Search Results

Meet Cagney The Comoonity Forum The Collection New Project: Symbiocene Journal of Captured Messenger

On Canon: Those exposed to Cagney often refer to 'Canon'. They take Canon to mean the accepted collection of 'true' information about Cagney. They reject any depiction of Cagney being 'more true' than others. As personal encounters with Cagney are limited, 'Truth' is instead garnered by aspects of Cagney that appear consistently, through shared interest and witness accounts. get me back to...

I am the Bomb Union Theatre, Riverside Studios, Queens Park Art Centre 'I Am the Bomb' is a daring and experimental play inspired by Lewis’s struggle with depression and SSRI-induced psychosis, set against the backdrop of an unexploded WWII bomb found near his London flat in 2018. Click here to the the audience reaction On the show: After creating a series of shows getting to grips with generative synths and sample manipulation, I wanted to put more limits in place. This started with my housemate and collaborator Alexandros Paneris, who found a free, funkily out of tune piano on facebook. Speaking with the director Lewis Miles, we wanted to ground the design in the auditory hallucinations of the protagonist. Key words from these discussions for me were sounds of touch and distant noises in an apartment complex. This led to me setting an hour timer, and me and alex doing anything with this piano besides playing it- feeling the mechanisms of the piano, creating sounds along it’s wood panels and lightly depressing the keys. After this, we took turns playing piano inspired by these key words, and the strange atmosphere this long form task had created. This led to the bulk of sound of the show, using these vaguely intimate sounds that would collect meaning from the text onstage, creating subliminal messages and innuendo, as the sounds came across as movements next door, or memories from years before. Once the groundwork of the design had been created, I also drew from vintage sound effects- vinyls created to depict the UK’s constructed memory of the war and the ‘good old day’s that followed. This allowed the music to follow the spectrum of our character’s dissociation from reality across the piece. Sound Design with your friends! A how to: do what you need to do to get a sense of the world of the play, then try and translate that into feelings, movements, objects. This might get something like 'wood, velvet sofa, brushing' etc. Now find an object, activity etc that you think will evoke this, like a form of foley design, but for less tangible things than footsteps or murder. Now, with your friend(s) find a way to record this object, set a 30-60 minute timer and discover together what sounds you can get from it with as little verbal communication as possible. Try and start by not using the object as intended, saving that for when the timer is over. With luck, this will give you a palette of sounds that seem of the same world; the start of your design. Notes from process

Making a Cagney A simple guide Build A Cagney All events have a time where audiences have a chance to co-create Cagney Content. For better or worse, this is Canon too! If you would be interested in having your work shown at one of our upcoming events, we’d be honoured to have you. If you would be interested in creating work in relation to the Cagney experiment, we literally cannot stop you! If you would like assistance, as a multimedia project, we are always looking for collaborators and there is almost always something currently in the works that could do with another pair of hands. So, if you want to try out a new form, or open yourself up to new collaborators, we’d love to hear from you. Each voice negotiated and work organised on a case by-case basis, to suit the project and those involved. In The Meantime: As the project has grown, we realise that approaching it may feel daunting, so we have outlined a foolproof formula to creating your own Cagney Content today! 1. Look: any/all Cagney content, as well as anything that interests you: your favourite anime, instagram etc 2. Analyse: Consider any/all of the following: What did this make you think about? What did it remind you of? What questions did it raise? Do you see something missing? 3. Reflect: what do you want to try today? This could be writing, drawing, free-forn Jazz etc. Don’t worry about a finished product just yet. 4. Combine: using the thoughts of step 2 with the ideas came up with in step 3, go! Set out some time you are able to put to this idea, and go with it. We’ve found it helps to think about where this art could be shown- is it a trailer? A fragment of a feature length movie? A Soundtrack to a Yoga class? 5. (optional) If you fancy, let us see/hear/experience it in whatever way works for you- tagging us in a social media post, sending it via private email or even showing it to us in person. If you are interested, this could be featured in an event on it’s own, or even included in a larger project. All uses of your creations are treated on a case-by-case basis, explicitly with your permission, and unless you would rather stay anonymous, fully credited and included in our Hall of Fame. The spice of life, and this project, is variety. Whatever level you consider your skills, if it’s Macaroni art or your life’s practise, the most important part is that it is exists, and we are thrilled to see any sign of Cagney! Read More

