GERT-JAN PRINSGert-Jan Prins

“I like to work with something that is a little bit unstable and out of control”: this were the words of Gert Jan Prins to The Wire Magazine back in 2003. Prins, initially a percussionist, soon became interested in modifying electronic equipment (let’s call it hardware hacking or circuit bending): it is precisely the input of modified radio oscillators and tvs that serve as the raw material for several audio interfaces built by himself and used in improvisations. His music appears to rise from an electronic ecosystem in constant unbalance where any intervention may lead to unexpected sonic turns, even chaotic at times. We could place Prins’ music in a lineage that goes from the radio ecosystems of David Tudor (pioneer creator for electronic instruments, although best known as a piano interpreter of John Cage’s compositions) to the cracked everyday electronics of suiss duo Voice Crack, or even to the digital tamperers like Yasunao Tone or Oval. However, as stated in The Wire interview, he identifies himself more closely with musicians who create no-input music, in auto-referential/recursive system, in eminent imbalance, like Toshimaru Nakamura or Marco Ciciliani. Nevertheless, Prins never abandoned percussion all-together, in a career spanning more than 20 years, creating pieces both with a surprisingly percussive texture (a radical vision of club culture) and that can use the tonal properties of percussion instruments as the input to his electronic sound-worlds.
 
Besides his solo work, Gert-Jan Prins plays in the following groups: MIMEO, a pan-european electronic improvisation orchestra, led by Keith Rowe and whose members include/included Fennesz, Rafael Toral, Peter Rehberg, Marcus Schmickler and Jerome Noetinger, among others; The Flirts with electronic-pianist improviser Cor Fulher; and Synchronator with video artist Bas van Koolwijk. For the Synchronator project, Prins develop electronic devices that transform audio signals in composite video creating surprising visual effects. Following his interest in sound-video interactions he has been collaborating with several video artists around the world and his part of the group of creators that has contributed with pieces for the Vertical Cinema Project.

This was Gert-Jan Prins first concert in Porto and the only in this visit to Portugal.