Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Brazil | D + 8 God Guiding Us in the Dark

At the dark theater (interior of a body, a cave, a space to be fulfilled), 8+3 artists-musicians sum up experiences and form a sort of conscience, union of art fragments, music by the collective. When the performance begins, stage and audience are in the dark and there are only luminous indications showing the way to the seats. Little by little the room gains light and images projected on specific spots. The projections inspire musicians as sources of ideas on routes to be traced: movements, sonority-colour, silence and played looping (repetition of musical cells simulating something mechanical) in a counterpoint to video loopings. The music is created live and makes use of each and every stimulus — musical, visual, theatrical. The musicians concentrate in aspects of this conviviality: textures, noises, dub, song, deconstruction. Every participant shall give, by means of the instrumental nuclei, form, color and time, turning the space into an audiovisual force (audio + visual).

The sequence of projections and lighting that reveals stage and musicians guides the audience along a series of events. 1. First impression: the hands of musicians become bright. On the upper angle, a circular light window opens with images in which Zoy Anastassakis tries to reconstruct the city of Rio de Janeiro on the basis of memories of people who arrived from another place to stay. 2. Drum skin: on a drum skin, slide ima­ges and video loopings are projected in a reference to the artistic work by Domenico Lancellotti in a sentimental order, not chronologic: pieces of insects, musty landscapes, dance loopings, apparitions, monocles. 3. Gullet ball: at a table, Diego Medina narrates texts with the diction of a radio announcer and projects, with the aid of a nautical lantern, graphic icons which represent sensations of a man in conflict. At the end of the performance, the musicians leave the stage and, with small straw baskets, collect a “tithe” at the sound of “Abelha Rainha”, by Caetano Veloso and Waly Salomão, sung by Maria Bethânia.

The members of the Domenico + 8 project live in Rio de Janeiro and have already been together in different artistic collaborations. Domenico Lancellotti, whose work mingles music, painting, photography and objects, was part of the Mulheres que Dizem Sim band and created covers for CDs by Caetano Veloso, Jorge Mautner, MV Bill and Titãs. The CDs “Sincerely Hot” (2003) and “Máquina de Escrever Música” (2000) are products by the musical collective which he forms with the musician and composer Moreno Veloso and the artist and musical producer Alexandre Kassin. Veloso and Kassin participate in the performance, as well as Bartolo (guitar player and author of the Duplex project), Diego Medina (graphic artist and collaborator in musical projects), Leo Monteiro (solo drummer, has already collaborated with Fernanda Abreu, Orquestra Imperial, Acaboulatequila, among others), Pedro Sá (guitar player and bassist, already played with Lenine and Caetano Veloso), Quito Ribeiro (musician, editor and screenplayer) and Zoy Anas­tas­sakis (graphic designer and author of record covers and sce­neries for Caetano Veloso, Los Hermanos and MV Bill).

Conception: Domenico Lancellotti. Participation: Domenico Lancellotti (images, acoustic drums), Bartolo (synthesizer, percussion), Diego Medina (texts, narrative), Alexandre Kassin (bass), Leo Monteiro (electronic drums), Moreno Veloso (synthesizer and percussion), Pedro Sá (guitar), Quito Ribeiro (poems), Zoy Anastassakis (images). Technicians: Daniel Carvalho (sound), Quito Ribeiro (video). Equipment and scenic elements: retroprojector, digital video and slides projectors, nautical lantern, round screen, PA, microphones, banana plant, luminous bracelets.

ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL, "14º Festival Internacional de Arte Eletrônica Videobrasil": de 22 de setembro de 2003 a 19 de outubro de 2003, p. 265 - 266, São Paulo, SP, 2003.