Pangani

On my travels around the arena, I stumbled upon the very bizarre Solas area. Solas is the Irish word for 'light', and the forested space certainly is bright. The whole space is beautifully intimate, while at the same time allowing enough space to navigate.

It has a big focus on healing and art, and how the two intersect. It's also a space where you can enjoy "healing, yoga, relaxation or a multitude of eclectic art installations".

It was in this space that I found Sebastian Frisch.

The dreadlocked DJ had a large crowd, and with Pangani he was fusing psychedelic dub and improvised electronics to create an in-the-moment storytelling experience with music.

Using a self-built percussive synthesizer, called a "foleyboard" Pangani could use objects such as seeds, sand or brushes to generate sound, which subsequently are manipulated to create shape morphing sound sculptures. This sound reactive wooden board allows him to perform without a laptop, which is a rare feat among performers of his type today.

Frisch's background is in Sound Art and Computer science, and he classifies himself as an artist, a sound designer, a developer and obviously a musician. He is obviously incredibly talented in his field, and while looking him up the creativity he applies to capturing sound is incredible.

That said, while technically impressive, I find it difficult to say I enjoyed it at an auditory level. I appreciate the technology and talent that goes into producing the music, but the finished product left me scratching my head as to why people cared. It was noise, but noise that felt chaotic and random, instead of ordered or enjoyable.