Hypercolor, A Jazz-Rock Band Stun The Audience During SIP-Fest
Salihara International Performing-Arts Festival (SIP Fest) present another magnificent performance on Wednesday (2/11) from Hypercolor and Lukas Ligeti Solo. Both are music performances from musicians from USA and Austria. Hypercolor is a band that produce a fusion of jazz and rock music. The band consists of Lukas Ligeti on percussion/drums, James Ilgenritz on bass, and Eyal Maoz on guitar. The three of them are respectable artists in their own fields and are seasoned performers, with Hypercolor they have put out a self-titled album in 2015. According to Matt R. Lohr, a journalist from Jazz Times, Hypercolor bring you a listening experience with expansive effect on both the ears and the mind. In total, for their performance on SIP Fest, Hypercolor put out all the tracks in their album for the audience to enjoy.
Their music is complex and often raised some complicated thought on how could it be made, it requires high technique and understanding of the instruments to work it that well and both three instruments could be combined eloquently into one solid performance. “Squeaks” for example, is one of the track from their album which started with rhythmic drums that usually could be found on jazz standard, but then the guitar and its distorted sound kicked in and made the art-rock sound stood out. During the performance, we were brought into these dynamics of sound over and over, and we were absolutely stunned with the journey. Our favorite compositions that they performed are a track called “Forget” and “Quixotic” that induced sadness. Hypercolor are expressive and are not afraid to show their imperfections to make a compelling music.
Meanwhile, the drummer, Lukas Ligeti also performed his solo rendition on electronic percussion. He utilized a customized electronic tools to play an instrument which put out different sounds. He developed a motion based, polymetric drumming technique, a choreography for drums that allow him to play extremely long cyclic patterns. But it was not enough, he yearned for creating long structures and the answer is a software called Marimba Lumina created by synthesizer pioneer Donald Buchla. He showed the crowd how the sensitivity of the electronic percussion produced different strength in sound.
Overall, the audience has taken a full grasp on their performance both with Hypercolor or Lukas Ligeti’s solo. The seats were almost full and the cheering crowd ended their rendition with a bang. They also sold their album CDs outside the venue, which some people bought afterwards proving their liking of the performances. It was a thrilling experience and hopefully Hypercolor would make a second album soon, you could listen to their debut album on the link below:
https://hypercolorband.bandcamp.com/releases
Photo credit: Komunitas Salihara/Witjak Widhi Cahya
