2011
The 2011 edition of Lines of Flight returned to Chicks Hotel for the three evening shows, and the Port Chalmers Masonic Lodge for the Saturday afternoon show. The Lodge had now been taken over by artist/sound-maker Charlotte Parallel, who lived in the mezzanine level and put on shows and exhibitions throughout the year. The change of venue for the afternoon show was a nice change of scene, and the outdoor garden allowed people to sit outside in the sun and socialise between acts.
Thursday 24 March, 8pm, Chicks Hotel
- Seht
- Lee Noyes and Radio Cegeste
- Sign of the Hag
- Eye
Friday 25 March, 8pm, Chicks Hotel
- Mela
- Our Love Will Destroy the World
- Kusum Normoyle
- Dead C
Saturday 26 March, 2pm, Port Chalmers Masonic Lodge
- The Forgotten Guests
- Alastair Galbraith
- Hi-Asobi
Saturday 26 March, 8pm, Chicks Hotel
- Stanier Black-Five
- Pumice
- Rosy Parlane
- Futurians
The lineup was starting to expand in terms of genres and approaches. The Futurians were a Dunedin “sci-fi punk band”, low-fi and tribal, playing deconstructed songs. Kusum Normoyle was a Sydney-based musician who used her screaming voice as pure noise, matched with earsplitting feedback.
One of the aims of Lines of Flight was to try to keep the ticket price down, so that anyone who wanted could afford to come along. Discounted festival passes were available at the first show, which gave entry to all shows. To help lure people out to Port Chalmers (15 minutes drive out of Dunedin, along the western side of the harbour), we provided a free bus at the end of each evening, to help people get back into town.
Sign of the Hag were one of my highlights of the festival. They were a two-piece - Dan Beban (from Orchestra of Spheres), and Erika Sklenars (Lady Lazer Light). They both used old-fashioned spinning wheels (!) – Dan used the rotating wheel with protruding attachments to generate a slow rhythmic pulse, and then added sounds over that. Erika used her rotating wheel to film freeze-frame images passing by the camera, which were then projected up on the screen. It was a beautifully conceived idea, seamlessly combining old and new technology in a visually riveting way, to produce a kind of minimal techno.
Chicks had evolved since the last festival, and now housed a small Indian restaurant in the rear part of the building. This was even more perfect for the festival’s sense of community – not only could people stay in the accommodation above the venue, they could also eat there.
A month before the festival, there was a huge earthquake in Christchurch. 185 people lost their lives, a large proportion of the city’s buildings collapsed or were damaged, and the population was traumatized. A few of the LOF performers were from Christchurch – after some thought they all came down, shared their stories, and had a chance to spend some time away from ground zero.
Hi-Asobi (Peter Wright, Antony Milton, David Kahn) were one of the Christchurch bands. They played the Saturday afternoon show, and their set was a powerfully cathartic experience. Peter and Antony’s guitars droned around each other, David added keyboard generated effects, and the set ended with Antony howling to the hushed audience.
Stanier Black-Five was also from Christchurch. Her laptop set was actually created from the sounds of the earthquake – being an intrepid sound artist, she had grabbed her recording equipment when the earthquake started and made field recordings of the shocks and aftershocks.
Our Love Will Destroy the World was Campbell Kneale’s new project - relentless, intense deafening noise. He kneeled on the floor on a rug in front of his equipment, the shaman inhabiting another world. A reviewer described it as “pure, hot skree constantly rebuilding like a viper’s unpredictable strike” which is a perfect description of his set.
Kusum Normoyle was next – she ran into the middle of the seated crowd with mic in hand, and proceeded to scream at ear-shredding volume, paired with howling feedback and an intense physicality. Exhilarating and bracing, it was over in 5 minutes and mentally added to the list of highlights.
Alastair Galbraith gave a rare performance of his fire organ, a complex musical instrument he had made himself. It consisted of a series of glass tubes of varying length held together on a frame. At the base of each tube there was a bunsen burner, and rubber pipework to supply gas from a bottle. Opening caps at the base of each tube were then connected to a keyboard, which controlled whether the tubes were “on” or “off”. After a detailed explanation to the audience, he turned on the gas, lit the burners and then proceeded to play. The action of hot air traveling up each tube produced a note, which varied depending on the length of the tube (somewhat like a church organ pipe). By playing the keyboard, it opened tubes and made yearning, other-worldy sounds – yet another example of Alastair’s genius.
The festival ended with the Futurians, who played a wonderfully tribal set which got the whole crowd dancing – a great way to finish the event.
We had been approached a few months earlier by Stephen Sinclair, an Auckland filmmaker and playwright, who asked if he could come down and make a documentary on Lines of Flight. He came down with two cameramen and they filmed all the shows, and interviewed several of the performers. The film was made over the next couple of years, taking its cues from the experimental nature of LOF. There are plans to finally screen it in public in 2022.
Matt Middleton also did a great review of the entire festival, showing he is as good a writer as musician. Read that here:
