As Europe falls sharply under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that causes interruption of international exchange, the C-LAB Taiwan Sound Lab (hereafter referred to as the TSL) has revised its strategy by replacing scheduled physical events with digital presentation. It presents the “Rendez-vous 2020: IRCAM Mani-Feste and Forum” in collaboration with the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) online as well as the “Good Vibration 2020” as scheduled, providing a sensory feast for the audience who expect novel musical and sound performance, alleviating people’s depression throughout the year.

Good Vibration! Open up New Horizons of Listening for Audience

The “Good Vibration!” is a series of musical and sound creative projects undertaken by the TSL. It regularly invites composers and sound artists to create and present their works through ambisonics , in order to explore the possibilities of musical and sound works in terms of space and directionality. As a transdisciplinary matching platform for the exchange of technology and artistic creation, the TSL especially organizes the annual musical and sound performance “Good Vibration 2020,”  inviting audiovisual artists and contemporary composers from home and abroad to deliver several performances. In addition to enhancing transdisciplinary cooperation among artists of different genres, it further expects to open up new horizons of contemporary audiovisual art and music for the audience.

The events of “Good Vibration 2020” will take place in the venues at the C-LAB in relays. It features brilliant performances of contemporary musical stereo sound by several domestic and foreign audiovisual artist groups in collaboration with the IRCAM, and Beethoven and Our Time organized by the TimeArt Studio in commemoration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Encompassing different types of events (e.g., audiovisual art, contemporary musical performance, and electronic music), and harnessing the powers of musical and audiovisual creations of all stripes, this festival not only appeals to people’s visual and auditory senses, but also helps them develop their sensitivity in listening.

The Digital Transformation of International Cooperation: Acquiring New Knowledge about Music and Sound Online with Unrestricted Access to Performances

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on not only international artistic and cultural exchange, but also all the countries in the world in terms of their politico-economic agenda, medical systems, industrial development, and people’s physical and psychological state. After detailed discussion with the IRCAM, the TSL believes that art is an important medium to soothe people’s mind, and music in particular can eliminate the language barrier with its powerful pathos and artisticity. Notwithstanding the French Government’s recent decision on lockdown, the IRCAM, against all odds, still organizes the online program of its “ManiFeste and Forum” in collaboration with the C-LAB, presenting the aesthetics of contemporary musical and sound creation.

The “ManiFeste 2020” was staged in France this September. The scheduled exchange project was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the TSL still acquired the online broadcasting rights of this event, allowing the audience in Taiwan to remotely watch several programs (e.g., instrumental performance of contemporary music, electronic music, and vocal music). In regard to the international forum, the TSL invites the speakers from Taiwan and France to engage in online talks that revolve around the themes of “music and improvisation” and “spatial sound and virtual reality,” thereby exploring the role and development of improvisation in musical performance, the spatial creation of music and sound, as well as how VR technology creates new listening experience and stimulate new thinking about musical and sound creation.

This series of events will take place successively this December. The “Good Vibration 2020” will start from 4th to 5th December, and the “IRCAM ManiFeste and Forum” will be broadcasted online from 7th to 20th December. By the end of 2020, the C-LAB expects to offer people multi-dimensional experiences of music and sound through diverse performances, appreciation and analysis of works, as well as discussions about contemporary musical aesthetics. By virtue of artistic and cultural events, moreover, the C-LAB looks forward to boosting people’s morale to embrace the upcoming year!

Event Schedule & Event Site:

• “Good Vibration 2020,” 4 – 5 December 2020: https://reurl.cc/py2Rba
• Online Broadcasting of “Rendezvous 2020: IRCAM Manifeste and Forum,” 7 – 20 December 2020: https://rb.gy/an5nge