Sound and light, music meets design: this is Den Sorte Skole x Vertigo in Hamburg
DJs, bands, musicians, performers. They have the power to shape our emotions and guide our feelings, especially in live performances
Danish artist collective Vertigo developed a hypnotic light & stage design installation for electronic music duo Den Sorte Skole. A custom made LED system ensures control over each single ‘pixel’ of light.
DJs, bands, musicians, performers. They have the power to shape our emotions and guide our feelings, especially in live performances, where the act of creation is witnessed and participated by the audience, resonating in a shared, multiplied, major sensation.
From a business-marketing perspective, the large part of DJs and electronic musicians lack of a solid brand image and a clear distinctive visual signature: musicians are ear-nerds, they tend to forget about 4 out of 5 of our senses.
Danish electronic music duo Den Sorte Skole took a different path, teaming up with Vertigo to create a unique visual presence intertwining with their live show, building up their image beyond mere music but gifting their audience with a further expression of their essence within the sigh-realm.
The result is a show which is complete, a great example of brand adaptation to a field beyond its nature of origin. We had the chance to exchange some words with Vibeke Bertelsen from Vertigo collective and discuss their collaboration with Den Sorte Skole: read through!
Who are you, who is Vertigo?
Vibeke Bertelsen:
“We actually take pride in calling ourselves an ‘artist collective’. We consist of three people: Frederik Hilmer Svanholm, Vibeke Bertelsen and Mikkel Meyer. Since 2011, we have been doing what we call digital scenography for installations and cultural events. That is to say, we create visual experiences with light objects and video projectors.”
What was the inspiration behind the installation for Den Sorte Skole in Hamburg?
Vibeke Bertelsen:
“We have had a long term collaboration with Danish music duo Den Sorte Skole, working closely with them when they perform live, developing a unique experience every time depending on the venue.
The inspiration is the musical universe of Den Sorte Skole. Den Sorte Skole creates layered soundscapes using thousands of unique music samples and we are inspired by this approach – taking fragments from other contexts and working with that to develop a piece of coherent music and visual experience.”
What materials and technology were employed?
Vibeke Bertelsen:
“It differs from venue to venue but for this concert, we used LED-lighting rods, that were placed on stage and on the back wall of the stage. At other concerts, we have used projections and laser as well.”
What is unique about this installation?
Vibeke Bertelsen:
“The unique thing is that we in Vertigo have hands-on the whole creative and technical process. We developed the LED-lighting ourselves the industrial design and production which gives us a unique possibility to control every single LED ‘pixel’ of every lighting rod.
That, in turn, allows us to create textures of light that are very diverse and are able to blend in with the music. From a faint glimmer to a full-on light intensity which in turn reveals the room around the lighting rods and the performers on stage.”
