Six months ago team ‘Symphony of Now’ were on a plane to the USA for a seven-date tour in conjunction with German Embassy in Washington D.C. At that moment the European travel ban was announced and the live project came to a halt. Instead of waiting for borders to reopen, the team pivoted into the digital space producing the ‘Symphony of Now Hybrid Experience’. Alex.Do performs the soundtrack to film as he himself is immersed in an augmented reality setting. Through the usage green-screen technology and pre-produced AR effects the audience is brought to the virtual world. DMCWORLD dives in…
How has your year been?
Well, I guess like for most of us – very turbulent, uncertain, frightening. Of course there were a couple of great things happening as well. But the overall picture is not too positive at the moment.
How did you get involved with this project?
Frank Wiedemann – the curator of the whole soundtrack – asked me if I want to be a part of it and I said yes.
How did you set about writing the soundtrack – did you do it in sync with watching the film or?
Yes we did sync it to the film, but the old one. When Frank and I sat down in the studio to write the last chapter we were watching the original movie to get an idea of the mood.
What gear did you use, what mindset did you have, how long did it take?
I can’t really remember all of the gear but we definitely used a Prophet 5 and Korg Mono/Poly. As it is the last chapter of the movie we’ve had in mind to do it a little more epic.
What was the aim with it? Could you do whatever you saw fit or did you have a brief?
I guess the aim was mostly to freestyle and to see what happens first while watching the movie. Of course we discussed a little in which direction we wanted to go. But that was it in terms of preparation.
You will perform it live right? How does that work, what cues and triggers do you have?
Yes I’ve already performed a couple of times live. For the performance I only use Ableton and a APC to control everything. Thats basically it. Of course I’m having some liner notes which help me to keep certain key moments in mind.
How does soundtrack works compare with making music for clubs?
It’s something different I would say – for the audience as well as for me. Most of all because it’s an A/V show where the movie and the music are glued together. Also the screening took place in seated venues ever since.
What was your favourite part of the project?
Working together Frank and all the other artists was a lot of fun.
What else are you working on/have you got coming up?
At the moment I’m using my free time to sit in the studio and to write some new music.
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20 November – 8pm PST (Hosted by German Consulates General Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco)11/20, West Coast:
https://www.facebook.com/events/398738951532493/
