Category: Electroacoustics

Rothko & me program at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam

The American artist Mark Rothko made huge abstract paintings that touch people’s souls. Some are even moved to tears. About this the artist said: “The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them”. It is kind of special that an abstract work of art can evoke that sort of emotion, even though it may come across as fairly aloof. What is the power in this work?
Usually, people show up in droves in museums to see his paintings. What would it be like to be the only one? Well, find out at the exhibition Rothko & me. You are welcome to enjoy one of his top pieces, the painting Grey, Orange on Maroon, No 8 of 1960, all on your own and without your mobile phone. Nothing will stand in the way of your intimate moment with the painting: this really is ‘Rothko and me’.

photo by: Lotte Stekelenburg

As part of Rothko & me I was invited to create music for Rothko’s painting.

The performance with Rothko’s painting had to be cancelled due to the lockdown.
However a fixed media piece was created inspired by this project.
‘Since the live performance couldn’t happen, I had to rethink the whole concept because the essential part was to perform in the same room, with Rothko’s painting. To recreate that atmosphere elsewhere is just simply impossible and I didn’t even want to attempt it. I see this piece as a reflection on acknowledging uncertainty, of being aware of delays, and isolation; but being hopeful and knowing that it’s a transformation through which we can come out stronger together.’

Interviews:
https://worm.org/2021/01/21/interview-composing-rothko-in-lockdown-mari-mako/

Rothko, flow és hangzuhany – Mákó Mári elektronikus komolyzenei darabjairól

“This exciting debut is rather avant-garde electronic and post-club than neoclassical and makes you hungry for more controlled and confusing complexity.”
Groove magazine

The EP of Mári Mákó, Oudemian, fuses introspective instrumental and vocal textures with live electronics. It is a sonic journey of finding inner strength through crisis, of overcoming existential angst and rebirth.
The title was invented as a combination of two-words: “Ouroboros” and “Demian.” Ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a snake biting its own tail representing the circle of life, and Hesse’s novel Demian depicts a young boy struggling to find his new self-knowledge and his place in an immoral world. As it happens, Oudemian also holds an actual meaning in ancient Greek: “none.”
This album of experimental electronic music contrasts dark synthesizer drones, glitch, and beats with organic orchestrations of acoustic instruments and the emotive power of the human voice. It features Mako’s self-designed and programmed electronic instrument called the Schmitt, which works with chaotic sound processes influenced by accelerometer and light sensors. Its constantly changing timbre channels life’s uncertainty as it cuts through and fragments the flow and equilibrium of -string arrangements and distant voices singing mantras. As the album progresses, these elements converge over deep empowering beats that carry through a message of purpose.

Credits
Concept, compostion, music production: Mári Mákó
Album cover: Oddkin
Saxophone on ‘Waves’ by Laura Agnusdei
Double bass on ‘Bell’, ‘Shedding’ and ‘Homecoming’ by Julian Sarmiento
Violin on ‘Bell’, ‘Oudemian’ and ‘Homecoming’ by Matthea de Muynck
Vocals on ‘Homecoming’ by Sarah Albu
Trumpet on ‘Shedding’ by Miklós Mákó

The album is supported by Fondspodium Kunsten and won the Sena Music Production Fund.

https://marimako.bandcamp.com/album/oudemian

https://www.szofa.eu/iras/szigethy-rebeka-sara-a-krizis-anatomiaja-mako-mari-oudemian-cimu-lemezerol

https://worm.org/2022/04/13/oudemian-a-mari-mako-concert/

The narrative of the piece delves into the timeless saying ‘blood out of stone,’ exploring how we respond to resistance and our capacity to overcome and create progress. In this performance, a self-designed interactive musical instrument takes center stage, its inspiration drawn from the world of stones. Through captivating visuals combined with electroacoustic music, the audience is transported into a realm where stone serves as a symbol of perseverance.