The Morning Line is the result of 4 years of hard work and the most elaborate form of collaborative work that I have ever undertaken! It is an impressive 9 meter high and 20 meter long pavilion which explores the disciplinary interplays between art, architecture, music, mathematics, cosmology, and science. At the last round up, I counted over 75 participants/collaborators, and this is what turns a structure that weighs 20 tons of black coated aluminum into a live structure full of experimental music and innovation!

Matthew Ritchie (the artist), Aranda/Lash (the architects) and I have kept this vision alive and watch it grow over the last few years, and it has developed into an ever expanding universe of its own! As one of its essential elements, The Morning Line is saturated with sixty speakers, using a unique interactive ambisonic sound system, conceived by the Music Research Centre of York University. As a result, the architecture of the pavilion is mirrored by a parallel universe which is defined by 6 ambiosonic spaces that you can move in and out of as you walk around the pavilion. It’s quite a trip. This itself defines a new form of music which has finally done away with the fourth wall.

The feeling I get from standing on top of it, in the middle of the busiest square in Istanbul, right at the mouth of the Golden Horn, is something impossible to describe. The historic landmarks that surround us from the Topkapi on one side, the Blue Mosque above and the Egyptian market (Spice bazaar) are the most extraordinary contrast to the astounding contemporary feeling of the Morning line. I am a person of contrast as many of you already know, and I try to generate them through my work because that is what translates into accessible art without diluting the content to please the masses as many try to do these days.

Creating projects with enough ports of entry that make it possible for even the most local passer by to become infatuated for a moment with the experience that fills them with awe and contradictions is my dream. The sculpture’s superb sound system will be tested to the limit in the next few days as we have started rehearsals. We have 10 new works that will be premiered over the weekend and they will run through until Tuesday. We expect a crowd at the opening ceremonies on Saturday because some of our music world cult figures will perform namely Jónsi from Sigur Rós fame, Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth and Einar Orn (Ghost Digital) from the Sugar Cubes. They will all grace the stage and we will fill the Eminonu square!

So if you are in Istanbul, come on down on Saturday night 8:30 pm onwards, and if you are not in Istanbul, get a flight right now! It will be a memorable event, and something that I have been looking forward to for some time now! My first ever real contemporary music/sonic festival. I am so excited!

The Morning Line Opening ceremonies in collaboration with Istanbul Capitol of culture 2010
22nd May 2010, Eminönü Square, Istanbul, Turkey 19:00 – 22.00
including special live performances by Jónsi (Sigur Rós) & Alex, Cevdet Erek and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)