MÔTÔSynthesis: A MÔTÔ Spirits x Muzosynth Orchestra x Vogue UniverCity Massivemuse
$20 ($15 Groupmuse Supermuser member)
- Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, violin & fx
- Joey Chang, piano & fx
- Kengchakaj Kengkarnka, synthesizers
- Nitcha Fame Tothong, visual live coding
- Pony Zion, vogueing
- Ivy Mugler, vogueing
A Carroll Hall x Muzosynth Orchestra x Vogue UniverCity Massivemuse
Friday, April 21st at 7pm
Carroll Hall at 2 Vandevoort Place, Brooklyn, NY, 11237
BROOKLYN, NY - On Friday, April 21st at 7pm, Groupmuse presents Muzosynth Orchestra, partnering with Vogue UniverCity and Carroll Hall, for an evening of “MotoSynthesis”, an unprecedented collaboration of sound synthesis, live coding, and Vogueing. It takes place at Carroll Hall at 2 Vandevoort Place, Brooklyn, NY. Tickets are $20, purchased at the event page, and $15 for Groupmuse Supermuser members.
Groupmuse is a worker- and musician-owned cooperative seeking to uplift artists and strengthen broader community bonds through live, intimate performances of historically-rooted music.
Their next Massivemuse, “MotoSynthesis”, presents Muzosynth Orchestra (formerly the Moving Orchestra), who The Road to Sound has described as combining “lightness with their passion for complex improvisation, making experiences that feel both musically illuminating and human.”
Muzosynth-founders violinist Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim and pianist Joey Chang combine with:
House of Zion founder and Vogueing dancer Pony Zion (featured on The Cut)
Vogueing dancer Ivy Mugler of iconic House of Miyake-Mugler
Lumen Prize “Golden Award”-winning group Elekhlekha (synth-player Kengchakaj Kengkarnka and visual live coder Nitcha Fame Tothong)
Through each artists’ talent for on-the-spot improvisation, this unheard of combination presents a whole new way of performance.
Katherine and Joey share, “We are so excited for the incredible people we are gathering with. Combining the languages of electronic music, live coding, and Vogue is a monumental opportunity. In our first rehearsals with Pony Zion, we knew it was possible to build an incredible language together, and we have long admired the mindblowing collaboration between Kengchakaj and Nitcha. We all care so much about our communities of Black, Brown, and Asian artists, and we simply cannot wait to show what we’ve made together.”
For more information, visit the event page here (at http://grpm.us/fmgGWA).
About Carroll Hall
Carroll Hall is a unique multi-faceted event venue in the heart of Brooklyn, NY with a lush, outdoor courtyard garden, warehouse with a private mezzanine lounge, a dining area with a catering kitchen, and a discreet wooden “treehouse.” The venue is available for all types of private events from art exhibits, performances, and film shoots to corporate functions, weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, and birthday parties.
About Muzosynth Orchestra (formely The Moving Orchestra)
Sparked by informal jam sessions in living spaces, The Muzosynth Orchestra (pronounced MŪ-ZŌ-synth) is an eclectic mix of musicians, dancers, actors, and visual artists from all backgrounds in New York City. As of 2023, the ensemble works exclusively with BIPOC artists to provide a safer creative space. They specialize in workshopping programs heavily based on improvisation, featuring 3-10 performers made up of recurring and new artists. The programs are developed utilizing the skills and personalities of each performing group as well as the possibilities of each venue. TMO has performed in prominent venues as well as unconventional spaces such as St. John's in the Village, Arts on Site, SLEEPCENTER, Playwrights Downtown, Massawa, and MÔTÔ Spirits Distillery. In 2020, they produced a weekly series of online concerts called the "Zoom Jam Series" as well as a three-day online festival celebrating the anniversary of its inception. TMO received a 2022 Creative Learning Grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for its Musical Lab workshop series for children, sharing collective improvisation techniques with young students. They are a fiscally sponsored organization through the Groupmuse Foundation and a resident artist at MÔTÔ Spirits Distillery.
TMO's inception began at the very end of the summer of 2019, when six musicians came together for a friendly jam session in pianist Joey Chang's living room. He and violinist Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, with the help of dancers Carol Chave and Thomas A. Woodman, began workshopping ways to produce engaging group improvisation performances. Using a larger living space as a stepping stone, the ensemble started a monthly performance series, in unusual venues throughout New York City.
"Muzosynth" is a combination of the words "music" and "synthesis," reflecting the group’s interdisciplinary nature, and "Orchestra" references the artists coming together as one.
About Groupmuse
Groupmuse is a worker- and musician-owned cooperative seeking to uplift artists and strengthen broader community bonds through live, intimate performances of historically-rooted music.
https://www.groupmuse.comAbout Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, violin & fx
About Joey Chang, piano & fx
About Kengchakaj Kengkarnka, synthesizers
(Gheng/chAH /kad)
Kengchakaj is a Bangkok-born, Ridgewood-based award-winning improviser and composer. His musical idiom is rooted in the aesthetics of Southeast Asia culture and African-American Creative Music; both are improvisational sound-based practices.
Kengchakaj researched the contradiction and alteration of sound identities, thoughts, experiences, and feelings he calls Lak-Lan(ลักลั่น). By juxtaposing different materials and concepts such as Thai tuning, the Blues, layered rhythms, electronics, soundscapes, textures, and emotions, Kengchakaj composes and improvises sounds that unify seemingly opposite ideas and make room for new directions.
Kengchakaj moved to New York City with funding from the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music(class of 2017). His debut album Lak Lan(2019) has been featured in major publications such as Downbeat Magazine, Jazziz Magazine, and The NYC Jazz Record. Kengchakaj was an artist in residency at Banff Center for Arts and Creativity(2018) and Babycastles(2020). Kengchakaj received project development funds from The Queens Council on the Arts and NY City Artist Corps to produce Atta-Anatta(2021), a solo multimedia performance premiere at Jamaica Center for the Arts and Learning. Kengchakaj participated in Nusa Sonic’s Common Tonalities project(2022), led by Khayam Allami, exploring Southeast Asian tuning systems through modern music technologies.
https://kengchakaj.infoAbout Nitcha Fame Tothong, visual live coding
Nitcha is a Thai-born, New York-based interdisciplinary designer, researcher, technologist, and artist. Her personal practice investigates the uneasy topics through narrative, sensory experience, humanizing technology, and emotional expression. Her designs specialize in various mediums such as time-based media, cel animation, handmade zine, prints, physical installation, augmented reality experience. Working alongside multidisciplinary teams and a wide range of clients, from individual artists to established companies internationally.
Nitcha's projects have been featured widely in the media, including Fast Company, T3, Adafruit and NHK World (Japan), IdN World (Hong Kong), as well as being exhibited at major festivals and institutions including IndieCade East, SXSW, and the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, as well as the industry-leading annual global event, ISWC.
https://nitchafa.me/About Pony Zion, vogueing
Celebrity choreographer, artistic director, dancer, recording artist, and founder of Vogue Evolution from ABDC.
https://www.instagram.com/nowyouknowpony/