Murmur
to murmur: to make a low indistinct but often continuous sound, a soft or gentle utterance
'Murmur' is a performance of circus company Grensgeval and aifoon, who previously also made 'Plock' together. Murmur is both circus and sound theatre. It stimulates all the senses, with rustling backpacks, a landscape of speakers and an acrobatic composer.
An acrobat swings, flings, and juggles with speakers that produce natural sounds. He covers them, muffles them, hands them out. In this way he makes a live acrobatic, moving sound composition. He sticks speakers to his body, goes up in the air.
A purring cat sounds out of a coat pocket, a swarm of bees flies nearby through the air, two arms make the sound of cars. Noise becomes sea, becomes wind, becomes breath. With the audience around him, he twists himself into bends, jumps, falls, flies to compose.
Suddenly the backpacks of the audience start humming too. Everything and everyone becomes part of a whirlwind of sound.
Here you can listen to part of the soundtrack of the performance. In 'murmur', the composition is played through De Zwerm, a system of 20 wirelessly connected speakers that provide a sweltering immersive experience. Do you want to know how it sounds and feels when all those sounds move in and through the space? Then you'll have to come and see the performance live!
“Murmur is an endlessly joyful sensory adventure conjured by a performer combining physical skill, and wonderfully playful performance instincts.”
Murmur big succes on Imaginate Edinburgh International Children’s Festival
"This is a live composed concert, woven from sounds, many sampled from the everyday world. Purring cats, swarming bees, revving engines, roaring sees, and a panoply of synthesised percussion and tone, all intertwined to create a living, emerging sounscape." ⭐⭐⭐⭐
De Zwerm (The Swarm)
For 'Murmur' we use De Zwerm, our self-developed installation of 20 speakers that are wirelessly connected to each other.
Credits
concept: Hanne Vandersteene, Mahlu Mertens, Stijn Dickel
acrobate: Camiel Corneille
directors: Hanne Vandersteene & Mahlu Mertens
dramaturgy: Mieke Versyp
sound composition: Stijn Dickel (aifoon)
software development: Tim De Paepe
hardware: Jeroen Vandesande
costumes : Dorine Demuynck
light design: Geert Vanoorlé
coproducers: aifoon, Provinciaal domein Dommelhof/Theater op de Markt, C-Takt, MiraMiro
with the support of: the Flemish Government, the City of Ghent,De Grote Post, Circuscentrum, Circusnext, Sabam for Culture
thanks to: Sterre De Vresse, Ward Mortier, Camille Paycha
Shortlisted for Circusnext 2018-2019, European programme coordinated by circusnext and supported by the European Union