When the disaster movie, Earthquake, hit cinemas in 1974 it boasted the then ‘revolutionary’ effect of Sensurround. This, audiences were promised, would mean that you would not only see buildings collapse and the city’s infastructure destroyed, you would also FEEL it.
Personally, I found the constant vibrations quickly lost their novelty value and I left feeling like a James Bond Martini, shaken but not stirred. I also had a splitting headache!
I had similar feelings after a half hour solo set by Stephen O’ Malley at the Teatro Rasi in Ravenna. He was the opening act of ‘Transmissions V’ a four day program of experimental sounds in and around the elegant Italian city that O’Malley has also curated. Continue reading
