Wednesday, September 24, 2008

"Heartbeat" with the Persuasions 2008



Partnering with world-famous accapella group The Persuasions and dancer Emily Coates, I took my "Heartbeat" piece to the Power to End Stroke Ball in Atlanta this Spring. It was a fantastic performance.





Check out these videos of our rehearsal in New York, and check back soon for videos of the actual performance.


Friday, September 19, 2008

Sonic Forest Summer 2008!

It has been an incredibly busy summer at PhenomenArts!

Sonic Forest, part of my "Urban Musical Instruments" Series was a centerpiece of the Expoagua Worlds Fair In Zaragoza, Spain.






At the conclusion of the Festival, Sonic Forest will be installed in Zaragoza on the banks of the Ebro River, making it the first permanent "forest" outside the United States!

Meanwhile back in the States, we took the touring version of "Sonic Forest" on the road with three of the country's biggest music festivals: The Coachella Festival in Indio, California; Mile High in Denver, Colorado; and All Points West at Liberty State Park, New Jersey. The piece was a huge hit in every venue, creating great memories for all of the festival goers and for our team. Check out some of the rave reviews we received, and some photos of the installation.







"Have you guys seen the Sonic Forest, the pillars that make the light and sound? Me and my keyboard player were tripping out in there for about an hour yesterday talking with the artist Christopher Janney while listening to Prince sound check. We thought we were the luckiest guys in the world." Jack Johnson While on stage at the 2008 Coachella Music and Art festival



SONIC FOREST ROCKS
ALL POINTS WEST FESTIVAL
"Christopher Janney's 'Sonic Forest' piece may have been the most popular, luring a constant stream of concertgoers, who passed hands over "knots" on steel tree trunks to create different sounds and light."

Andrew Gensler of The New York Times
8/13/08

All Points West Festival
Christopher Janney's "Sonic Forest" which has really made the rounds at festivals offers continual aural and visual surprises to those with a healthy curiosity. It provided a totally populist delivery of a once-high-art concept of interactive random cut-ups that would do Marcel Duchamp proud.
URB.COM