Live at the Bowl will see the world premiere of the MESS Synthesiser Orchestra with an epic, newly commissioned piece called Magnitudes come to life on Saturday 27 March as part of MESS at the Bowl.
The MESS Synthesiser Orchestra brings together an almost impossible array of cutting edge synthesisers – also called synths – spanning from the 1960s to the present day. Performing as one ensemble for Live at the Bowl, this will be one of the largest gatherings of these iconic electronic musical instruments ever seen on stage.
Co-founder of the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) Robin Fox says this unique performance event reflects the diversity of sounds from yesterday, today and tomorrow in an ecstatic show of togetherness and community.
“The inauguration of the MESS Synthesiser Orchestra signals the beginning of a series of mass activations of the MESS collection at an extraordinary scale. There will be an incredible array of electronic instruments from right across the history of electronic music on stage – some for the first time in many decades. This is a unique and rare opportunity for audiences; we want to show them that electronic music is not just one thing. It is in fact a multiplicity of techniques, approaches and sensibilities which have revolutionised the way in which we listen to and understand sound and music,” says Fox.
Audiences will be entranced by Magnitudes – conducted by Mat Watson – a performance event which makes use of 40 synths and 16 performers in the newly formed MESS Synthesiser Orchestra.
“Magnitudes moves through tonal, textural, melodic, harmonic, abstract and absurd themes to reveal itself across multiple movements. Expect intense sound phenomena and complete chaos giving way to moments of stillness and feelings of euphoria. I feel incredibly excited about performing this work with such a talented group of artists at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. It’ll be a wild time!” says Watson.
MESS at the Bowl will also see a sweeping line-up of local talent performing exciting sonic explorations with sets from Simona Castricum, R. Rebeiro (My Disco/Downwards), Naretha Williams (Blak Mass), OK EG and the legendary sound of Artificial (Nicole Skeltys/B(if)tek), with live visuals by Carla Zimbler.
Despite a brutal year of lockdown and isolation, musical talent still runs deep in Melbourne and MESS at the Bowl is the celebration that music lovers and musicians of all kinds have been missing.
“One thing is certain. MESS loves them all. MESS is genre agnostic. Sound is sound and everything is available for creative deployment,” says Fox.
MESS is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to giving everyone access to the entire history of electronic music in instrumental form. MESS is the custodian of a museum grade collection of hundreds of synthesisers, drum machines and every variety of electronic sound making device. For more information visit mess.foundation
Tickets will go on sale from 11am, Thursday 11 February via liveatthebowl.com.au
We’re excited to be welcoming visitors back to our venues in line with the most recent Victorian Government guidelines on COVID-19. We have opened our outdoor café Protagonist, the Sunday Markets as well as the Australian Music Vault. These openings coincided with the Live at the Bowl season, which officially kicked off on 8 January 2021.
While the ghost lights will stay on a little longer inside our venues, we will continue to offer audiences the chance to experience the wonder of the performing arts via our digital hub – Together With You . For more information including: our opening plans and related health and safety policies; bookings for free and ticketed events; and other digital content and experiences, please visit artscentremelbourne.com.
