A mechatronic exploration of song and counterpoint
The composer Thies Mynther (also known from bands such as Phantom Ghost and as a collaborator of Chicks on Speed), the theater maker Veit Sprenger (Showcase Beat le Mot) and the visual artist Tobias Euler (founder of the legendary Jonny Knüppel in Berlin) have developed an interventionist music machine, initially built in honor of the outstanding musician Moondog.* The Moon Machine* is a mobile music island, a bricolage with pneumatic instruments and mechatronic sound machines, sun umbrella, signal horns and acoustic collision warning devices. Built in 2019, the three artists continue to explore its performative possibilities in different contexts. After exhibitions and shows in Münster and Hamburg, the Ars Electronica is the third station of the device’s journey. Based on Moondog’s works and his instrument inventions such as the Trimba or the Dragon’s Teeth, the artists complement the composer’s canon with their own melodies, poems and musical experiments.
Credit: vog.photo
Credit: vog.photo
Credit: vog.photo
Credit: tom mesic
Project Credits / Acknowledgements
A Production of Thies Mynther and Veit Sprenger in Coproduction with Theater at Pumpenhaus Münster, Flurstücke Festival and the Kunsthalle Münster, supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste.
Biografie
Tobias Euler (born 1977) studied the liberal arts at the Bauhaus University in Weimar. His scope of activities includes graphic design, illustration, photography, interactive installations, mechatronics and music. In addition to various exhibitions Tobias Euler collaborated in theatre productions and developed scenography concepts, interactive sound objects and large-scale kinetic installations.
Thies Mynther (born 1968) is a composer, lyricist, producer and performer and as such has contributed to over a hundred album releases. In the early 2000s he extended the focus of his activities to sound design and score composition. Since 2012 he has dedicated himself to conceiving playful hybrids of digital media and performative means to produce contemporary, art-related forms of musical theatre.
Veit Sprenger (born 1967) is a theatre maker, author and producer. He is founding member of the theatre group Showcase Beat Le Mot, with whom he has produced theatre pieces, performances, art actions and music videos since 1998. To date he has produced more than forty theatre pieces, which were staged in sixteen different countries.
