Geek turned rockstar or rockstar turned geek, which one was first dominant we will never know. But that Arjun Vagale aka AsymetriK, the pioneer of techno in India, steers both roles well, is enough for us to enjoy his music. Having been in the industry for two decades, he easily qualifies as a veteran, and being one carries the connotation of knowing one’s stuff really well. So it’s no big matter when Vagale has to perform. What becomes a challenging undertaking is when he has to push the envelope beyond what has already been painstakingly set by him. That’s what he’s set out himself for with his upcoming show called Artefact Assasin, an immersive audio-visual presentation.
Brought to the fore by Social offline, the visual side is a collaborative effort with artist Thiruda (Avinash Kumar) and Cursorama (Yash Chandak). Their camaraderie developed as a result of them all living in Goa. They enjoyed each others company, while inevitably discussing music. “We wanted to push the use of modular integration between my instruments and their creative tools. The music was then re-configured to work with the visuals, and vice-versa,” says Vagale.
The name Artefact Assassin for him doesn’t hold fixed meaning. In fact, he’d much rather people interpret it in their own way.
“Think of it as a video synthesizer. It generates new forms/artefacts/colour etc every time you give it a trigger. The concept is abstract, but within that, there is a story or narrative that follows the music. A lot has to do with pattern and objects, and how they interact with frequencies that are fed into it,” says the artist.
Blossoming friendship
Brought to the fore by Social offline, the visual side is a collaborative effort with artist Thiruda (Avinash Kumar) and Cursorama (Yash Chandak). Their camaraderie developed as a result of them all living in Goa. They inevitably discussing matters of music.
March 9, 9pm, AgenC, The Dhan Mill, 60 Feet Road, DrAmbedkar Colony, Chhattarpur.