Dag in de Branding- Spaceship Ensemble & Huba de Graaff

Duration

90 min

Cybernetic Resonances / Componist danst uit eigen werk

Brand- new sounds

During Festival Dag in de Branding, venues throughout the Hague partner with Residentie Orkest and various ensembles to bring you music so fresh, no one can say they’ve heard it before. Discover performances throughout the city, meet the latest composers, and talk to musicians about their inspirations and intentions.

SKETCH351 will present an original, site-inspired performance that blends contemporary music, movement, and Fluxus-inspired playfulness, turning the concert space itself into part of the composition. Huba de Graaf experiments with vintage sound carriers while Spaceship Ensemble whisks you past creatures like the Mecha-Cow, showcasing brand-new works by Julian Maple-Oliveira, Mari Mako, Piyawat Louilarpprasert, and Dan Ehrlich.

Huba de Graaf works with vintage sound carriers, while SpaceShip Ensemble takes you on a journey past creatures like the Mecha-Cow, featuring never-before-seen works by Julian Maple-Oliveira, Mari Mako, Piyawat Louilarpprasert, and Dan Ehrlich.

SKETCH351 is a contemporary music ensemble that, as maker-in-residence at Dag in de Branding, presents an original performative work inspired by Fluxus. Their creations reflect the absurdity of everyday life and use the specific location, whether a bus or a concert hall, as an active part of the composition. Each performance features new musical elements and configurations. In line with the Fluxus tradition of the 1960s and 1970s, the creative process itself takes center stage, approached with a playful and accessible spirit that merges art with the everyday.

In the solo performance Componist Danst Uit Eigen Werk, composer Huba de Graaff offers a musical tribute to sound carriers from the pre-digital era (e.g. tape recorders and cassette decks). Much like John Cage in Water Walk, she dances past old devices and revives sound experiments from a bygone era. Her performance is not your traditional DJ set but a true ode to audio media.

This young, energetic ensemble presents works that explore the interplay between robotics and music using custom-built instruments, hybrid instruments, and moving sound sculptures. What to expect?

Inspired by a fictional steampunk creature – the Mecha-Cow – Julian Maple-Oliveira's piece humorously highlights how living beings can be replaced by machines. The performance features quirky, self-built electromechanical instruments like the Multi-Flexatone-Bot, Cowbell Keyboard, and Piano-Plucker Gadget, complemented by Soma Laboratories’ PIPE synthesiser.

Mari Mako introduces a kinetic (moving) sound sculpture that also serves as conductor. Her design plays with microtones and the pentatonic tradition of Zoltán Kodály, showing how an ensemble can collaborate in new, mechanical ways.

Dan Ehrlich explores how the human body can be digitally extended. Using harp, vibraphone, electric guitar, and synthesisers, he creates a rich soundscape in which acoustic sounds are transformed through breath-controlled sampling and digital processing.

Piyawat Louilarpprasert closes the show with Organic Mechanics: Futuristic Octopus, a performance installation featuring seven performers playing tentacle-like instruments powered by air and movement. The piece is fully acoustic, playful, theatrical, and blurs the line between human and machine.

Founded in The Hague in 2018, Spaceship Ensemble is an innovative contemporary music ensemble known for their unique acoustic instruments, often accompanied by synthesisers and custom-built electromechanical devices.

They regularly commission and perform new works by up-and-coming composers such as Piyawat Louilarpprasert, Bethan Morgan-Williams, Thanakarn Schofield, and Alexandre Lunsqui.

Spaceship Ensemble has become an important force in Dutch contemporary music, performing at major new music festivals such as Gaudeamus Festival (2022), Music Utopias Festival (2022), and Dag in de Branding (2023).

Conductor: Hardy Li
Synthesisers and Keyboard: Julian Maple-Oliveira
Guitar and “Misfit-Harp”: Siavash Jafari
Piano and Keyboard: Leo Lehtinen
Percussion: João Borralho
Cello: Leah Plave
Harp: Maria Palma
Art Installation: Mari Mako