American synthesist and sound designer Robert Rich will be playing at Moogfest from Thursday May 19, 2016 11:59 p.m. through Friday May 20, 2016 8:00 a.m. at the 21c Museum Hotel, Main Ballroom, 111 N. Corcoran St, in Durham, North Carolina.
We talked to Robert briefly about this event.
What repertoire will you be performing at Moogfest?
I’ll be playing a sleep concert. That’s it. It’s a thing, one piece, which is different every time because it’s a blend of improvisations with long-duration sound design.
What equipment will you be using?
Laptop with support devices, Korg M3, lap steel guitar, PVC flutes and several loopers.
Robert Rich describes the concept of a Sleep Concert which appeared on his album Somnium: “The term “Sleep Concert” can be a bit misleading, as it implies that this music is intended to help you sleep deeply. On the contrary, when you play Somnium at night, you may find that you sleep less deeply, and wake up more often. The idea is to let the music incorporate itself into your perceptual framework during the night, to create a sonic surround, an environment for unique states of consciousness.”
The music is pointed at the foggy territory that exists in your mind when you are drifting between awake and asleep. ”When your half-sleeping mind wanders into the realm of hypnogogic images and dreamlike non-linearity. You might find that this music can act as a trigger for these flowing thoughts, and the activation of the environment around you can help you to skate around the edges of sleep, with one foot in the dream world and one foot in the room where you are sleeping.”
This concert is already full. Anyone interested in attending the performance needs to get on the waiting list.
Photo credit: Robert Rich at Nearfest – Photo by Brian Tirpack