Gertrude Street Projection Festival Closing Party

Marcus Whale - 'Inland Sea' Album Launch
friendships x Null - Collaborative Audio-Visual Performance
Deer - Debut Audio-Visual Set
Dreamteam Projects - Contemporary Dance Performance
Paradise DJs - Burnout Audio-Visual Set

The Gertrude Street Projection Festival is inner Melbourne's most visible and accessible free large scale arts festival. For 10 evenings in July and in over 35 locations, the length of Gertrude Street in Fitzroy is illuminated by the visions of talented projection artists.For the annually anticipated festival's closing parting, GSPF has teamed up with local festival promoters Paradise. Paradise have decided to extend the celebration of projection works to incorporate immersive live performances from cutting edge musicians, visual artists and a contemporary dance collective. Selecting some of Australia's leading artists to perform tailor-made, exclusive and once-off performances The GSPF Closing Party will feature performances be a completely unique and interactive experience for both audience and performer.
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Marcus Whale
Inland Sea is the debut record from Sydney artist Marcus Whale (Collarbones, Black Vanilla), a personal, imaginative account of Australia's colonial narrative from invasion and into an aspirational future. Backed by an immersive, orchestral spread of acoustic and electronic instrumentation (co-produced by Nigel Yang of HTRK), Marcus's songwriting uncovers Australian origin stories entangling the birth of queer identity, submission and resistance, while imagining the ineffable, unknowable place of escape that gives the album its title. Marcus Whale will deliver his performance alongside twin percussionists as an exclusive Melbourne show during his 'Inland Sea Tour'.
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friendships x Null
Local electronic acts friendships and Null have come together to present a one-off collaborative performance for The GSPF Closing Party. Live, AV duo friendships stand side-by-side matching thunderous beats with manipulated abstract imagery in a contrasting coherence. Their intense onstage energy and chemistry has captivated audiences at SXSW, CMJ and Australia's Golden Plains Music Festival.
Null worships mid-to-late '90s electronic music through a contemporary lens unlike any other. Crafting perfectly synchronised digital animation to his decade spanning sounds, Null is well experienced at utilising visual projection alongside live electronic production.
This once off live performance piece will invoke intensive audio soundscapes from friendships and Null in thoughtful response to a subversive neo-punk video projection piece from Misha Grace.
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Deer
Better known for his energetic and progressive style of club music, Deer will strip back his RnB/Pop influences to provide a unique Audio Visual performance that introduces the artist into a melody heavy, ambient realm. Despite his club-focussed productions, Deer's music video for 'All Alone feat: Martin King' captures his desire and ability to insert personal, human emotion and circumstance into his work. With a multitude of synthetic sounds and rhythms The GSPF Closing Party will embody Deer as he soundtracks his own visual projections inspired from recent journeys and distant childhood memories.
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Dreamteam Projects
Dreamteam Projects is a performance collective comprising of Celia Hepburn, Eve Newton-Johnson, and Brydie O’Brien, which principally exists as a creative support network post graduation for the three artists. Two-thirds of Dreamteam Projects, Celia and Brydie, team up with Melbourne musician, Deer, to combine the likes of contemporary dance, music and projected image. Playing with their bodies as projections through space, the dancers will draw you into the experience of dual realities – the projected and the physical.
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Paradise DJs
Paradise DJs have prepared a playful Audio Visual set exclusively for The GSPF Closing Party. Drawing on their Australian upbringing as an opportunity to reflect on nostalgic memories of freedom and adventure, Paradise DJs look-back fancifully on getting their licence to drive, the purchase of their first car and bonding over burnout sessions. This coming of age DJ set and visual projection work will set the mood between the main performances.