Institute of Contemporary Arts

Concerto for Voice & Machinery II

Performers of Concerto for Voice and Machinery, A Re-enactment by Jo Mitchell

A re-enactment by Jo Mitchell

The performance starts promptly at 8pm 

Concerto for Voice & Machinery II is an ICA commissioned re-enactment of the infamous gig by some members of Einsturzende Neubauten and other musicians such as Genesis P Orridge and Frank 'Fad Gadget' Tovey, which took place at the ICA on 3rd January 1984 and was composed around the use of industrial machinery, destruction of raw materials and ultimately the theatre stage.

Originally set in the era of post-punk Britain and against a back-drop of conservatism, it could already be seen as a reaction against an easily commodified and packaged music industry although at the roots of the music was a direct relationship to the urbanity of old West Berlin and the ideals of a group proposing an actionist future through Dadaist motives of energy, chaos and spontaneity.

Written by Marc Chung and Mufti, it was specially commissioned by the ICA as part of their Big Brother, New Year Rock Week and has not been performed since although the legend has lived on fuelled by the conceptual plot of drilling through to the secret tunnels beneath The Mall.

Based on the original score, two bootleg soundtracks, photos & many layers of memories, artist Jo Mitchell's new performance will retrace & reconstruct the events as they unfolded that night.

With the kind support of HSS Hire, Shiva and Hilti.