See the whole lot- well, it's a start- Cagney is a constantly expanding ball of ideas, images and experiences. Come and get a peek,

What is the Cagney project? What does it mean to me? CAGNEY.ORG New Media. Community Arts. Get in Touch STORY Cagney is an extra-dimensional shape shifter, that reaches out to musicians, game makers, visual artists and members of the audience through live and digital events. Cagney serves lifestyle products, wisdom and interactive experiences Find out More: Why Cagney Cagney Collection Meeting Cagney If you want to meet Cagney and the community, sign on to our mailing list below and get updates for released projects and upcoming events. follow us for callouts, or reach out to us to collaborate. Subscribe Form Submit Thanks for submitting! Why Cagney Cagney Collection Contact whoiscagney2020@gmail.com @Cagney2020 Home: Contact

Ricky the Itch ARC Stockton, Alphabetti Theatre "Ricky the Itch is a piece of queer solo performance that combines a youthful coming of age story, with gothic shanty town folk lore." Click here to the the audience reaction On the show: In our R+D phase (ricky and development), we started with sampling a lot from old horror movies and creating horrific sounds ourselves. The homemade stuff really stuck. We went through a lot of ideas in what to include, but we ended with the following key words: Grungy, folky, cartoonish. This show was given the space to grow organically in the end, with me and writer-director-performer Audrey Cook creating the piece as we went, riffing lines for villagers while Audrey explored the key ideas they wanted to tackle; exploring queer identity in relationship to horror and creatures, exploring how they related more to Disney’s villains, goblins and demons more than prince or princess charming. I became the narrator, fusing Plankton (that one) and verbose announcers to create this campy companion to Ricky, these lines were recorded and fired via qlab. Aided with on-the-nose exposition and a variety of musical styles, sound became key in creating a cartoon-like pace in the 45 minute production, moving across all of Stockton and beyond while Ricky prowled around our set (a large Bin). This was my first use of AI- isolating vocals to remix pop songs into creepy renditions and cabaret appropriate intensities. Note on live recorded voicover: This is best done directed by the performer and director, so each line is tailored to the intentions of the performer. This may feel tough for the voicover artiste, but it means the performer is intimately aware of the appropriate delivery to elicit the correct voicover reaction, and the performer has it their way, rather than the other way around. Notes from process Let’s Work Together Get in touch so we can start working together. First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!

Symbiocene All that remains are the machines built to remember. With any luck, they will build mouths to speak, so we can sing with the birds and plastic again. "to affirm the interconnectedness of life and all living things" The newest anti-disciplinary research project in association with cagney.org, 'Symbiocene' is a multimedia performance practise focusing on the creation of live interactive systems between human and non-human performers. HOW symbiomimicry: using new technology to recreate the mutually beneficial associations between different life forms found in nature: connecting performers, audiences and the natural world to create emergent models of co-existence. Our creative team are currently focusing on the following pillars: Sound As a visceral language between performers, communities, animals and machine, we use sound as the foundation of our reactive systems. So far this has led us to duets between field recording, audio-reactive visualisers and computer interpretation. We are also seeking ways to make sonic experiences more accessible, using visual feedback and stage technologies to increase sound's reach. Archive in creating a post-anthropocene future, we want to maintain our connection to our existing communities, exploring our generation's role as self-documentarians. This has led us to integrate oral storytelling, personal music projects and audience response into our reactive systems. Liveness To communicate the live elements of our performance without depending on multiple viewings, we have been exploring how we can combine flexible performances with autonomous and non-human systems. This has led to the use of live generative synthesis, probability based composition and investigations into using signals from plant life to shape our performance. WHO sunbiocracy: A collaboration between three distinct multidisciplinary artists. 'Symbiocene' stems from the belief that with the increase of accessibility in media creation, new modes of performance are possible. explore the team below: To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. WHEN clairvoyance: Symbiocene is in active development. We are currently working to create the core aspects of the performance, using a s oundtrack prototype as the foundation for our collaboration. Take a listen: Alongside our independent efforts and venue relationships, we are currently seeking opportunities to extend the technical reach of our work, to push the possibilities of the piece and the forms it can take, such applying our reseach in installations and workshops. if you would like to follow our research, related projects or ask any questions, feel free to get in touch or join the CAGNEY.ORG mailing list: Enter your email here Sign Up Thanks for submitting!

