Benjamin Skepper moves so fast he seems to glide, and he's always traveling. The Melbourne-born artist is truly a citizen of the world, regularly commissioned to perform and create across continents. With skills and experience across most musical disciplines he's a cultural ambassador in numerous ways. In fact one of his works is currently floating in space, a representation of life on Earth featured as part of Forever Now. Eons ago Skepper translated for Powerfinger and The Orb while they toured Japan, but today Benjamin is more likely to be found translating natural phenomena and philosophical observations into sound and music. He walks the line between fine art, fashion, modern classical, and the electronic avant-garde. And his latest project brings him home, performing at Ormond Hall on Friday March 13th with collaborator Steve Ward.Steve Ward himself is an accomplished artist whose work has taken him around the world. His DJ sets, productions, and critiques on modern dance are sought after globally. It makes sense that the two over-achievers would one day meet.Together Ben and Steve form Cartesian Spheres. They blend emotive orchestral arrangments and refined modern club music. Think the spacially detailed productions of Nicholas Jaar with the melodies of Ryuichi Sakamoto and you start to approach their sonic world. THUMP is proud to premiere this video of their latest track Hyperplane, and to share some thoughts from Benjamin ahead of the Cartesian Spheres performance this week.THUMP: What's the story behind Cartesian Spheres and the performance this week?
Benjamin Skepper: To properly explain, I should say one of the first CDs I purchased as a teenager was Jeff Mills' Live at the Liquid Room. After performing classical music since 3 years of age and later getting into my dad's rock collection on vinyl, the driving minimal sounds were so mind expanding I was compelled to search for more. In the mid '90s Melbourne had a thriving underground rave scene and I started venturing to indoor warehouse parties and bush doofs. It is here I developed my real fascination with electronic music production, a process so totally different from writing a traditional classical musical score. I also started experimenting with cello and electronics, sampling and loop machines, and naturally collaborations with record labels and producers emerged, from techno to trip-hop. I found myself spending more time in studios and eventually started producing my own tracks, though the most powerful music comes from collaborations.Last year, after a creating a sound installation at Palazzo Litta in Milan for Fashion Week, I headed for Berlin and I felt drawn to go back and check out the art and club scene and see how much it had transformed over the years I'd been away. Tresor and Berghain were on my list, and my birthday coincided with a trip to the Berghain, with resident DJ Ben Klock slamming out a 10 hour set to finish. As I was leaving the club, I posted a pic on Facebook and that was when DJ/Producer Steve Ward and I reconnected. Cartesian Spheres is really about experimenting with what electronic and classical music is and should be.As producers, both Steve and I are intent on bringing a live element to electronic music, through instrumentation and composition, whether that is in studio or on stage. An integral part of this creative process is recording samples on cello or keys or other instrument, and creating sound beds for our tracks that are not necessarily identifiable as instrumental in origin. Ultimately, everything comes back to performing live as that is what I love to do most. Music should be performed, and the true power of connection comes through live performance and interaction with your audience. So again bringing a live element to the stage, whether I am on cello, keys or even theremin, is key to creating that human interactivity. It is about humanity and connection. As much as robots make our life efficient and streamlined, our future lies in our own hands. Literally!Catch Cartesian Spheres perform their debut set tomorrow at Ormond Hall, March 13th
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Benjamin Skepper: To properly explain, I should say one of the first CDs I purchased as a teenager was Jeff Mills' Live at the Liquid Room. After performing classical music since 3 years of age and later getting into my dad's rock collection on vinyl, the driving minimal sounds were so mind expanding I was compelled to search for more. In the mid '90s Melbourne had a thriving underground rave scene and I started venturing to indoor warehouse parties and bush doofs. It is here I developed my real fascination with electronic music production, a process so totally different from writing a traditional classical musical score. I also started experimenting with cello and electronics, sampling and loop machines, and naturally collaborations with record labels and producers emerged, from techno to trip-hop. I found myself spending more time in studios and eventually started producing my own tracks, though the most powerful music comes from collaborations.Last year, after a creating a sound installation at Palazzo Litta in Milan for Fashion Week, I headed for Berlin and I felt drawn to go back and check out the art and club scene and see how much it had transformed over the years I'd been away. Tresor and Berghain were on my list, and my birthday coincided with a trip to the Berghain, with resident DJ Ben Klock slamming out a 10 hour set to finish. As I was leaving the club, I posted a pic on Facebook and that was when DJ/Producer Steve Ward and I reconnected. Cartesian Spheres is really about experimenting with what electronic and classical music is and should be.As producers, both Steve and I are intent on bringing a live element to electronic music, through instrumentation and composition, whether that is in studio or on stage. An integral part of this creative process is recording samples on cello or keys or other instrument, and creating sound beds for our tracks that are not necessarily identifiable as instrumental in origin. Ultimately, everything comes back to performing live as that is what I love to do most. Music should be performed, and the true power of connection comes through live performance and interaction with your audience. So again bringing a live element to the stage, whether I am on cello, keys or even theremin, is key to creating that human interactivity. It is about humanity and connection. As much as robots make our life efficient and streamlined, our future lies in our own hands. Literally!Catch Cartesian Spheres perform their debut set tomorrow at Ormond Hall, March 13th