Hemmelig tempo
Encyclopedia
Hemmelig Tempo is a Norwegian experimental musical improvisation trio formed in Bergen
in 2007. Preferring the label "research group", the trio mixes quasi-scientific sound experiments with performance art
, installation art
, free improvisation
, instrument-making and satire
.
Doktor Døv (Gunnar Innvær)
Professor Fokuda-san (Håvard Pedersen)
Guest Professor Superknüller (Øystein Moen)
Guest Professor Pus (Mari Brunvoll)
Bjørn Forske (Bjørn Torske
)
Doktor Delay (Morten Cranner)
Department of Visual Research and Latency:
Professor Pixel (Tor Kristian Liseth)
Doktor Pixel (Arild Mehn Andersen)
Skulelegen (Øystein Fykse)
community in Bergen during the last half of the 1990s and early 2000s. Sound designer Gunnar Innvær, aka dj Barabass, was one of the dj pioneers in the Bergen club scene, appearing in a number of electronica acts as well. Between 2003-2005, his band Barabass & The Happy Few, which borrowed freely from ethnic music, featured the anthropologist Dr. Eugene Guribye on bass. Collaborating on more experimental projects and sharing studio space, Innvær and Guribye invited sound engineer Håvard Pedersen for a session of extravagant synthesizer
setup reminiscent of the Klaus Schultze, Kraftwerk
, Jean Michel Jarre
and Vangelis
setups of the seventies in their studio. This was the birth of Hemmelig Tempo.
Rather than emulating these influences though, the group moved in the direction of 1950's electronic music
and musique concrète
and substituted midi synchronization and pre-programming with free improvisation
, polytonality
and polyrythm (hence the name Hemmelig (secret) tempo). The group also emulated the scientific environment of the 1950s sound laboratories such as the electronic music studio of WDR, but with an added element of satire. This also led to the adoption of parodic academic titles, laboratory coats and research reports which were published on their web site. The venue of regular research seminars was accordingly given the name "The Institution". Across the years, the group has found their own unique expression of sound and vision which seems to draw on the entire history of avante-garde experimental music and art.
, in which a visually impressive range of synthesizer
s, electronic gadgets, robot
s and other toys, tape machines, record players, electronic circuit
s and eventually everyday objects and mechanical contraptions were arranged across an enormous table. Dressed in laboratory coats, the research group would present their experiments and introduce their latest inventions, such as Professor Waffel's Flying Sequencer which consisted of a camera-mounted and modified toy aeroplane revolving over a fan and triggering an optical midi device connected to a synthesizer to produce sequences of random notes.
During Bergen Fest 2008, the group held an outdoor concert in which they experimented with quadraphonic speakers and interacted with the noise of the city. During a dramatic performance in 2007, Professor Waffel had to depart for the birth of his son just before the start of the concert. Rather than cancelling the concert, it was decided to bring in an outsider for the occasion. Musician and dj Bjørn Torske
lived nearby and accepted the challenge - renamed Bjørn Forske (to research). This prompted the occasional invitation of guest professors into the research group.
At the same time, Doktor Døv dabbled in visual research himself and presented a fair amount of videos of experiments on Youtube
, including "Professor Waffel's Motorized Spiral Opto-Sequencer Designer" "Six Unlikely Duos" and "How to wear a labcoat", in which a camera mounted on a revolving toy train documents a session in which Professor Waffel forgot to bring along his labcoat, forcing Professor Fokuda and Doktor Døv to share theirs so that everyone appeared to wear labcoats during the time they were present on video.
players which were hidden around town. Accordingly, citizens were subject to sudden sounds of cuckoo-clocks, people having sex on spring mattresses and typewriters emerging out of nowhere. During the Bergen Electronic Music & Art Festival the same year, the group constructed an installation consisting of three modified robotic toys interacting to produce a band. On a clothes-hanger three laboratory coats suggested that the robots were in fact substitutes for the members of Hemmelig Tempo. The three robot-musician characters were later developed in research reports, and there was talk of a tour featuring only these new substitute members of the group.
in 2011. Their debut album "Who Put John Cage on the Guestlist?
" is a 50 minute collage put together of hundreds of hours of recorded research sessions, compiled and edited during Professor Fokuda's Mountain Seminar in a small cabin at Rjukan
.
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
in 2007. Preferring the label "research group", the trio mixes quasi-scientific sound experiments with performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, instrument-making and satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
.
Members
Professor Waffel (Eugene Guribye)Doktor Døv (Gunnar Innvær)
Professor Fokuda-san (Håvard Pedersen)
Guest Professor Superknüller (Øystein Moen)
Guest Professor Pus (Mari Brunvoll)
Bjørn Forske (Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske is a house music producer. Born in 1971 in Tromsø, Norway, Torske became involved with producing music and local radio before moving to Bergen, Norway. He has collaborated on many occasions with Röyksopp.-Disco Members:...
)
Doktor Delay (Morten Cranner)
Department of Visual Research and Latency:
Professor Pixel (Tor Kristian Liseth)
Doktor Pixel (Arild Mehn Andersen)
Skulelegen (Øystein Fykse)
History
The group emerged from the electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
community in Bergen during the last half of the 1990s and early 2000s. Sound designer Gunnar Innvær, aka dj Barabass, was one of the dj pioneers in the Bergen club scene, appearing in a number of electronica acts as well. Between 2003-2005, his band Barabass & The Happy Few, which borrowed freely from ethnic music, featured the anthropologist Dr. Eugene Guribye on bass. Collaborating on more experimental projects and sharing studio space, Innvær and Guribye invited sound engineer Håvard Pedersen for a session of extravagant synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
setup reminiscent of the Klaus Schultze, Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
and Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
setups of the seventies in their studio. This was the birth of Hemmelig Tempo.