Journal of Captured subject, designated 'CAG-MES 2021' The first official example of a human specimen infected by CAG-2020, Subject 1 appeared obsessed with depicting CAG-2020, reporting that they were directly communicating with the being. This is the only concrete evidence that CAG-2020 exists outside of the minds of 'Messengers'. The circumstances of their eventual escape required significant intervention from an unknown third party and information unavailable to subject 1. In the leadup to their escape, they were provided with pens and paper by an unidentified orderly. Below are the notes and markings from subject 1 in the 24 hour period between receiving the materials and the subject's escape from captivity. subject 01 Our first attempt to study those exposed to CAG-2020. The following documents a highly escalated infection of 'Cagnification', paired with notes from the facility psychiatrist. Session 1 Asked to depict simple personal emotions, Subject 01 begins with a series of simple but ambiguous expressions. Despite being asked to center the drawings on their own feelings, the images are rapidly completed with features reminiscent of CAG-2020 Item 01 As a final resort I advised that the room of Subject 01 was searched for any other signs of expression linked to our work together. This appears to be a key for a written form of communication centred around features typical to depictions of CAG-2020, discovered in the cell of Subject 01. Are these drawings (most notably session 14) a form of written communication? subject 01 Our first attempt to study those exposed to CAG-2020. The following documents a highly escalated infection of 'Cagnification', paired with notes from the facility psychiatrist. 1/10 Entry 2: Infected subject surveillance Soon after escaping the facility, Subject 1, despite facing considerable risk of exposure and re-capture, released footage documenting their improbable escape. The video appears to be their attempt to explain the nature of CAG-2020. The video appears to degenerate to a stream of consciousness from a variety of sources. It is implied that this is how 'Cagney' uses messengers to communicate and adopt new personas.

Dark Matter Visuals by Gisela Mulindwa, Dark Matter has been performed at The Roundhouse, Theatre Peckham and the Vault Festival On the show: Early versions of this work started in 2017, resurrected and remade around three or so times, with our collaboration continuing in other projects taken on by director/performer/writer Tatenda Matsvai that often followed similar themes, but crossed into film and live music. From so many opportunities to explore having been taken, the stakes felt high here. The goal of the sound of this show was to try and balance a sense of huge scale (in terms of time and space), while also creating a sense of intimacy and internal dialogue with the performer and audience. We wanted to try and break down this binary. This led to the manipulation of recordings from Nasa’s Mars Rover and other deep space recordings to present a ‘dark matter’ liminal space. In the 360 degree speaker set up in our tunnel venue, combining these sounds and presenting them with no explanation felt eerie, and blended well with the vibrations of trains passing overhead. Alongside sounds of space, material from Tatenda’s family was recorded, alongside traditional Shona instruments such as the Hosho and Mbira played by Tatenda. We also looked for intimacy in the inclusion of club music, taking inspiration from playlists created by Pussy Palace, the setting of key scenes. With the access to surround sound and an audience sat either side of our performer, we were finally able to nail this idea we’d had years ago, of immersing the audience in darkness, using sound as a set. This left room to experiment with immersive sound: How to create biblically accurate rain: imagine a tunnel with a row of five speakers either side across the length of an audience sat either side. Using 3-6 recordings of rain, place the closest/most immediate sounding recording in the center row of speakers, and the more distant sounds further away from the center. The slightly damp smell of the tunnel left this effect with audience members looking around, wondering if they could complain about the weather. Notes from process Let’s Work Together Get in touch so we can start working together. First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!