Deaf club nights are nothing new. The London-based organisation Deaf Rave has been running music nights for more than five years, and other clubs around the world have followed suit. Deaf clubbers respond to the music's beat and vibrations, which is why DJs tend to use heavy bass. But vibrations do not relay tunes or lyrics, the aspects of music that trigger memories and emotions. A song played in a club might cast someone's mind back to a holiday or a first kiss, but it wouldn't have that impact on me, or on many other deaf people. Which is where SenCity comes in.
It was conceived by Ronald Ligtenberg, a Dutch music events organiser who founded Skyway in 2002 to bring together his contacts in the music industry and the deaf community. His event, in a nightclub in Jyväskylä, Finland, attempts to "translate the emotions behind the music".
An aroma jockey uses a fan to direct wisps of vapour from burning oils into the crowd, producing scents that will complement the music - citrus flavours are used for happy songs for example. Visual jockeys are responsible for co-ordinating signdancers, who interpret song lyrics on stage through a fusion of sign language and dance, with the music and light displays. And there's the vibrating floor: a raised platform with a transmitter attached to enhance the vibrations, just as speakers enhance music soundwaves.
Since playing at SenCity, several bands have started using signdancers in other gigs, says Ligtenberg, because they have seen "the added value" they bring to a performance. For him, this is just one way that deaf culture can make a contribution to the music industry. "Often, minority cultures can get lost when merging with majority cultures," he says. "SenCity brings the two cultures together."
No comments:
Post a Comment