Ray Mann’s postcards from Schmiede 2015: 10 days of creating things with strangers at the annual “playground for ideas” in Hallein, Austria.
The Schmiede event is held in the old Hallein Salt Mine in Salzburg, Austria – an amazing venue which, once a year, is host to a select group of creative minds from a wide range of disciplines: game designers, machine builders, electronics designers, coders, video artists, dancers, musicians, and more.
I was invited to participate, create, collaborate, and exhibit at the 2015 event. These are my postcards – this post is a live blog, so check back for updates.
More information about Schmiede here.
Things We Learned Today At Geek Camp: all this time, it’s been the bubbles that made the beer. #bleaugh
— Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 10, 2015
Tonight = learning the video game “Werewolf” in a non-VR environment… Hope i make it out in one piece. #Schmiede15 — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 11, 2015
Katharina Schaar recreates still photos as super-slow-mo video (750 fps). Stay still & spot the movement: https://t.co/vqIT9WjpfJ #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 13, 2015
Juan from #Argentina is on #tour, reimagining his #live #music #concert in with different #artists in cities around #Europe. We’re working on his #Austria #performance at #Schmiede15. #process #creative #Collaboration #singer #songwriter #producer #progress #LookOut A photo posted by Ray Mann (@raymann3) on
Brain: officially leaking out my ear. Upside: today I built my first circuit, worked on a music video, and wrote a weird track. #Schmiede15 — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 13, 2015
Things we learned (or confirmed) in last night’s game of “Werewolf”: even smart people are disturbingly quick to get bloody. #Schmiede15 — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 14, 2015
(1/4) Notes in my phone from last night: “analogue, don’t analyse”. #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 16, 2015
(2/4) Notes I found in my phone this morning: “Option A or Option Awesome” #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 16, 2015
(3/4) Notes I found in my phone this morning: “Rap diss of the night: ‘I folded yr jocks motherfkr'” #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 16, 2015
(4/4) Notes I found in my phone this morning: “Krampus / Perchten”. Apparently this is a very real thing. https://t.co/uaGz43i7ly #Schmiede
— Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 16, 2015
Day 6 ended with an impromptu Ray Mann DJ set – my Austrian debut: a messy, late-night, beer-fuelled party set in the old salt mine in Hallein near Salzburg. You can stream the whole mess in full (though, sadly, without the vocals MC Curtis and some of the other mic-grabbing Smiths at Schmiede15). Listen with a beer (or even after a few). And yes: it was on a Tuesday…
Schmiede15 by Ray Mann on Mixcloud
Beat Battle at Schmiede15: Salzburg, Austria. We Smiths were given 5 samples, and 24 hours to make something of them. In between my overload of projects, I turned this out in an hour. I don’t usually work with samples – I tend to make things from scratch – so this was really different and fun for me. Thought I’d share. Enjoy 🙂
Simon Schäfer is a #hacker of cheap #electronic s and #social #experiment s. His latest piece: a #video watching itself. #Schmiede15 #Salzburg #Austria. Music by Fela Kuti #aftobeat #circuitbending #feedback #loop #experimental #hack #signal #graphics #abstract #random #generative #art #glitch #circuit #bending #gadget #Hallein #Schmiede #LookOut A video posted by Ray Mann (@raymann3) on
Showtime: imminent. Brain: fried. #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 19, 2015
I’ll be sad when this is over – it’s the geekiest, best school camp ever. #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 19, 2015
There’s weird, crazy, mind-boggling stuff going on here – i’mma post examples soon, stay tuned. #Schmiede — Ray Mann (@RayMann) September 19, 2015
Alexander Hackl’s stunning #motiontracking #dance #visual #software #design in action at #Schmiede15. #art #technology #max #programming #experimental #electronic #motion #vector #generative #graphic #video #projection #dancer #light #lines #vector #Schmiede #Hallein #Salzburg #Austria #LookOut A video posted by Ray Mann (@raymann3) on
One of the many, many #projects under construction at #Schmiede15: the perpetually #floating #balloon, aided by #sensors and #electric #fan. (#Music c/o Fat Freddy’s Drop) #silver #selfie #creative #design #workshop #electronic #gadget #idea #Schmiede #Hallein #Salzburg #Austria #LookOut #LookUp A video posted by Ray Mann (@raymann3) on
Below is a sneak preview of the show I’ve been working on with Juan Tobal, It Takes Two Mirrors…, which we performed on the final WerkSchau night (and which has its next iteration at our Berlin show soon after Schmiede):
Tschüß, #Schmiede – it was as real as today’s hangover x #festival #workshop #creative #collaboration #media #beer #Schmiede15 #Hallein #Salzburg #Austria #LookOut A photo posted by Ray Mann (@raymann3) on
Daily updates via Instagram and Twitter. Upcoming shows on the Gigs page.