AV Live - Visual Stimulation

Visual jockeying, or VJing, is one facet of electronic performance that has yet to fully explored and exploited. However, one only has to witness a LIVE Chemical Brothers gig, for example, to instantly comprehend the devastating impact they can have. British duo Anomalous Visuals are one such act fully dedicated to the aesthetic cause, combining cutting edge sounds with intricate, avant-garde images. This Friday the 22nd of July sees AV LIVE hit London town, supported by music from Jay Shepheard and Ben Rau. Pulse thought a quick Q&A with the duo was in order, to gain further insight into this innovative project..



Pulse: What is the overall concept? ADJ: AV LIVE is really about bringing interesting visuals to the nightlife environment, not just standard beat reactive ’rave’ loops but instead a mixture of contemporary motion graphics, CGI, fashion films and anomalous visuals we’ve garnered from around the World (Wide Web). We have both worked in clubs for many years independently, when we formed Anomalous Visuals, which coincidently has the initials AV, we decided to combine forces to create AV LIVE. Many music events in London fail to really link the visual with the audio, so that is essentially what AV Live is all about. We wanted to create a series of events that focused on quality music with a range of unconventional visuals to complement.

Showreel from Anomalous Visuals on Vimeo.

Where do you get your inspiration? We come from a fashion, art and music background so our inspirations are pretty varied. Musically we both like a wide range of genres, from classic Motown, soul and rock through to hip hop and 80’s synth, but essentially I’m (ADJ) from a house and techno background while Sam (AVJ) is more reggae, dub and breaks oriented, which makes for a really eclectic mixture. Visually its even more diverse, between us we love Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry, Hexstatic, onedotzero, Nick Knight, Dali, Escher, McQueen and Pugh; Manga, sci-fi novels and of course nature/science programs, shout out to the Sir David Attenborough. We could go on forever, there are too many names to list…

What are your Future plans? Well that’s a big question, we’re looking to expand the AV LIVE events, working with other promoters and putting our stamp onto as many projects as possible, including working with orchestras, festivals and producing installations. We’re also working on a range of collaborations with designers, illustrators, motion graphics artists and dancers, taking our image making into wider spheres whilst expanding the Anomalous Visuals collective. We also have a few moving image projects we’re working on for London Fashion Week and some possible music videos in the pipeline.

Why should people go? It’s a perfect Friday night out at a small but intimate bar, great for unwinding after work either for a dance, or just to grab a few drinks with friends while enjoying the intriguing films and underground beats.

AV Live @ The City Arts & Music Project (The CAMP)

70 - 74 City Rd, London, EC1Y 2BJ
Nearest Tube: Old Street
9pm - 3am Free entry

July 22nd – Organic//Mechanic
Jay Shepheard (Retrofit/Compost)
Ben Rau (Fuse)
ADJ/AVJ (Anomalous Visuals)

AV Live // 22.07.11 // The City Arts and Music Project from Anomalous Visuals on Vimeo.

AV Live // 19.08.11 // The City Arts and Music Project from Anomalous Visuals on Vimeo.

September 16th – Macro//Micro
Giles Smith (secretsundaze/Two Armadillos)
James Priestley (secretsundaze, CAMP, Simple)
Lookleft (selective pressure)
ADJ/AVJ (Anomalous Visuals)

AV Live // 16.09.11 // The City Arts and Music Project from Anomalous Visuals on Vimeo.

AV Live on Pulse Radio