Rather than emulating these influences though, the group moved in the direction of 1950's electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
and substituted midi synchronization and pre-programming with free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, polytonality
Polytonality
The musical use of more than one key simultaneously is polytonality . Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time...
and polyrythm (hence the name Hemmelig (secret) tempo). The group also emulated the scientific environment of the 1950s sound laboratories such as the electronic music studio of WDR, but with an added element of satire. This also led to the adoption of parodic academic titles, laboratory coats and research reports which were published on their web site. The venue of regular research seminars was accordingly given the name "The Institution". Across the years, the group has found their own unique expression of sound and vision which seems to draw on the entire history of avante-garde experimental music and art.
Live Research
Hemmelig Tempo became known for their live performances, framed as live researchResearch
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, in which a visually impressive range of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, electronic gadgets, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s and other toys, tape machines, record players, electronic circuit
Electronic circuit
An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow...
s and eventually everyday objects and mechanical contraptions were arranged across an enormous table. Dressed in laboratory coats, the research group would present their experiments and introduce their latest inventions, such as Professor Waffel's Flying Sequencer which consisted of a camera-mounted and modified toy aeroplane revolving over a fan and triggering an optical midi device connected to a synthesizer to produce sequences of random notes.
During Bergen Fest 2008, the group held an outdoor concert in which they experimented with quadraphonic speakers and interacted with the noise of the city. During a dramatic performance in 2007, Professor Waffel had to depart for the birth of his son just before the start of the concert. Rather than cancelling the concert, it was decided to bring in an outsider for the occasion. Musician and dj Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske is a house music producer. Born in 1971 in Tromsø, Norway, Torske became involved with producing music and local radio before moving to Bergen, Norway. He has collaborated on many occasions with Röyksopp.-Disco Members:...
lived nearby and accepted the challenge - renamed Bjørn Forske (to research). This prompted the occasional invitation of guest professors into the research group.
Department of Visual Research and Latency
Across the years, several professional film makers, vj's and photographers have become part of the academic community of Hemmelig Tempo. In 2009, Mister (later Doktor) Pixel presented his long overdue PhD thesis in the form of a 10 minute short film documenting a research session at the Institution. The thesis was found to be of sufficient merit to warrant a doctoral degree at the Department of Visual Research. During a Thanksgiving seminar the same year, a research seminar at the Institution was documented live on the web by Professor Pixel (not related to Doktor Pixel) and Skulelegen.At the same time, Doktor Døv dabbled in visual research himself and presented a fair amount of videos of experiments on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, including "Professor Waffel's Motorized Spiral Opto-Sequencer Designer" "Six Unlikely Duos" and "How to wear a labcoat", in which a camera mounted on a revolving toy train documents a session in which Professor Waffel forgot to bring along his labcoat, forcing Professor Fokuda and Doktor Døv to share theirs so that everyone appeared to wear labcoats during the time they were present on video.
Installations
A notable part of the activities of the group has been strange installations during arts- and music festivals in Norway. During Bergen Fest in 2008, the group recorded small fragments of sound-out-of place on Mp3MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
players which were hidden around town. Accordingly, citizens were subject to sudden sounds of cuckoo-clocks, people having sex on spring mattresses and typewriters emerging out of nowhere. During the Bergen Electronic Music & Art Festival the same year, the group constructed an installation consisting of three modified robotic toys interacting to produce a band. On a clothes-hanger three laboratory coats suggested that the robots were in fact substitutes for the members of Hemmelig Tempo. The three robot-musician characters were later developed in research reports, and there was talk of a tour featuring only these new substitute members of the group.
Instrument making
The group has invented a number of instruments across the years, some of which have been featured on live performances, others known only from rare photographs. Circuit-bending, modifications of toys, electronic circuits and mechanical contraptions, as well as tape loop sessions have been a standard feature of the group's research seminars. Experiments have also included improvisations with everyday household items such as vacuum cleaners, waffel irons and golf clubs.Discography
While not primarily an album-oriented group, the group signed a contract with the French record label Gazul, a sub-label of MuseaMusea
Musea Records is a non-profit [for the label's bands] musician-owned French record label dedicated to progressive rock. It was founded in 1985 by Bernard Gueffier and Francis Grosse, along with a small team of friends - Daniel Adt, Alain Juliac, Alain Robert, Thierry Sportouche, Jean-Claude...
in 2011. Their debut album "Who Put John Cage on the Guestlist?
Who Put John Cage on the Guestlist?
Who Put John Cage on the Guestlist? is the debut album of Norwegian electronic research group Hemmelig tempo. The album was released on the French label Gazul, a sublabel of Musea in 2011. The title of the album makes reference to the American modernist composer John Cage, a pioneer of chance...
" is a 50 minute collage put together of hundreds of hours of recorded research sessions, compiled and edited during Professor Fokuda's Mountain Seminar in a small cabin at Rjukan
Rjukan
Rjukan is a town and the administrative center of Tinn municipality in Telemark . It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, and got its name after Rjukanfossen west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3 386...
.