Black Wasteland

Peek into Black Wasteland

by Hangrui Zhang and LightSounds

A preview to the breadth of what LightSounds is all about, A peek into Black Wasteland/Peek into the Black Wasteland is an uncompromising convergence of analogue and digital music, visual arts, and mixed media. Unfolding across three distinct sets, the production fuses experimental theatre, live instrumentation, and projection art into an integral, aesthetic whole.

The performance draws together powerful, cinematic storytelling about the alchemical transformations driven by humanity’s deepest fears and desires. At the convergence of experimental theatre, music and powerful visualizations, it explores the grand narratives of metaphysical adventuring, and reconstructs notions of Time, Body, Language and Existence. 

The journey begins with the layered liquid light projections of Pat Grimm, intertwined with Reuben Sutherland’s performative electronics. This textural landscape then shifts, making space for the dynamic brass and woodwinds of Charlotte Keefe on trumpet and Rianna Henriques on flute and saxophone, their live improvisation set against the striking experimental films of Pierre Bouvier Patron, showcasing a masterful interplay of visuals and sound. Finally, the night culminates in its namesake: selections of Black Wasteland, conceived through a collaborative dialogue between Hangrui Zhang, Lychen and the Rothko Collective. 

Expect a relentless, beautiful collision of improvised electronics, traditional acoustics, analogue projection, and pre-composed art music. Come in, strap in, and surrender to the experience.