#gambletron

Meet Me At the Woodshop

Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival, Montreal Quebec Canada 2023

Four channel radio transmission, Four day durational performance/ Installation, videos.

GAMBLETRON at RIDM 2014

GAMBLETRON

AM RADIO THEREMIN 2012- present

The ten Sephirot of universal vibration emerge from the Ein-Soph.  

FIMAV Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville

Located behind the Charles-Édouard Mailhot Library, Victoriaville,QC 

 91.5 FM 

This sculpture is an exploration in public interaction and transmission highlighting the inexplicable spiritual connection with “something” that often occurs during improvisational performance. The interventions// interactions will occur as short interviews, sound bites and improvisational performances between myself, festival participants, and musical friends. We will explore and chat about our interactions with the static divine while making music. 

These interactions will be either be pre-recorded or transmitted live in Victoriaville at the FIMV festival using my flagship mobile sculptural station. They will then get chopped and interwoven into an informative soundscape sonic mélange looping on the station when there is not a live transmission. People are encouraged to bring their own radios and tune in. 

 This sculpture is made up of a stationary antenna, built and placed in the middle of the breakdance stage behind the Charles- Édouard Mailhot Library in Victoriaville Quebec. It’s made out of locally sourced branches and attached to a low wattage FM transmitter placed underneath. The radios surrounding the antenna are all from my personal collection sheltered from the elements and attached to exterior speakers and antennas. The plinths are all handmade from trash pieces on an old pipe organ. This transmitter is transmitting to 10 radios placed evenly in a configuration loosly based on a Kabalistic diagram found of the 10 Sephirot. Here is a quick-y-wiki explanation: 

Sefirot (/sfɪˈroʊt/, /ˈsfɪroʊt/; Hebrew: סְפִירוֹת‎‎ səphîrôṯ), meaning emanations, are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals themself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms (Seder hishtalshelus). The term is alternatively transliterated into English assephirot/sephiroth, singular sefirah/sephirah etc.- wiki 

Each Radio represents a line on the above Kabbalistic chart. This project hopes to redefine these 10 steps that bring us closer to the divine through the act of improvisation. 

My great grandfather, Rabbi Yehudah Yidul Rosenberg who was a writer, a kabalistic scholar, a head Rabbi and spiritualist working in the early 20th century, inspired the use of the Sefirot diagram. Yidul was a controversial figure in the Rabbinical community, criticized for his translation of sections of the Zohar, the foundational Kabbalistic text, from Aramaic into Hebrew at a time when many believed the mystical text should remain only in its original. He was considered to be a rebel, also criticized for writing fiction in a time where Rabbis were to only dedicate themselves to their religious endeavours. Although growing up as a jew my only spiritual activation has truly only existed through art and music, I believe the Rabbi and I would have gotten along. 

Another inspiration for this project was my beloved dog Lucy, who just passed away at 16 years. She couldn’t stop pacing in circles before she died. When I was given the task to create a project for this location I could not help but see everything in circles because of her. She loved music and sat through many of rehearsal and improvisational session.

Radius highlights Episode 75: Gambletron & Johnny Forever in the next program of our ongoing SKETCHPAD Series produced for Wave Farm. The program features a re-broadcast of previous Radius Episodes, and is followed by an audio playlist selected by the featured artist.

Radius SKETCHPAD broadcasts Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 2pm - 3pm EST on WGXC (90.7-FM) in Greene and Columbia counties in New York, USA.

Radius extends an invitation to attend the third LIVE broadcast and performance of the 2016 GROUND Series with Episode 75: Gambletron & Johnny Forever inside the underground rock canyons at Starved Rock State Park.

Radius GROUND Series is a three-part, site-specific commissioned radio series that focuses on radio’s direct physical connection to the Earth.

When:

Saturday September 10, 2016 at 3:00PM - 5:00PM CST RSVP on Facebook

Where: