Production duo Heavenly Antennas — aka Josh Wermut and Kyls Burtland — are the first Australian artists to be invited to write the score accompanying Vivid Sydney Festival's spectacular 'Lighting Of The Sails'.
"We've been chosen for this job, I believe, because we've done a number of large events with Spinifex [the cross-media visual innovators responsible for the projections that light up Circular Quay] in the past," says composer Josh Wermut. "It's an honour and we are very excited. The actual work has a sense of importance and you have to treat it in such a way and think about the possible audience. It's very much in line with the type of jobs that we love doing. And certainly, in terms of Australia and the visual arts scene, it's definitely something we can contribute to in a very powerful way."
Josh says the short lead-up has been challenging, but they're excited about what they have to offer the audience.
"It has been a very short lead-up, and with that comes some serious challenges to make it work in the way that we really think it can. We've had to sort of follow a written narrative and then slowly bring the actual visuals together with what our score would eventually be. I think we are going to be connecting people with the visuals. We really want to enhance the whole journey in a powerful way and Spinifex has always been about lights, fireworks and massive colourful installations."
To celebrate the invitation, Heavenly Antennas have released an electro-pop track, 'Misery', featuring Larissa Rate.
"That's a song that we've released for free, just to coincide with and to celebrate the fact that we're doing something [for Vivid] and really just to connect us to the audience in a way. The song has a funny title, but it's really quite an optimistic song at the end of the day. It's just an ironic title. But certainly the sound itself has elements of what both Kyls and I bring.
"Larissa is the bass player and singer in another group, Kids At Risk. She had this song 'Misery' that she'd written and she asked us about what we thought our approach could be towards it. Kyls could really see a clear aesthetic that she could pair it with, so we ran with that."
The soundtrack for the Vivid Sydney Opera House Sails Projections will be broadcast from a number of viewing platforms with speakers around Circular Quay from May 24-June 10.
The best spot to experience the full performance will be under the projection tower on Dawes Point Park, directly across the harbour from the Opera House, and near the Park Hyatt. The soundtrack will also be broadcast on short wave radio throughout the Quay for smart phone and radio. Check the Vivid website to find the frequency.
