Diffuse puts a Blip on the radar

Southern Cross University will hold Diffuse 2012, an evening of live electronica accompanied by live multi-screen visuals, on Friday, August 24, at Studio One29 at the Lismore campus.

Japanese digital avant-pop musicians Tujiko Noriko and Tyme (Tatsuya Yamada) will perform works from their recent album Gyu, while Lismore’s experimental electronica group Tralala Blip will play with sound artist Muttboy. The performance will be accompanied by live visuals created by Dr Grayson Cooke, course coordinator for Southern Cross University’s Bachelor of Media degree.

Tujiko Noriko’s eccentric electronica consists of layered beats, voice, and samples. Her career spans more than a decade, including 10 albums. Her music has often been compared to Björk’s.

“She collaborates with many people and each collaboration is experimental,” said Dr Cooke.

“Tyme has a background in jazz and improvisation, so that in itself is a very interesting collaboration. They’re both very seasoned performers in their own right.”

Tralala Blip is a collective of differently abled artists whose music is inspired by immediate surroundings and everyday events.

“They’re an incredible group of musicians who work with a really interesting range of electronic and digital devices. They do live sampling of their voice and use interactive gestural controllers. They’re really cutting-edge in what they do,” said Dr Cooke.

“We’re going to have media students on live cameras filming the performers, and I’m going to mix the live visuals with materials I’ve created through collaborating with the group.”

Tralala Blip started in 2008 when lead-man Randolf Reimann started working for Multitask, a training and support service for people with disabilities in the Northern Rivers.

“I was into techy and geeky stuff, so I had to check out their music program, but people weren’t engaged. Light bulbs went off for me. I was so inspired by my ideas that I went home and started putting all my MIDI controllers together. I thought I could facilitate something that gave people a greater avenue for self expression. I came up with a program and put it to the management and they said ‘go for it.’”

“So what started as a music project has turned into a band. We’ve recorded with three different record labels,” said Mr Reimann.

Tralala Blip lists an eclectic group of influences that includes Banjo Paterson, Logic System and Eminem.

Diffuse is a free performance, funded by the Country Arts Support Program of Regional Arts NSW and Southern Cross University’s School of Arts and Social Sciences.

It promises to be a digital media feast, an aural and visual immersion.

Where: Studio One29, D block, Lismore Campus, Southern Cross University
When: 8pm, Friday August 24

Photo: Tralala Blip