Train Fragments Is An Immersive Audiovisual Performance Inspired By Steve Reich

For over 20 years, Montreal-based artist Herman Kolgen has been exploring, and often times inventing, the possibilities of audiovisual expression. Calling himself an "audiocinetic sculptor," his multifaceted and atypical work grew out of film, VJ culture and music theory alike--with a little neuroscience thrown in for good measure.

Earlier this month he presented his latest piece, Train Fragments, at MUTEK in Montreal. It's a dense and ambitious work--the word "epic" comes to mind--that seems to merge the present trend for dystopian architectural visions that look like something out of Inception with an angular, rhythmic, minimalist score inspired by the work of Steve Reich, who helpied pioneer minimalist music in the 1960s.

The performance's configuration is rather unique. The artist offers a multi-sensory experience during which an orchestra, a soundtrack created by Kolgen, and a visual projection interact to blend the real and the virtual. The synergy of these elements submerges the spectator in a chaotic universe where you can never really be sure which way is up or down, what is real and what is synthetic.

Kolgen's audio-kinetic work is continually evolving and presents new elements at each show. We met up with the artist at his studio where he explained his work in detail and the process that goes along with it.

The Creators Project: Train Fragments was the first project where you worked with live musicians as opposed to machines or electronics. I imagine this entailed a lot of work. What was your biggest challenge?
Herman Kolgen: Actually, every performance is a new challenge and is different at every show. I systematically use local instruments and orchestras making the nature of each performance depend on the culture of the country in which I am presenting the show. The challenges are nearly always the same: firstly, finding musicians who have a good understanding and feel for the project and who can work both technically well and emotively. Secondly, the time considerations. For example, for MUTEK, we had only three three-hour long rehearsals. That's not a lot for a project like this! Working like that is always risky—if I end up with musicians who don't understand the project immediately, the whole thing can turn into a mess.

Do you think this is one of your greatest achievements to date?
I don't know. None of my projects feel like my greatest since I'm never satisfied. This project is very special, though. It shares so little with my usual artistic approach. I would have never done the project actually if I had not been commissioned to do these visuals for the Steve Reich piece.

The performance (top) and Kolgen (bottom)

OK, let's take two steps back to discuss the origins of the project. Different Trains was a predecessor to Train Fragments and is a direct homage to Steve Reich. Can you explain to us how you came to develop an A/V performance around his work?
Different Trains was commissioned by Electroni[k], the idea was to produce a concert with the National British Orchestra in honor of Steve Reich. They asked me to produce the visuals for the piece. Generally, I don't create visuals for other artists, not because I don't like collaborating, but because I simply don't have the time. But this time was different—I just couldn't refuse. Being originally a percussionist myself, Steve Reich was one of my idols as a teenager. So I accepted—it turned out so well that afterwards other orchestras asked to work with me.

Later, as circumstances would have it, I had to detach myself from the original project. I had to make a decision: either to stop or to continue. Given how much work I had put into the visuals, I didn't want to let it go. The only solution was to create a new piece that maintained some of the essential characteristics of the original.

Visual from the performance

So, for Train Fragments, you disassociated yourself little by little from the Steve Reich piece in order to create something much more personal. Can you explain to us the method you used to compose the soundtrack? 
Actually, I used several methods in parallel with each other to compose the soundtrack. One of them was the use of algorithms to create random repetitive cycles for the marimbas and the piano. This OpenMidi patch of algorithms created many cyclic probabilities from which I instinctively chose the ones I felt like hearing. From these cycles, I created the backbone of my five musical movements—my harmonic metronome in a way. Throughout the performance, it acted as the beat for the musicians.

I used my gear in whatever way I felt like, added some field recording from my travels, used Super Collider for the audio synthesis, my Reaktor patches, Pro Tools for the mix and to add some effects, and finally Kontakt for real marimba and piano sounds.

The kinetic aspect of your work is accentuated in Train Fragments by a very cyclic and mechanic visual universe. Can you explain the details of the process involved in synchronizing the soundtrack, the musicians, and the visuals?
As well as the visuals, I control the soundtrack, which acts as an emotive and minimalist click track and provides the rhythm. For perfect synchronization, I prepared a graphic score for the musicians that complements the timecode displayed on the monitors.

It's composed of a few index images and, furthermore, for each movement I give them key words which describe what I want each movement to feel like: instrumentation possibilities, ways to play and occupy the sound space and also some graphics to better understand the dynamic. However, these are just helpful tools to get things started—it only really all comes together with rehearsals and improvisations.

Visuals from the performance

Throughout the performance visuals, the concept of the train is very much present in the context of a never-ending journey heading straight towards disaster. You deconstruct and defragment the images to offer something very energetic. Tell us a bit more about those visuals. How are they generated?
I handled every part: the photos, the film sequences, and the virtual images. I really wanted to do something cinematographic for this project. I developed a personal work method inspired by techniques used in cinema. In Train Fragments, I'm not working in the abstract, but more in realism and in hyperrealism. I really wanted to integrate the virtual parts with the more real parts—the photos and the videos. I wanted to make it very continuous and fluid so that people could jump smoothly between the synthetic image, the film, and the photo. The 3D technology was indispensable as I needed to create unlikely perspectives, like the train derailing and being torn apart into pieces.

Maya, Cinema4D,and After-Effects software were used along with some techniques I developed from dynamic particles.

Any ideas as to the possible evolution of the project?
The project will definitely evolve. With each presentation, it already does so. At MUTEK, for example, I altered nearly half the content. I really want to try going in a more raw, urban, and industrial direction and for the final result to be even more digital.

One last thing? Any upcoming projects?
Yes, I have some real nice projects on the table, one with Bordeaux' symphonic orchestra. I also have a “large scale” outdoor sound installation that I have been working on for over a year with David LeTellier (Kangding Ray) from Raster Noton, and another series of projects inspired by wind dynamics.