GODFREY Reggio’s 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi (“Life out of balance”) is an impressionistic montage, moving from images of the natural world to scenes of manufacturing, destruction, city life and man-made systems.
Originally scored by Philip Glass, involving ominous chanting of the three Hopi prophecies referenced in the film, the production gained a cult following. Three-piece modern jazz band Gogo Penguin bring a new energy to the visual experience onscreen, using a click-track to keep in time and allow spontaneous moments into their new score.
Time-lapsed cloud systems surge like slowed-down waves on the ocean, as Chris Illingworth’s subtle piano variations find beauty amid repetition. Nick Blacka moves from slow, drawnout, ponderous bass droning to intricate plucking and finally onto funkier electric bass accompanying the whirring city life seen onscreen.
Factory production lines are not as restfully mesmerising as How It’s Made – seen speeded up, they’re an anxious, unstoppable part of a consumptiondriven lifestyle. Percussionist Rob Turner uses a simple, ominous bass drum and gong to disconcert the audience, before kicking up a gear, cymbals clashing.
The automated life is counteracted by human moments – closeups on the faces of orange-clad casino workers in Las Vegas, their hair sprayed stiffly; the camera lingering on a dapper chap elaborately thanking cafe staff for his ice cream; holding the bloodied hand of a patient on a drip in a hospital bed is a personal connection amid a dizzying, impersonal world.
From leisurely overviews of the natural environment, swooping in over subtly shifting landscapes and drifting over the top of waterfalls and canyons, to speeding forward unstoppably as a driver whooshing through blurry neon traffic, then launching a space rocket, it’s a rush to the end.
Ninety minutes of continuous playing from the trio without a moment’s break made this overwhelming experience intense, beautiful and thought-provoking.
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