues, or long telephone calls with distant loved ones. Present Futures interdisciplinary vision of arts and digital technologies thus feels uniquely suited to exploring and suggesting new ways of conceiving potential futures, as we imagine the end of the pandemic and what that might mean for our society and arts communities.
Delve into the renowned digital artist’s inspirations, thought processes and topics of interest in this sprawling conversation covering his major works to date.
★★★★
Lawrence Lek makes music and is also a simulation artist who uses computer-generated animation and video game engines to explore socio-political virtual worlds.
He collaborated with label boss Kode9 on the Notel audio-visual performances, a simulation of a post-apocalyptic automated hotel.
Lek’s AIDOL film is a CGI fantasy telling the story of a fading superstar, Diva, who enlists an aspiring AI songwriter to mount a comeback performance at the 2065 eSports Olympic finale, set in a realm of architecture, drones and snow-deluged jungles.
The soundtrack is a contrasting science fiction prediction, complex, textured work.
Brilliantly realised, Diva’s yearning vocals, sung in English and Mandarin, casts future K-pop melodies over billowing, intricately arranged songs.
<a href= https://eartheater.bandcamp.com/album/phoenix-flames-are-dew-upon-my-skin >Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin by Eartheater</a>
WHO: A shapeshifting New York songwriter accessing new zones between folk, drone, and club music.
WHY YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING: Since 2009, Alexandra Drewchin aka Eartheater has - over four solo albums, a mixtape, and a collaborative release with the duo LEYA - mapped out a sprawling soundworld equal parts psychedelic folk, experimental noise, cloud rap, and techno. In the process, she has secured her spot as one of the most compelling new musical figures to explode out of New York’s underground. Across