Petwo Evans
A residency to develop a new A/V show, rooted in local landscape and history
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‘Petwo Evans is the latest music project from long-term collaborators drummer/percussionist/producer Rich Thair and electronic musician/sound artist Jake Williams. Much of their music is made on a remote farm in West Wales – Rich makes rhythms using found objects (tumble dryer, water bottle, broken piano and stone) which are then looped, processed and combined with electronic machines to create that reflects the landscape – age-old continental drifts, abandoned industrial quarries and the Blade Runner-thrill of driving through Port Talbot at night.’ Taking this as a cue, Louis Mustill (Artists & Engineers) and I joined Petwo for a residency at the Pontardawe Arts Centre, close to the spiritual home of Port Talbot steelworks – a huge and menacing refinery taking raw minerals and turning them into a fearsome horizon. Digital machines were built as components for a live audio visual performance. The machines were fed with footage taken from the local area, sampling time and texture, with a focus on human manipulation of the geology and geography. Projection was used as a display, and also made visible as it passed through space, illuminating haze in the air.