The 2024 Wandering Festival takes place at C-LAB from August 23 to September 15. The event focuses on contemporary music and sound to spark dialogue and cross-genre exchange. Multiple instrumental, electronic sound, installation, video, and performance arts are featured, including music infused with artificial intelligence. Over 90 contemporary mixed-music artists from Taiwan, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Hong Kong will present 14 programs and over 20 original works. These are backed by lectures and workshops, conveying new global perspectives and listening cultures, offering audiences a multi-dimensional sensation in contemporary music.
C-LAB Taiwan Sound Lab welcomes renowned Italian composer Matteo Franceschini (TOVEL) to Taiwan to collaborate with IRCAM of France in the re-creation of Gravity³⁶⁰ for the full dome theater at the C-LAB East Lawn. For this on-site musical collaboration between Taiwan and France, the piano, saxophone, and string instrument arrangements dubbed with explosive modular synthesized tracks construct a mesmerizing musical narrative. It is a fusion of contemporary music, rock, and experimental electronic sound styles augmented by unique lighting and soundstage designs. Also presented at the dome space is OBIWAN’s Big Bang by OBIWAN, assembling local rock music, traditional folk instruments, and cultural elements to offer an unparalleled experience.
This year, the 49.4-channel Spatial Audio Field facility hosts several exciting performances, including 2024 International Sonosdera Ambisonics Competition (ISAC) winner Ambisonic Shocks & Strata of Senses, comprised of 3 stylistically distinct and dynamic parts that resonate with the whole body. Also performed is Auditory-Motor Tremorous / Molten Iron Tenebrous by Japanese experimental music composer OTOMO Yoshihide and recent collaborator Chris PITSIOKOS. OTOMO won acclaim in the 1990s as a member of the experimental music band Ground Zero, creating music in the styles of classical, jazz, experimental rock, free improvisation, and noise. In addition to their duets, the pair will perform with Taiwanese sound artists and create opportunities for creative exchange.
Sundialll Sound Presentation: Memory Puzzle by Taiwan-Indonesian duo Sundialll is based on the landscapes of the artists’ respective countries, recomposed and regenerated to reflect contemporary cultural contexts and social conditions. Paul RAMAGE, musician and professor at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris, will perform 3 acousmatic pieces based on literary texts, reflecting everyday inquiries and dramatic tension. Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong (CMHK)’s Electromagnetic River is an in-depth examination of the similarities and dissimilarities between acoustics and light using DIY electronic circuitry. Institute of Music at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University will perform winning entries from the Concours de Composition Acousmatique petites formes 2024 in the multi-channel electronic music event, Sound Talks: A Cinema for the Ears.
The Day in Gad-Avia, a co-production between C-LAB and NanaFormosa Percussion Duo, triggers a string of dialogue and confrontation through a mechanical percussive rhythm, dispersing through fragmentation and coalescing through impact. The audiences are like inhabitants of a small town, shifting perspectives as they move and experience individual auditory explorations.
How do instruments, performers, and composers jam and jive in concert with artificial intelligence? That’s the core proposition of S.V.S. – Media Chat, a co-creation between German sound artist hans w. koch, Tina TONAGEL, Taiwanese composer TUNG Chao-Ming, and information engineering-trained composer CHANG Chun-Yien. The work is based on four installations of Unknown Quadrant by artist CHENG Nai-Chuan, using dynamic imagery generated by the visual installation and real-time sample-analysis by AI to pass-through musical notations to the musicians of C-Camerata Taipei, who perform to it live.
CUBE BAND ING is a co-production between C-LAB Taiwan Sound Lab and Studio Acht, inviting contemporary Taiwanese composers Lily CHEN, LUO Fang-Wei, William KUO, and HUANG Yi-Lun in a performance of guzheng (zither), pipa (Chinese lute), and percussion instruments, in synchronization with laser projection by aka_chang and Zephec HSU to explore new creative possibilities of combining traditional string and wind instrument, electronic sound, video, and lighting sections. Imaginary Voice by the Department of Music at National Taiwan NormaI University provides multiple perspectives of sound exploration across 8 compositions, opening new vistas in music creation for young student composers.
At Art Space II, Unspoken But Exist ____ by Ju Percussion Group Laboratory combines the short stories of DENG Jiu-Yun with percussive instruments to explore new forms of sound narratives. Kaffe MATTHEWS and CHI Po-Hao will present Place Making Music at C-LAB’s Multi-Function Room, expanding the concept of the “sound walks”, culminating in a futuristic “sonic biking” musical drama.
Besides the rich and diversified musical performances, the music festival also hosts lectures and workshops, propagating and bringing excitement to contemporary sound and the culture and literacy of listening, sharing international perspectives such as the history, concepts, and current state of la musique acousmatique (acousmatic music). Whether it’s performances or knowledge, this year’s Wandering Festival is a musical extravaganza you won’t want to miss.