"LOU REED - TRANSFORMERED"
by Thomas Janitzky, Germany


In his solo show one can join the artist rediscovering a masterpiece of music history.

While being confronted with what results from dubbing the original 1972 album from a vinyl record  to the audio CD format the listener is left in a strange situation between close listening for and to the minimal modifications of the artist and the reminiscence  of personal stories related to the music.

However, Thomas Janitzky made the whole transferring process into a clownesque artwork by the following procedure: Whenever Lou Reed sings "…wild…" within the song "Walk on the wild side", the record playback speed was pitched manually from 33 to 45 rpm (rounds per minute) for the duration of that single word and then released back to normal 33 rpm playback speed. This results in a certain voice modulation effect.

The somewhat old-fashioned atmosphere  that follows arouses a sudden awareness for time and aging. By adressing the role of technology in determining the way that art is being appreciated, the work chases the ghosts of emotional attachment towards pop culture, nostalgia and the now. It reminds us that there is no such thing as an easy transition from one state to another, nor is there a medium that does not come with its very own preconditions that have to be drawn into account. But there is always a knob to twiddle.

Everybody welcome to take a walk on the wild side!


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