Octothorpe presents a concert of music and sounds directly from or inspired by the films of Walerian Borowczyk (1923-2006). The concert will consist of four music suites performed without film - 'Goto, Island of Love' (1968), 'Blanche' (1971), 'The Beast' (1975) and 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne' (1981). In addition, a number of short films by Borowczyk will be screened with their original soundtracks.

Borowczyk made over 40 films in the period 1946 - 1988. He was born in Poland in 1923 and studied painting in Krakow. He became an award-winning poster artist before establishing himself (with Jan Lenica) as a world-class animator. He moved to France in 1959 where his colleagues and collaborators included Chris Marker, Bernard Parmegiani and Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues. Over the next thirty years he made a series of highly idiosyncratic and sometimes transgressive animations and live action films. He was a key influence on Terry Gilliam, The Brothers Quay, designer Andrzej Klimowski, Jan Svankmajer and author Angela Carter.


ALEKS KOLKOWSKI

Aleks Kolkowski is a composer, sound artist and researcher born and based in London. In a career spanning more than 30 years as a professional musician, he has appeared at major festivals worldwide and recorded for numerous record labels with various ensembles, bands and as a solo performer.

In recent years he has explored the potential of historical sound recording and reproduction technology, combining horned violins, gramophones and wax cylinder phonographs, to make comtemporary mechanical-acoustic music. This work has been shown across Europe and in the USA, and broadcast by the BBC, WDR, Deutschlandradio and others.

At present, he has an installation at the London Science Museum, ‘The Exponential Horn: In Search of Perfect Sound’ – the horn in question is the size of a Routemaster bus, a reconstruction of the original which was destroyed in 1949.

For this concert at Cafe Oto he will be playing, amongst other things, the musical saw and the wax cylinder phonograph.



www.newstatesman.com/cultural-capital/2014/05/how-do-you-achieve-perfect-sound-build-fibreglass-horn-length-routemaster
blog.soundandmusic.org/2014/05/14/aleks-kolkowski-in-search-of-perfect-sound-introducing-britains-largest-horn-loudspeaker/


THE DUFAY COLLECTIVE

The Dufay Collective is a much acclaimed early-music ensemble from the United Kingdom, specialising in Medieval and Renaissance music. Founded in 1987, it was named after the Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay.The group is directed by William Lyons, who teaches at Guildhall, the Royal College of Music and adviser to the Globe Theatre.

Group size and personnel varies according to the needs of the project. On this occasion it is Vivien Ellis: voice, Jon Banks: harp and gittern, Paul Bevan: recorder and percussion and William playing flute and bagpipes. In addition to joining the other performers in ensemble sections, they will be playing some songs from the 13th century Carmina Burana which feature in Borowczyk's remarkable Medieval tragedy 'Blanche'.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjmbEHcKDs0
www.thedufays.com
www.william-lyons.com


SECLUDED BRONTE

Secluded Bronte is the trio of Adam Bohman, Jonathan Bohman and Richard Thomas who perform a mixture of sound collage, text and theatre.

Formed in 2002 - their recent debut disc is in fact a record of a radio session in New Jersey in November of that year - they promptly vanished. Recommencing proceedings in 2013, they have undertaken a series of London concerts, produced a radio play in Rotterdam for WORM and have organised this concert at Cafe Oto.

In reference to Borowczyk's astonishing films, Secluded Bronte will cast themselves as live Foley artists to evoke buzzing flies, very excited horses, creaking armour as well as carrying out pernicious operations on the work of Scarlatti and Parmegiani.



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