Wāhine descend on The Performance Arcade

Wāhine descend on The Performance Arcade with Sound Waves from Women

The Performance Arcade is an annual Live Art mini-festival and programme of free events located on Wellington Waterfront. Using a series of shipping containers, the Arcade creates a string of spaces for installation, performance art, sonic art, audio-visual art, interactive media, culinary art and live music.

Artistic Director Sam Trubridge is pleased to present a line-up of over 20 local bands as part of the Music Series, through buoyant evening sets and lazy afternoon sessions.

Taking inspiration from the built environment, found objects, and nature, layering a digital landscape over the acoustic, Thursday’s New Music New Media sonic arts programme will build cathedrals of sound, draw the audience into the depths of drone, recreate lost melodies, and forge a new aural architecture to reclaim space that borders music and art.

We are hosting the inaugural performance of Chris Wratt’s (T.A.B.) free improvisation group featuring Madison van Staden (MadisonV) and Marika Pratley (A Symphony of Sloths). The immersive sounds of Thomas Lambert will envelope listeners with lush, meditative, and sometimes ecstatic sounds as I.Ryoko. Another Tom (Tom Heynes) rounds out the night as Ceramic - check out his sweet tune Uriella.

Hypno-drone synth, electro-pop, minimalist grungegaze, and with some indie thrown in, Friday's Sound Waves from Women is punctuated by textural density and striking timbres. A night of finely crafted experimental electronica and guitar-led sounds from wāhine, forging ambient pop soundscapes into twisted song form.

Instant Fantasy plays sexual hypno-drone; songs about tears, getting moist and that sweat you forgot about that happens when you sleep next to another person. Though the songs are sad they give a sense of freedom; post-orgasm after breaking up with someone. It’s all gold for this synth drone ego-miner.

Heleyni Pratley's new Art Rock project The Happy Plaster has joined the Friday night line-up. Think Sesame Street but Big Bird is probably on fire with a keyboard attached. The tunes are catchy: you'll be tapping your feet to songs about seagulls, being vegetarian in an old folk’s home, and sisters fighting the patriarchy.

HEX is the heavy triumvirate of Liz Mathews and hoa wāhine GG and Kiki Van Newtown. Birthed from a musical lineage that spans classical to folk to punk to metal, these three sisters reflect the chaos approaching postcapitalism, with heavy drums underpinning intricate guitar riffs. Their set features projections by Ducklingmonster, an Auckland-based artist from the Uniform Collective.

Edie is the solo project of vocalist/producer Anna Edgington After studying music at University of York UK she continued experimenting with music, vocal styles, techniques and sounds in Wellington NZ. Now with the genius help of a DAW she produces beat and vocal laden songs that resist conservative song form and expectations.

Bridging two cultures and two countries, Nikita Tu-Bryant plays old Taiwan and contemporary Jazz funk and epic, cinematic folk music. She has recently returned from travelling through Asia and America, collaborating with artists in theatre, music, and art storytelling.

THE PERFORMANCE ARCADE 2016
presented by THE PLAYGROUND NZ LTD and The Arcade NZ Live Art Trust
2- 6 March 2016, Wellington Waterfront behind Te Papa, FREE
Wednesday 6-11pm, Thursday - Sunday 10am-11pm
Live Music Series, FREE
Wednesday 6-11pm, Thursday - Friday 6-11pm, Saturday 1-4, 6-11pm, Sunday 12noon-5pm
www.theperformancearcade.com

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