Russo + Torn Hawk (Dj set) + Divine Diamond at Loophole / Thursday, 03.09.2015

Multidisciplinary artist Russo is the latest visionary to come out of the Valcrond Video fold led by synaesthetic video mulch musician Luke Wyatt (aka Torn Hawk). While Torn Hawk makes hypnotic bleary, hypnotic compositions set to tape and collages of long-forgotten VHS footage, Russo produces tracks that feel a little more sharp-focussed, but work firmly on the sensory borderline between texture and sound.

In particular, his new Wild Metals EP creates lush soundscapes that capture the sensation of the ubiquitous black plastic that forms the basis of so many electronics of the not-so-distant past (walkmen, remote controls, car interiors) as well as fetishes of the present.

http://https://youtu.be/zcaMM6AHkXY

More than simply the sheen of these objects, Russo’s music captures the human interface between manmade textures and bodily life; think of a firmly sealed lid being lifted, headphones being plugged into ears, plastic running along skin.

His video for “Purple Earth” uses reclaimed VHS clips full of awkwardness – like pixellated faces, lovers gazing into the distance full of boredom and hands hitting black plastic keys out of time with the music – to build a creeping sense of that uncanny, not-quite-human distance created by the objects around us, and the humanity that breaks through them.

http://https://youtu.be/3l4DOoPmtbw

On the whole it’s an aesthetic that runs along the boundary between two worlds, captured stunningly in the artwork for the Wild Metals EP (where green lustre blooms around a metal grid) and that breathes through the spacious swirl of the production, as emotionally gripping as it is texturally weird.

Torn Hawk is the audio project of producer and video artist Luke Wyatt. Over the past couple of years, Wyatt has unfurled a serial tapestry of content arguing for a reconciliation of aesthetic irony with compositional sincerity and emotional vulnerability. Let’s Cry And Do Pushups At The Same Time is Wyatt’s most recent full-length statement as Torn Hawk, and marks the onset of a more emotionally manipulative and sonically confident direction.

http://https://youtu.be/nLOoGDRA2Mw

It’s difficult to neatly categorize Wyatt’s genre-refracting productions, which formerly have found a home on L.I.E.S., Not Not Fun, Rush Hour’s “No Label”, 1080p, and several other labels, including his own imprint Valcrond Video.

Third act on the bill is Divine Diamond, a project of Berlin based producers Privacy and Alobhe.

This event is presented by Digital in Berlin. Check out our Facebook page to win tickets.