Chris Hill - Yuganaut at Krannert Art Museum

I went to a performance by a group called Yuganaut two thursdays ago. I thought it was relevant to our Time Arts class as the performance focused on the combination of sound and video they had created. The group consisted of a guy on keyboard who also played a lot of child like instruments not too different from what we saw in the Hysterical Alphabet performance. There was also a man playing instruments ranging from the tuba to upright bass in a combination of traditional and ultra-creative techniques. The last member played the trumpet, drums, and bango-- sometimes at the same time!! As far as the sound was concerned it ranged from some classical jazz portions to something that sounded like traditional Indian music. There was an vast diversity of sounds and directions the performance went in and it kept the hour performance extremely active.

Included on about every other song would be a video they made. Some would be simple shapes and movements that seemed to be more of a compliment to the music, but there was a specific portion I remember that included a 5 minute long take of a guy riding his bicycle through a city. The shot was very hectic and was quite suspenseful accompanied with the sound. This specifically reminded me of our class as we were doing the long take the same week as this performance. Their video quality was raw and dynamic, and the band was at times playful with the audience. Some of their newer songs the group seemed a little confused even, but it was enjoyable in the intimate setting.

I would have to say some of their video definitely seemed to be up to par with the music and on the same level, but at times it seemed like more of an after thought and was over shadowed by the amazing music.

Anyways, if this sounds at all interesting you can check out their myspace at:

http://www.myspace.com/yuganaut