FLASHBACK to August 2012 — The Physics Room has anchored Christchurch’s fringe arts culture since 1996, providing project space for installation artists and performers working across all kinds of mediums. At the time of this show the venue was in a temporary home on the corner of Sandyford and Colombo Streets — a light, open gallery up front and a dark, enclosed performance area behind — with the evening hosted by Auckland-based experimental music organisation Altmusic.
IRD
Christchurch multi-instrumentalist Rory Dalley opened the night under his solo alias IRD, building a clattering maelstrom of sound from broken audio equipment and an assortment of percussive objects. Cassette and turntable noises were bent and shaped alongside traditional Māori harakeke (flax) instruments, the whole thing coalescing into a fractured, unpredictable cacophony.
Gate
Legendary Dunedin underground figure Michael Morley followed, performing under his long-running solo alias Gate. Known for his central role in The Dead C and Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, Morley is a towering figure in New Zealand experimental music. A captive audience was enveloped by his guitar and effects orchestrations — a harmonic, slow-moving drone that evolved at the pace of something geological.
Pete Swanson
Portland, Oregon’s Pete Swanson spent seven years as one half of Yellow Swans alongside Gabriel Mindel Saloman — an influential improvised noise duo who released an enormous body of work before dissolving in 2008, including acclaimed collaborative albums with Australian group Gray Daturas. In a solo capacity Swanson’s performance leaned heavily on bassy rhythmic pulses and psychedelic, swirling frequencies — a full-body frequency overload that rattled teeth and, improbably, prompted several audience members to dance.
