Nordic noise filled the courtroom in Middlesbrough’s Town Hall this week thanks to a gig that was something very special - and I mean special in both its quality and its uniqueness.
Swedish composer and visual artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff headlined a bill that brought together emerging and experienced experimental sound artists using industrial and landscape noise.
The Stockholm-based composer, who uses the audio recorder as his main instrument, certainly cut a striking figure in the courtroom setting. Sitting in the magistrate’s chair on the bench, the suitably hatted Von Hausswolff presided over the proceedings with the gravitas you would expect from the court’s leading man.
For the first of his two sets he was joined by long-term collaborator Leif Elggren, a Swedish conceptual artist who, in a trance-like state, moved hypnotically to the layered drones and vibrations of Van Hausswolff’s music. A true feast for both the ears and eyes.
With the police cells situated just feet below the audience, there was a brooding atmosphere as Von Hausswolff, using the magistrate’s bench as a sound desk, brought his eclectic recordings together as a continuous track, at times melodic at other times jarring.
Von Hausswolff uses everyday recording devices including tape deck, radar and sonar and his performances have mesmerised audiences across Europe for decades. He is a master of noise music.
Mouth Wound, the solo project of Danish multi-instrumentalist Trine Paaschburg, and Berlin-based Bride provided excellent support and they had even enjoyed a trip down to the cells below to see for themselves this historic building in all its forms. Presented by Middlesbrough-based independent label and event promoter, Industrial Coast, this ambitious gig is good news for the town and good for the cultural diversity Teesside offers.
The Von Hausswolff gig was part of Industrial Coast’s ‘A Monday Night in Middlesbrough’ series. Going out isn’t just for the weekend and having the opportunity to see live music at the start of the week might just make Monday the new Saturday. Industrial Coast are certainly determined to make some noise here and speaking about the stellar line up, they said: “Stacked bill - these things aren’t meant to happen in Boro!”
Well, thanks to their efforts to bring the unexpected to Middlesbrough, the audience sitting in the courtroom was sentenced to an unforgettable evening.
