100 Million Nights + Hive – Sydney Festival

Overview

Electronic super duo Canyons are collaborating with celebrated visual artist Daniel Boyd to present 100 Million Nights, a multisensory performance making its way around the country. Boyd's digital artwork is presented as a three-panel video installation, in front of which Canyons perform live as a four-piece band.

Ryan Grieve and Leo Thomson of Canyons have been friends with Boyd for a while. Recently, Boyd was preparing for an exhibition when he asked the duo to create some music to complement his video works.  The project was a hit and the three decided to create a much larger-scale sight and sound work.

The trio have worked closely together, sharing images and snippets of music to create a unique, multisensorial experience. "The big thing for all of us was wanting to make it one united piece in the sense of a true collaboration", explains Grieve. "We didn't want it to feel like Dan's visuals were just a backing track for us. He created the visuals in response to music we would give him as a starting point and vice versa.

"It was quite different in the sense that if we were writing an album, it would be a much longer process. With this, we went with the initial feeling and thought and mood that came up and felt right. If something didn't work, it didn't work, but we tried not to question it too much when something came up and felt good."

In Boyd's words, "100 Million Nights is an idea, an expanse. Looking at something that connects everyone and, to me, the birth of the universe is what this was about. Acknowledging the loss of memory and not being able to fully comprehend our past."

Boyd has established himself as one of Australia's most talented artists. He was initially known for his paintings but recently has moved to digital works. He exhibits regularly both domestically and internationally. In 2007, Boyd was selected to participate in the first National Indigenous Art Triennial, Culture Warriors, at the National Gallery of Australia. In 2011, he was London's Natural History Museum's artist in residence. Boyd's work is held in pretty much every major collection of art in Australia: the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Ryan Grieve and Leo Thomson released their first EP on the duo's own label Hole in the Sky (they've also released records by Tame Impala and Pond). They've achieved a great deal of success internationally. In 2011, the New York Times described their music as "a good exercise in categorical confusion — pre- and post- disco, analog-synth ambiance and noise, drones, 1970s German experimental rock, new wave. All that, and it doesn't feel over-thought".

The music of 100 Million Nights is somewhat of a musical departure from Canyons' usual style with the pair understanding it as more of a "creative side-step".

At the Sydney Festival show in January, 100 Million Nights will comprise half the program. Also included is another sight and sound work by former Battles frontman Tyondai Braxton. Hive will blend modular synthesisers, sound design and percussion with custom built "architecturally designed" illuminated platforms.

Image: from APT7 Up Late, at the Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane. Photography: Ben Sullivan, Brodie Standen. Brodie Standen images courtesy Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=P83821HGsqg