Music from the edge

Orchestra of Spheres play in the final-night show, at the Anteroom, Port Chalmers.

First held in 2000, the biennial Lines of Flight festival is about to celebrate its 10th season of experimental music, writes Shane Gilchrist.

A key element of the Dunedin Fringe Festival, Lines of Flight might be regarded as a showcase for those who seek to stretch musical boundaries, yet amid the ambient electronic beeps and glitches, or the abrasive squall of electric guitar feedback, there is also classical piano, touches of jazz, and even Tibetan throat singing.

There are four shows at three venues (the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Athenaeum theatre in the Octagon, and the Anteroom art space in Port Chalmers), each performance promising a mix of local, national and international performers.

Jerome Noetinger is one of the outstanding figures in French experimental electronics.

Some will be accompanied by experimental films, some might not, according to organiser Peter Porteous who, along with Peter Stapleton, has been putting the finishing touches to a programme that first started taking shape about eight months ago.

Although earlier renditions of the festival featured a film screening with every act, Lines of Flight guests now choose their visual approach.

"These days they can decide and provide one themselves," Porteous explains.

"It’s about half and half. We haven’t finalised all the visual stuff."

Regarded as New Zealand’s premier festival of experimental music, Lines of Flight began in 2000 as part of the Dunedin Fringe Festival. The inaugural event featured eight acts spread out over two shows and grew to encompass 20 artists and five shows, though it has been trimmed in recent times.

"In 2004 and 2006 we had five shows and at the end of that we thought there was actually too much," Porteous explains.

"A lot of the music can be quite challenging; the audience needs to concentrate. By the last show we found some of the audience members were flagging a bit. So we have chosen to keep it at four shows."

Yet shaving the programme invariably means some performers miss out. And that’s often a tough call, Porteous says.

"It’s almost the hardest thing. We are bombarded with people, both from here and overseas, who want to perform. Some of them are friends so it can be quite difficult saying no."

Porteous says the intention is to have a mixture of bigger, more established artists, perhaps some people who others look up to or have been inspired by over the years [this year’s line-up includes familiar names Bruce Russell and Alistair Galbraith] as well as new acts.

"We call it an experimental music festival but that’s in a very broad sense. There are bands in there who have songs; there are classically trained people such as Hermione Johnson, who is an amazing pianist; there is Johnny Marks, who is a Tibetan throat singer.

"We try to make sure we have a balanced male/female ratio of acts, as many music festivals are predominantly male."

Among the highlights is Jerome Noetinger, one of the outstanding figures in French experimental electronics.

Born in Marseille, he earned a reputation as part of the three-member group Metamkine, which is also the name of a respected experimental record label.

France is also regarded as one of the birthplaces of electronic music, a lineage that includes the work of radio technician Pierre Schaeffer and composer Pierre Henry, whose tape-splicing techniques led to the musique concrète movement of the 1930s and ’40s.

"Jerome was going to be in New Zealand anyway and asked if he could play. We said, ‘yes please’," Porteous explains.

"We thought it’d be best if he performed at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery because some of his music is quite quiet. Likewise, Hermione Johnson’s piano music is probably better suited to that venue."

In contrast, some of the bands performing on the Friday night at the Athenaeum are more "dirty guitar rock".

"Then on the Saturday, we have Orchestra of Spheres. They are a mix of African rhythms, free-jazz ... they are very danceable. They’ve done a few European tours," he says of the Wellington four-piece, which earned a band of the week article in The Guardian last year.

Porteous, who has been to many similar festivals, believes Lines of Flight is among the friendliest. It has "heart", and that attracts people near and far, he says.

"There are some people coming from Australia just to watch. Over the years we have had people from Scotland, the United States, France ... it’s always exciting to meet them.

"It’s kind of like Christmas, but without all the relatives."