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2 Nov 2024
Crowd Test isn’t another typical music festival — it is an experimental odyssey and the grand unveiling of Sandy Times Radio (STR), a 24/7 mix of local music intertwined with global sounds, all curated to keep you miles ahead of any algorithm’s predictions. To celebrate STR’s launch, Crowd Test has assembled an eclectic fusion of art, music, and visual performances that challenge convention, immersing audiences in a unique, multisensory festival.
Make a note: November 16, 2024, from 5 pm to 3 am, at Monkey Bar, Dubai. Save the date, bring your crew, and do not forget the tickets.
One of the main reasons to visit Crowd Test (among many, see others here) is the unique Art Lab experience brought to ROOM #3 by CIFRA, a digital art streaming platform that connects artists, art lovers, curators, and industry experts from around the world. Expect an incredible audio-visual live show from:
— Amir B. Ash & Safeya Alblooshi, a creative powerhouse known for their unique fusion of music and visual art. Amir’s immersive visuals and Safeya’s deep, evolving soundscapes come together to create a world of transitions and transformation.
— After 12 Collective, a boundary-pushing group of artists and musicians from Oman, founded by a local crew of passionate audiophiles. Their genre-free electronic music is spontaneous and live, making each performance a unique and unrepeatable journey.
And here is more about what to expect from this visual and auditory playground!
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Amir B. Ash
Amir & Safeya: Sound meets vision
Amir B. Ash, a seasoned new media artist and art director, is set to dazzle the crowd with Periphera, a collaborative piece that weaves together sound, visuals, and a transformative narrative of spatial confinement and emotional intensity. Starting his career in painting, Amir realised that static visuals couldn’t capture the dynamic essence he sought. This led him to the world of real-time visuals, where interactive installations and generative art offered endless possibilities. Armed with tools like TouchDesigner and Python, Amir has worked on immersive shows across the globe, from MUTEK Montreal to TCS Berlin, even providing visuals for artists like Lionel Richie and Bastille. At CIFRA, he joins forces with Safeya Alblooshi to present Periphera, a performance that promises to carry the audience through a dramatic journey.
“Periphera explores a shift from openness to confinement, both physically and emotionally,” says Amir. The piece begins with airy, expansive synths and organic visuals that feel boundless, capturing a sense of freedom. As Safeya’s soundscape intensifies and distorts into fragmented layers, Amir’s visuals follow suit, evolving into sharp, chaotic patterns that mirror the tightening sonic experience. The synergy between sound and visuals is designed to guide the audience on a visceral journey, reflecting transitions from freedom to restriction. “It’s all about creating a sensory journey,” Amir explains, “one that moves from open spaces to closed environments, mirroring shifts in emotion and space.”
Amir’s visual style draws heavily from film, music, and painting. “I’m particularly drawn to J.M.W. Turner’s landscapes, as well as ambient and electronic musicians who create immersive soundscapes,” he shares. This combination of influences allows Amir to construct visual worlds that communicate mood and depth, building an emotive bridge between sound and image. His work often receives high praise for its technical and emotional complexity, and he is particularly proud of his generative shaders, which earned a feature in the TouchDesigner 2023 update.
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Safeya Alblooshi
Safeya Alblooshi, a sound artist and researcher, brings her own experimental flair to CIFRA Art Lab. Beginning her journey as a pianist, she soon found herself drawn to non-linear music composition, eventually evolving into a sound artist and ethnomusicologist. “After studying music programming, I started seeing composition differently, exploring participatory performance and field recordings,” says Safeya, who is currently a Research Fellow at NYUAD’s Music and Sound Cultures group. Her installations often bring together field recordings and modular synths to create a live, immersive soundscape. She has performed at prominent venues like the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and has curated experimental events like Electrofest. With a focus on regional sound culture, she recently launched Resound UAE, a project to document and explore the Emirates’ unique soundscape.
For Crowd Test’s CIFRA Art Lab, Safeya’s contribution to Periphera brings a deepening sense of emotional confinement and sonic transition, one that mirrors Amir’s visual work. “This piece is about moving between openness and constraint,” she says. Her soundscapes are designed to evoke emotional landscapes, sometimes evoking wide, open spaces and other times evoking claustrophobic density. Her love for field recordings and regional sounds plays a role in Periphera, as her live-modulated, evolving soundscapes capture a sense of transition and transformation. “In my work, sound and visuals are inseparable — they create a layered experience, and this collaboration brings a new layer of immersion,” she explains.
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After 12 Collective
After 12 Collective: Improvisation and unpredictability
Also featured at CIFRA Art Lab is the After 12 Collective, a group that began as a gathering of audiophiles in Oman. Known for their fully improvised live sets, After 12 Collective crafts entirely unique, in-the-moment performances that blend analogue and modular synthesisers for an unpredictable experience. “Our sets are always new creations, ranging from downtempo to dark, experimental psychedelia,” they share. Inspired by artists like Tangerine Dream, Boards of Canada, and Aphex Twin, they bring a genre-defying blend of influences into their music, and each performance is a singular journey. For Crowd Test, they are adding a new visual element, one designed by a Collective member to enhance the immersive experience.
“Our audiences tell us that our sets feel deeply immersive and unlike anything else they’ve experienced — it is why we do what we do,” says After 12 Collective. Their work has been praised for its transformative quality, with each set resonating with its own atmosphere, captivating listeners through a real-time, living soundscape. At CIFRA Art Lab, their real-time visuals will layer with their sound, creating a dynamic, unpredictable fusion of sight and sound.
With Crowd Test and Sandy Times Radio ready to bring Dubai’s creative community together in a night of sound and spectacle, CIFRA Art Lab promises a showcase of experimental expression, boundary-pushing performances, and art that leaves a lasting impact. As Safeya aptly puts it, “This festival is for those who want to experience art and music that refuses to sit still. You don’t just attend; you join in.”
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