B SIDE
Mixtips How to turn your show into an art project with HSY and Doomsquad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Words . . . . .................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. & Photo by Jonathan Briggins
As I stepped into One Block Barbershop on a cold and wet rainy Sunday night in Halifax, I was greeted by a flickering television screen with a threatening command: “Please take off your shoes ... or else.” A collection of shoes rested outside the entrance of a maze of white sheets with video projections as abrasive and strange music surrounded me, coming through the sheets from all directions. No musicians could be seen, only shadows. The maze leads to a common space where people relax, lying down on pillows, drinking beer and soaking in the music. Blanket Fort(e) is an art and music installation created by the gloomy electronic Doomsquad, from Montreal and Toronto made up of three siblings, and sludge punkers HSY (pronounced hussy), a
four-piece band from Toronto. Both are bands that break up their touring routine with art installations and performances that provide a whole new experience for both performer and listener. “I feel like at a festival people get really burnt out from going to shows and even playing a lot of shows. Being on tour you can get burnt out and it’s nice to have a space that feels a little more relaxed where everyone can kind of do whatever the fuck they want,” says Anna Mayberry, guitarist and vocalist of HSY. Playing in such a strange setting allows artists to explore instruments they are familiar with as well as experiment with newer instruments in a safe environment where nobody can see if you mess up. “If there’s an instrument that maybe you haven’t
mastered or you’ve never played and you want to try it, this is the perfect opportunity for that,” says Doomsquad keyboardist and vocalist Jaclyn Blumas. Besides giving the musicians a chance to try new things, Blanket Fort(e) is an experiment between spaces and music. “We’re seeing how music is alternating the consistency of this space. The space doesn’t change, but it feels like it does. The videos are on a consistent loop without any context or narrative and then suddenly the music is put behind it and gives it some meaning,” says Doomsquad beats master, guitarist and vocalist Trevor Bulmas. This isn’t the first art performance project by Doomsquad. Last year in Montreal they created
Experiments in Modern Primitism. The performance involved movement by the band’s bodies being fed through a computer algorithm to create music. The ambitious band says to go for it when trying to create an show in an alternative space. Finding an accommodating space can be difficult but it is critical for an art installation to be successful. “Just do it. Try a bunch of different things. Some won’t work and some will,” Jaclyn says, “and collaborate with everyone.You can’t just walk into a space and think it’s your idea and you run the ship now.” For Blanke Fort(e) in Halifax, members of local band Crosss played with both bands off and on throughout the night. The bands plan on taking the art installation to other cities in the future. WINTER 2014 MIXTAPE
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