The Goo 1
FEB '25 Aonghus McEvoy: “It’s on the verge of per
formance and installation. Rie would come from a sculptural background and Pierre from a percussion background. We did some things like that, and with Viola Yip who is also an instrument builder. That was something we were interested in as well. Not only what happens between improvisation and composition, but also people with whom it was difficult to place their practice in one area” David: “With the Viola Yip and Adam Pultz Melbye gig, she’s come from a kind of a maker background, and he’s a double bass player. So the idea that you could pair someone who’s an instrumentalist, with someone who had a visual arts practice, or building their own devices and instruments. A very different world from someone who has had instrumental training. Something really interesting happens when you mix things up that way, where people come from different areas, that Venn diagram where they meet in the middle can result in some really interesting and unique work. And how do you decide what kinds of shows to put on now? Aonghus: We would be quite broad in our listening. One of our interests is stuff that’s very decisive and very composed, and which to an extent is quite austere. I think it’s slightly distant from other stuff that’s happening in Ireland. So I guess more hard edged stuff would be our taste usually, and ultra decisive and ultra meticulous things are definitely something that perks up our interest. I don’t think there’s been a moment where we’ve been like “is this a Reception person”. I think it’s pretty clear, the distinction between what we would put on and what we wouldn’t. There’s a certain aesthetic. David: But it’s still pretty broad. It’s essentially just our own tastes. Aonghus: Next year’s concerts will go from minimalist composition to club music, with improvised music and weird rock bands... it’s quite varied in terms of background and genre. There are lines between these things that we can tie together, and it makes sense to us to see them together. Can you tell me a little about the Reception Weekend 2025? Aonghus: This year, we’re mainly working in the Projects Arts centre, and we’re co-promoting the one show with U:Mack, in Yamamori Tengu. To try and organize this has been a lot of work, sorting out funding and correlating everyone. This will have been the third festival-type event we’ve put together. We did something similar in 2023 that was a similar kind of festival, and in 2021, we put together a series of concerts of work by the composer, Cornelius Cardew. Some small parts of his work had been performed in Ireland, though not extensively. David: That was during Covid, so that ended up being a filmed event, online. So we did two films, and four compositions between them. Aonghus: The 2025 festival is about trying not to retread the same path we’ve gone already, and see if we can push ourselves and what we’re trying to do that slight bit forward. The New Weird Ireland scene has enjoyed a lot of support from people like Nyaah Records being joined by a developing scene of tape labels like Camellia Sinensis and Tapes of Wrath. Who are the people out there working now you‘d like to point readers to? David: Fort Evil Fruit, he must be up to about 150 releases now, and he’s been consistent. He’s putting stuff out from all over, and is particularly supportive of Irish players. We’ve both put out things on it, a lot of the Reception people. Paul Condon is the person behind it, and he’s been involved in music for a long, long time. I’m sure I met him in the 90’s. I don’t know how he keeps going, he just has the dedication to it, and is so supportive. Aonghus: Paul and also Willie, from Nyaah Records. At the moment it feels both unusual and very very good to have people where their primary thing is to put out other peoples music, like David at Krim Kram. Reception 2025: February 14th & 15th at The Project Arts Centre, Dublin 2 & Tengu, Dublin 1. www. receptiondublin.com 33