This September Artūras Bumšteinas and Antanas Jasenka, the two professional composers who are also among the most colourful personalities on the Lithuanian experimental electronica and sound art scene, have included the United States of America to the list of places where they left their sonic trace. While it is not uncommon for Lithuanian electronic artists to participate in experimental music events all over Europe, the territories on the other side of the Atlantic still remain largely unexplored, thus the two tireless experimenters’ voyage is worth noting all the more.
On September 16th Bumšteinas and Jasenka played their electronic sets at the Share Party event in New York, followed by an open “jam session”. While in New York, the two composers also presented their works to the Brooklyn experimental music community in the Marquise Dance Hall recording studio and gave a concert together with Iris Garfels and Cheap Machines in the town of Charlottesville. On September 20, Artūras Bumšteinas took part in the prestigious Sonic Circuits festival of electronic music at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, presenting his new piece for laptop and two cellos. The piece, described by the composer as “a result of continuos decontruction of Nomos Alpha, a solo cello piece by Iannis Xenakis”, was performed by Arturas Bumšteinas himself and Janel Leppin and Doug Poplin on cellos. Antanas Jasenka, in his turn, performed his music alongside such stars of experimental music as Tony Conrad, o.blaat, Violet and Iris Garelfs in another venue of the festival–the gigantic Warehouse Next Door club.
Bumšteinas is also presenting several new works in the Old Continent this Autumn. On September 28th–October 2nd Berlin’s Antje Wachs gallery, participating in the young artists’ fair Berliner Kunstsalon, presented his new sound installation Untitled (Building). Meanwhile, the Rouen High School of Art in France will host a split exhibition by Bumšteinas and French artist Rainier Lericolais in its Galerie Martainville on October 11th–November 7th. In this exhibition, the Lithuanian artist’s multimedia work Weightshift (premiered earlier this year at Jauna Muzika festival in Vilnius) and sound installation Untitled Sound Archive for the Library, among other works, will be featured.
© Jurij Dobriakov
Lithuanian Music Link No. 15