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Electric Soundpainting Septet

Photo: Eilon Paz

Mysterium is a project designed to function as a worldwide bridge-way to isolated improvising artists, of multiple mediums, cultures, disciplines, genders and generations, to come together and engage in new work. Due to the rotation of concept and personnel, it has a built in mechanism to keep things new and fresh, to push and challenge those involved, throwing them into new territories and experiences, creating a more expansive and visceral work.

Mysterium – An Electric Soundpainting Septet is the third and latest configuration in percussionist Eric John Eigner's ongoing Mysterium Continuum.  It’s aim is to harness the vibrancy, creativity and spirit of improvised music into and through the compositional process, itself improvisational in performance, of Soundpainting.  Soundpainting is the universal live composing sign language created by New York composer Walter Thompson for musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and visual artists working in the medium of structured improvisation. It is a fantastic system which not only allows the player(s) the freedom to improvise while still achieving intentional structural and compositional elements but also challenges the improvisor by setting up a diversity of constantly shifting frameworks, in real time, which the improvisor must then actualize. As an additional challenge, we have set for ourselves to make this band somewhat of a dance band. Dancing to totally improvised music? Who could have thought?

http://www.myspace.com/ericjohneigner