Sun Araw, Theo Triantafyllidis, Velocity Holomatrix Warp 7, 2020, digital stills (courtesy of the artists)
Velocity Holomatrix Warp 7 is an hour long interactive experience created by experimental musician Sun Araw and digital artist Theo Triantafyllidis which debuted on November 25 2020, featuring a soundtrack by Sun Araw & Tomo Jacobson and game design by Theo Triantafyllidis. This collaborative project is a navigable digital environment that is reacting in real-time to an improvised score, recorded by Sun Araw with Polish double-bassist Tomo Jacobson at CPN Vinter Jazz Fest in 2017. Velocity Holomatrix Warp 7 is available as a standalone executable for OSX and Windows PC and will also be Streamed Live during Overkill Festival, NL on Sunday, November 30th at 9:00pm (GMT+1). This is how Sun Araw and Theo Triantafyllidis describe the project:
It is thought, though not “known,” that planets must be spherical due to the force of gravity that begins to consolidate their mass and cause their formation. However, new investigations of exoplanets and planetoid formations have revealed that some planetoids are able to sustain highly irregular shapes while still developing primitive atmospheres and magnetospheres just before they become large enough to be crushed into spheres by their own gravity. These irregular planetoids have become highly sought after galactic objects for study, and while there is still no definitive evidence, it seems more and more likely that many of these stellar objects might actually have been crafted, sculpted, and even “arranged” intentionally by highly skilled ancient civilizations, in much the same spirit as the ancient tradition of bonsai here on Earth. Some of these dwarf planetoids show such a complexity of gravitational geometry and electromagnetic balance that it is highly unlikely that they could have been the product of purely natural forces. Indeed, many of them seem highly “sculpted,” almost as if challenging the limits of complexity while still remaining cosmically stable. In addition, some arrangements of strange flora (both vascular and fungal) are so deftly and artfully composed that it is highly improbable they could be naturally occurring. VHW7 is a recently discovered planetoid in this tradition that shows convincing evidence of being just such an alien bonsai sculpture. While almost nothing is known about technologies capable of such feats (or civilizations that could have created such technologies) it is becoming hard to ignore the evidence that such civilizations have existed. The extreme age of VHW7 and its ability to hold its intricate sculptural form for millennia against the magnetic and gravitational tides of its home system suggest an incredible and ancient skill, currently lost to the sentient species of the Universe as we know it. This program allows you to holographically explore planetoid VHW7 and its many intricate ecosystems: disorienting ionic bubbles, strange levitating mineral ore deposits, phosphorescent photonic anomalies, and phenomena even stranger. In order to give a further sense of its formation and the delicate balance of forces that hold it together, algorithms have been created to convert its magnetic, electric, and gravitational forces as audio, allowing you to “hear” the skilled and intricate sculptural work that shaped and maintains it. We hope this immersive experience will create a greater appreciation for these ancient cosmic artworks, and help to preserve their legacy for future millennia.
Theo Triantafyllidis (b. 1988, Athens, GR) is an artist who builds virtual spaces and the interfaces for the human body to inhabit them. He creates expansive worlds and complex systems where the virtual and the physical merge in uncanny, absurd and poetic ways. These are often manifested as performances, virtual and augmented reality experiences, games and interactive installations. He uses awkward interactions and precarious physics, to invite the audience to embody, engage with and challenge these other realities. Through the lens of monster theory, he investigates themes of isolation, sexuality and violence in their visceral extremities. He offers computational humor and AI improvisation as a response to the tech industry’s agenda. He tries to give back to the online and gaming communities that he considers both the inspiration and context for his work by remaining an active participant and contributor. He holds an MFA from UCLA, Design Media Arts and a Diploma of Architecture from the National Technical University of Athens. He has shown work in museums, including the Hammer Museum in LA and NRW Forum in Dusseldorf, DE and various galleries such as Meredith Rosen Gallery, the Breeder, Eduardo Secci and Transfer. He was part of Sundance New Frontier 2020, Hyper Pavilion in the 2017 Venice Biennale and the 2018 Athens Biennale: ANTI-. Theo Triantafyllidis is based in Los Angeles.
Sun Araw is the working title of a musical project helmed by Los Angeles-based artist Cameron Stallones. Sun Araw has released a number of well-received and consistently innovative albums, with his ninth, Rock Sutra, released by Sun Ark Records (an imprint of Drag City Records) in 2020. Structural and spiritual inspiration for Sun Araw comes primarily from investigation into the nature of experience by the transformative power of simple observation. The goal has always been the creation of a psychedelic music, by which is meant a psychotropic music: not an aesthetic sensibility but a method of discontinuous experience. Supporting every Sun Araw composition is the fact of mantra: the ability of repetition with attention to change the perception of a melodic object. By means of this constantly changing perception, the possibilities of improvisation become infinite. More recent works attempt to effect the mental activity of the listener even more physically and investigate the expansion of the time-experience when the composition removes a fixed place from which to listen.
Tomo Jacobson is a Polish-born double bass player based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He focuses his efforts on free improv and other creative music. With over two dozen albums to his credit, he is mostly known for the projects he is a leader, or co-leader to, namely MOONBOW, MOUNT MEANDER, IL SOGNO, or FREE SPIRITUAL, as well his solo double bass work, and free improv encounters with acclaimed musicians. Tomo is also an active music life curator and organizer in Copenhagen. Most notably he is a founder of the yearly Freedom Music Festival, which is focused on solo and duo free improvised concerts.
LINK: Theo Triantafyllidis
