Photo by Ilan Katin via flickr

The Chicks On Speed Super Suits project finally came together with GarageCube/Modul8 and Chicks On Speed converging upon the Hangar in Barcelona, Spain. With a tight schedule of just five days wireless units were soldered and programmed, sensors were attached to them and sewn into futuristic suits made from what were once inflatable wind gliders. Dozens of video loops were extracted from two tapes of DV footage shot in progressive scan on a Panasonic DVX-100.

Alex of Hangar soldering. Photo by Ilan Katin via flickr

As mentioned in my previous post on the subject the GarageCube and Chicks On Speed relationship took on full shape with the Butt Slap Bongo installation at Mapping Festival 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland. The success of this collaboration lead to an inspiration that has long been a dream of the Chicks On Speed to develop suits that could trigger video loops. These suits would then be incorporated into their performances.

Photo by Ilan Katin via flickr

The idea was very appealing in the sense that it allowed for the audience to connect with a physical act of slapping themselves and one another on each others bodies. This action is transformed and then magnified by the projections. This is simple enough that the viewer is not overwhelmed by the technical details and is allowed to focus on the content. I like to call it the elimination of the ‘ghee whiz’ factor.

With a limited time for production the Hangar electronics workshop began assembling the remote controlled sensors several days before we arrived. Alex of COS had managed to send us a photo of the bare sensors sufficiently whetting our appetites.

As part of our collaboration we were not only handling the technical aspects of the project but were also participating in the production of the video shoots that were to be used for the loops. The Chicks had a spring of ideas that they wanted to use for the shoots. Highly tactile vignettes such as operating a sewing machine, cutting off parts of a diving suit while wearing it, jumping off of a wooden box in high heels on a white backdrop and singing with duck tape pasted on the mouth that is slowly or quickly being removed. The highlight being one of the Chicks bare asses sitting down on a pastry. The material reflects an attitude that is one of the key messages of the Chicks work. It is a combination of sass and humor that diffuses the mockery of the art and rock/pop worlds that COS is a part of. They equally laugh at themselves as they do at the world that surrounds them. It was definitely a reward for us to be able to contribute our own expertise in shooting the material and there was also plenty of overlap in terms of ideas being shared.

Photo by Boris Edelstein

The bulk of Boris task was being glued to his laptop building the custom module that would allow the sensors to communicate with modul8 using MIDI. There was a lot of back and forth between the workshop and the studio and between Boris and Kathi who was designing and sewing the suits together. The sensors are very sensitive. Originally created to sense something as delicate as some powder falling upon them in an industrial environment where any stray material might cause a malfunction in some kind of delicate procedure involving chemicals. Thankfully this sensitivity can be adjusted. This required the sensitivity of the sensor to be reduced so that it could a)not be triggered by merely being housed inside the padded pocket b)have enough pressure applied to it that it would result in a trigger of a video loop.

Photo by Ilan Katin via flickr

We were joined by Merche one of the Hangar staff to assist in the audio recordings of the videos. Merche also gave us a quick lesson in the use of the zoom digital audio recorder. Some of the sounds that were captured simultaneously with the video were sufficient enough for the impact desired. However as these loops were to be played from modul8 as a QuickTime file with audio it was necessary for Merche to go into each file and liven things up a bit with some light effects and compression.

On some of the clips such as the shoe guitar we knew that an entirely new sound would have to be created. Alex’s solution was to record tape being removed from its roll. Using this little digital audio device recording this tape was probably one of the sonic highlights of the production. To the naked ear these sounds can be quite interesting. However using this little recorder the sounds became so deep that they almost overwhelmed the other senses. Using the raw material of this sound we were able to edit together a sequence with the shoe guitar that made it appear that the shoe guitar was producing this sound. Later when Merche got her processing skills on it there were versions that hinted at gunfire or a demented blues guitar.

As with the Butt Bongo installation there was a lot of excitement as the first loops were loaded in, projectors connected to the laptop and a sound system powered up. We wanted to have three screens. We commandeered our Triple Head 2 go. This way if there were three Chicks On Speed on the stage then each suit would have a dedicated screen for it. In the end though there were several modes that would be orchestrated for the suits.

The video of the loops themselves had to be trimmed and adjusted to perfection. We were not looking for long sequences. The goal was to find a ‘sweet spot’ of a particular portion of the clip that would would act as note played by an instrument. Clips were chosen that had that perfect balance between sound, visual impact, composition or in short ‘loopability.’ A total of about 78 loops were created. For the better the collection was narrowed down quite a bit as there were some loops that that did not have the impact that was thought they would have. I am a big proponent of less is more.

Photo by Ilan Katin via flickr

For the finale we were provided a raw space in the vicinity of the Hangar that hosted the premier of the suits accompanied by our friends MENEO and another local band ULTRAPLAYBACK who had a song about a guy with limited wall space in his apartment deciding if he should put a poster up of Chicks On Speed.

As an extra special gift to the brain waves of Boris he was provided with one of the suits in order to participate in the premier. The Chicks stormed the stage and belted out their ‘scream song’ followed by the first set of loop slapping. While not 100% it still had a very strong impact on the audience. A testament to the energy involved.

Having Sunday to recover slightly we all returned to our respective cities only to be called up again for the following weekend to do a 2nd show of the Super Suits at the premier of the Girl Monster event in Hamburg. It was a chance to refine further what had already been created and also perform in a venue (in Barcelona it was a former factory with challenging sound and video conditions) that was better equipped for the theatrical nature of the suits.

Boris working on the Super Suits module. Photos by Ilan Katin via flickr

Stage preparations in Hamburg. Photos by Ilan Katin via flickr

This performance much more focused. There were three projectors with three proper screens, each a different size. Two on the stage and one slightly angled into the left of the audience. The sound system was miles from what was available during the premier. The audience was simultaneously humored and enraptured as the Chicks incorporated their usual acrobatics with their new suits.

Alex pressing her sensors. Photo by Boris Edelstein

Alex, Melissa and Kathi on stage with the Super Suits. Photo by Boris Edelstein

The success of this project hit an enduring note that Chick On Speed and GarageCube are likely to duet again in the future. It also sings true that GarageCube is always looking to make artists dreams become a reality.