Esa Ruoho: Plugged Into Nothing at Rikhardinkadun Kirjasto, 08.09.2025 17.30-19.30

Name: Esa Ruoho: Plugged Into Nothing at Rikhardinkadun Kirjasto, 08.09.2025 17.30-19.30
Start: 2025-09-08T17:30:00+03:00
End: 2025-09-08T19:30:00+03:00
Location: Rikhardinkadun kirjasto

Schedule

Mon Sep 08 2025 at 05:30 pm to 07:30 pm

UTC+03:00

Location

Rikhardinkadun kirjasto | Helsinki, ES

Kokeellinen live-esityskonsepti, jossa Esa Ruoho tekee musiikkia käyttämällä irti kytkettyjä äänikaapeleita ainoana äänilähteenä. Ruoho muokkaa satunnaisia hurinoita ja napsahduksia elektroniseksi musiikiksi, haastaen perinteiset äänitekniikan normit.
Idea syntyi, kun hän tuurasi yllättäen perunutta esiintyjää vuoden 2019 Polyphonic-festivaalilla. Esitykset kehittyvät aina esityspaikan olosuhteiden mukaan, ja projekti tarjoaa ainutlaatuisen kuunteluelämyksen, jossa "ei-toivotut" äänet muuttuvat lennosta musiikiksi.
Tervetuloa nauttimaan musiikista!
---
In English
In this modern day and age, what does taking a risk mean? Starting from a blank canvas during a live performance could be considered risky. Using unplugged cables as a source for all sounds is another. "Plugged Into Nothing" is both, live sampling from scratch with cables that are not connected to any sound source.
This is what your modern sound engineer wants to not happen, the hum and the clicks, at full blast, coming from the main PA.
It requires one to be extremely fast at sampling, identifying interesting textures, modifying them and building on them while sampling more. Who would think of such a thing?
The genesis of this project came in January 2019, when an artist booked to play at the Akusmata -curated Polyphonic 2019 festival held at Vuotalo, Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland, had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. This left the Akusmata organization scrambling for a replacement act, and they got in touch with me.
I decided to attend the festival on the first day to get a sense of the environment. Seeing the abundance of boutique and exquisite gear made me think, what if I went the other way and brought in nothing, just software, a sound card, and two cables that were "Plugged Into Nothing"?
So the "Plugged Into Nothing" concept was born. Two disconnected audio cables - nothing more. Sampling the bursts of sound live and quickly manipulating and modifying them to create rhythms and sounds. Be as transparent and naked as possible - actually work with what "the audience is not supposed to be hearing at a well-soundchecked gig" (after all, if your cables are unplugged, all you hear is a loud hum and annoying clicks - if it happens at a gig it is quickly remedied) - and shape that, as quickly as you can, into something pleasant (or challenging) to listen to.
So here we are, ten performances deep, and the "Plugged Into Nothing" performances keep on changing depending on what kind of electricity or audio systems are provided at the venue, the time of the day, apparently even temperature.
Come, join me for a wild and unpredictable ride.