The term “experimental music” in Chinese is a loan word; therefore its meaning is often ambiguous. When we use it to refer to a certain kind of genre of music or listening experiences, it seems as if we were talking about some kind of fictional creature in legends, and everyone describes it in a different way. Here we’ll take its broadest sense, to refer to the sound pieces that continuously expand the aesthetics of sound and represent possibilities.
Cochlea Lab from Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan is a promoter of experimental music. It has organized almost thirty “Cochlea Gigs” independently within three years.Cochlea Lab has invited musicians from all over the world to exchange experiences with local artists, playing a pioneer role in Southern Taiwan experimental music scene. Artsblooming Ensemble has also been cultivating the art scene in Kaoshing for several years and has organized numerous reputable cross-disciplinary musical performances. Their art director Ryan Chen is a frequent guest performing at Cochlea Gigs. Throughout these years accumulating strength, Artsblooming Ensemble and Cochlea Lab have decided to co-organize the CIEX(Cochlea International Experimental) Music Festival this year (2017). As the inauguration of the festival, director Chen Singing will present her documentary “Ears Switched Off and On”. It took nine years of continuous efforts to shoot this film, within which the main figures are three pioneers of sound art in the 90s in Taiwan. Among them, Lin Chiwei and Dino are going to perform in this festival. Chiwei will present the new version of “Multi-Track Tape Music”. It is also the first time for this famous piece to be performed in Kaohsiung. Dino will bring us his characteristic no-input mixer noise performance. The following programs are two improvisation concerts, one with French double-bassist Joëlle Léandre, and the other with British guitarist John Russell. It is the first time for both of these outstanding improv musicians to visit Taiwan. In addition, the Norwegian improv drummer Ståle Liavik Solberg and the Austrian trombone player Werner Puntigam will also exchange audio experiences with Violinist Ryan Chen, artists Liu Fangyi, Somanana, and the currently active percussionist Hsueh Yungchih. In the last week of the festival, we’ve arranged a rare special program dedicated to noise music, in which Malaysian experimental musician Goh Lee Kwang, Taiwanese Noisician Berserk, Sound artist Sheryl Cheung, and the current curator of Lacking Sound Festival (LSF) Lai Tsungyun will present four electronic noise sets that are respectively distinct in styles and techniques. The closing ceremony features Carl Stone, who’s a pioneer in live electronic music and an important electroacoustic composer in contemporary America. This will be his first revisit to Taiwan after 13 years. He will bring us an improv set with his friend, the renowned British musician Tania Chen. Tania will also present her contemporary music composition combining visual images and a string quartet. In addition to these exciting programs, the trombonist Werner Puntigam will do a pop-up show with dancers. John Russell will give an improvisation workshop to share the experiences in his personal musical career, in which he’ll lead the participants to explore improvisational process. Experienced musicians are also welcome to jam. In order to provide more knowledge about experimental music, there will be several panel discussions about sound, listening, and the development of modern music. The cochlea is the organ that transforms the physical sound wave into neural electronic signals that can be processed by the auditory system in the brain. We can hear the sounds in the world thanks to this transformation. Through these three-week festival programs of experimental music, we hope to establish connections between the audience from southern Taiwan and experimental music, in turn bringing everyone more variety of thoughts and brand-new audio experiences. We hope to transform these experiences into energy that inspires all kinds of creative works in Southern Taiwan.