Luminato’s Unsound Toronto – June 19/20

The infamous Hearn Generating Station becomes a sonic playground taking you on a journey where music genres collide and blur.  There will be two electrifying nights of music and technology curated and commissioned by Unsound creators Mat Schulz and Malgorzata Plysa.

Packed with pioneers and rising stars of electronic and experimental music from around the world, a limited-number of tickets are also available for the world premiere of Ephemera: a scent and sound experience featuring the olfactory compositions of perfumer Geza Schoen, based on the musical resonances and reverberations of Tim Hecker.

Unsound arrives in Toronto (its sole North American destination this year) after highly-acclaimed editions in New York, London and Adelaide, and will be the first-ever public event in the historic Hearn Generating Station in the Toronto Port Lands. Known for both its innovative programming and producing events in adapted spaces, Unsound uses its Toronto manifestation to animate the vast, and typically empty, Hearn Generating Station.

From its roots as a small underground festival in cellar clubs in Krakow, Poland, Unsound is an amorphous music festival that has become one of the world’s foremost events in electronic and experimental music, famed for discovering new artists and commissioning risk-taking projects. In addition to its flagship festival in Krakow, Unsound has four acclaimed editions under its belt, regularly taking place in New York, London and Adelaide. This year, Toronto is its sole North American destination.

After re-invigorating the Hearn with the exuberant 2014 Big Bang Bash Gala, Luminato Festival hosts the first-ever public event in the awe-inspiring, historic space. Buy a ticket to either night and be part of the group who can say they’ve experienced the Hearn, exploring the many spaces, tunnels and rooms throughout.

A remarkable and raw venue, this landmark building becomes a sonic playground for two days, taking audiences on a journey where music genres collide and blur, packed with pioneers and rising stars of electronic and experimental music from around the world. See two very distinct nights of programming, from abstract concerts on Friday to a late night party on Saturday.

Immersive shows use a spectrum of sound – from the abrasive to the delicate – laser, light, video and even scent in a series of premieres, performance experiments and international collaborations.

Friday June 19th

The Hearn is transformed into a radical concert hall, where a series of shows fusing experimental and classical music are pitched against synesthetic projects, incorporating technology in thrilling ways.

Stars of The Lid, one of the world’s most influential drone/ambient bands who rarely perform, create soundscapes composed of effect-treated guitars and hypnotic strings while filmmaker Luke Savisky projects mesmerising images onto the surface of the Hearn.

Following the world premiere of Lumiere at Unsound Krakow in 2013, German electronic musician Robert Henke (a.k.a. Monolake) presents Lumiere II: a mind- blowing presentation of lasers that are created and condensed into a stunning, complex and massive synesthetic experience that pivots between fragility and the overwhelming.

Bonus: Ephemera
Bringing together scent and sound in a startling new way, Tim Hecker will present the world premiere of a live version of the Unsound-produced Ephemera project at Luminato Festival. Olfactory compositions by conceptual perfumer Geza Schoen will be based on the musical resonances and reverberations of Hecker, whose show will also feature immersive lighting design by Berlin’s MFO. Let the physical presence of scent and sound trigger emotions, uncover memories and move your other senses.

Note: Ephemera will take place at the beginning and end of the night in an exclusive room inside the Hearn. Due to the capacity of the space, access to this special experience requires the purchase of an additional $10 Ephemera ticket.

Saturday June 20th

The worlds of experimental and club music collide with pioneers, rising stars and fresh discoveries on the second night of Unsound Toronto.

Eighty-two-year-old New Yorker Morton Subotnick is accompanied by a live video by Berlin’s Lillevan in the Canadian debut of his legendary 1967 album Silver Apples of the Moon, which laid the seeds of techno.

Chilean-German Atom^TM (a.k.a. Atom Heart a.k.a. Señor Coconut) joins Australian multimedia artist Robin Fox for their acclaimed Double Vision: a three-dimensional assault merging Fox’s experimental laser show with Atom^TM’s deconstructed take on pop music, which was originally commissioned by Unsound and Adelaide Festival.

Australian-Icelandic musician Ben Frost’s acclaimed live shows, known for their physicality and force, present a project also developed with Unsound featuring MFO’s innovative light design.

More names will be added for the main room, as well as a second space focusing on emerging and vibrant global underground club scenes that, in Unsound-style, look far beyond the expected. Artists confirmed so far include Emptyset, Helena Hauff, RSS B0YS, BNNT and We Will Fail.

Saturday night’s entertainment is presented with the Polish Cultural Institute of New York in an ode to Unsound’s homebase in Krakow, largely expressed through the inclusion of an exciting program of Polish artists. Party until the sun comes up (or until 4 AM) with Unsound Toronto!

Buckle in for a ride unlike any other!

$20 per night, $30 for both nights. June 19 and 20. 8 PM start.

Friday

Saturday