Monthly Archives: April 2022

With a career spanning over 2 decades, DJ & Producer, Tisto has made his presence known in all genres of the wide electronic music spectrum. After more than a decade of separation from where he originally started, Trance Music, Tisto has officially announced that he would be returning to make trance music alongside a new edition of his iconic Tiesto in Concert and also indicated that a full feature album is in the making.

Tisto in Concert was a series where Tisto would share his live solo concerts in DVD & Blu-ray format. The first edition of Tisto in concert featured his live show recorded at theGelredomeinArnhem,Gelderland,Netherlands, when heperformedbefore anaudienceof over 25,000 people. The second and final edition, Tisto in Concert 2 is a DVD of Tistos performance on October 29/30, 2004 in Arnhems GelreDome. After 18 years, Tisto has finally announced the third edition of the series which also marks his return to his roots. In an official statement Tisto said:

Its about time Ill go back to create tracks like Adagio For Strings, Traffic & Flight 643

2022 has been proving to be a fantastic year for electronic music lovers with the coming back of music festivals and also album announcements from some of the industrys finest including the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Flume, Skrillex, Odesza & now Tisto. Tisto going back to Trance would be a dream come true for Trance music fans, unfortunately it is not happening (at least for the time being). The news ofTiesto returning to Trance, announces Tiesto in Concert for 2022 is merely an April Fools prank for now.

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BREAKING: Tisto officially returns to trance, announces 'Tisto in Concert' for 2022 - We Rave You

In Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Memoria," theThai filmmaker shows how he'sa practitioner of "slow cinema," which features many long takes and more silence than dialogue. His films rely on tone to generate feeling and emotion, and many of his features, which include the gay romance, "Tropical Malady," can put viewers in a trance-like state.

Set inColombia, "Memoria" is firmly rooted in this style, as indicated by the stillness of the opening shot. Jessica (Tilda Swinton) hears a "bang" that she cannot understand. A slow pan in a parking lot shows the car alarms all go off creating a kind of musicality, but they shut off as mysteriously as they sounded. These moments of unexplained phenomena cause Jessica to wonder what is going on.

She visits her sister Karen (Agnes Brekke) in the hospital, and Karen recounts a dream about a dog and talks of a curse. Later, while crossing the street, another loud noise causes Jessica along with other people to wonder what exactly has occurred.

RELATED:Tilda Swinton mesmerizes as a woman possessed in Pedro Almodvar striking take on "The Human Voice"

"Memoria" is a mystery and yet its unhurried pace does not create much urgency for it to be resolved. Jessica meets with Hernn (Juan Pablo Urrego), a young sound engineer, who tries to recreate the bang for her. Jessica claims, "It is like a big ball of concrete falling into a metal wall surrounded by seaweed." As he tries to replicate the noise, Jessica tells him it sounds, "earthier . . . rounder." A few scenes later, they meet again, and she hears what he has recorded, and it seems to be right. But what is making this sound remains unidentified.

Memoria (Neon)

Weerasethakul does reveal the source of the bang by the film's end, but it is the journey not the solution that provides the film with its many pleasures. There is a terrific episode where Jessica walks through Bogotwith the camera, and perhaps a dog, following her. In another episode, she stumbles upon a group of musicians performing, and "Memoria" captures her face as well as other listeners as the song plays on, eventually showing the musicians at work. It is a lengthy scene that just allows viewers to bask in the enjoyable music, like Jessica.

At dinner with Karen, her husband Juan (Daniel Gimnez Cacho), and their son Mateo (Jernimo Barn), Jessica hears the bang three more times. But does anyone else? Her sister's comments about the aforementioned dog at dinner confound her, and there is a discussion about spells and invisible people in the jungle and colonization. When Jessica later visits Doctor Constanza (Constanza Gutierrez), about her trouble sleeping, the doctor prefers not to prescribe Xanax so Jessica can "continue to be moved by beauty" and feel sadness.

... the images are mesmerizing.

"Memoria" wants viewers to experience all the beauty it offers. There are many scenes, such as one featuring a glass enclosed patch of land and high dark walls with sunlight reflecting off its sides that is gorgeous. A sequence at the end of the film showing scenes of the sky and Colombian mountains is hypnotic. Weeraseethakul lulls viewers with this beauty. Even if the plot is sparse, the images are mesmerizing. (That said, this arty, experimental film will not be for everyone, and some viewers are likely to become drowsy and nod off.)

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Swinton, however, is perfectly cast as the appropriately curious heroine. She moves through the film at her own frequency. Perhaps too little is explained about her character, but her expressions and body language often reveal what she is thinking.

As Jessica heads out into the jungle, she wanders around an area by a river and soon meets a older man scaling fish. He is also Hernn (Elkin Daz), and their exchanges form some of the most interesting sections of "Memoria," but also the slowest. One take of Hernn lying on the grass lasts several unblinking minutes, and a conversation between Jessica and Hernn address issues of memory as well as reincarnation and past lives. (This is theme explored throughout Weeraseethakul's work, from "Tropical Malady" to his Cannes prizewinner "Uncle Boomee Who Can Recall His Past Lives").

"Memoria" plays out almost like a hallucination. Viewers may not process what is shown, or understand

everything that has been said, but the film benefits from repeat viewings (and being seen on the big screen).

As Jessica has a curious exchange with Agnes Cerkinsky (Jeanne Balibar), an anthropologist, about a 6,000-year-old skeleton, and a discussion about space with older Hernn, the past, present, and future, all collide. Weeraseethakul is exploring various possibilities and connections, addressing issues of communication, memory, and loss. His enigmatic film is more attuned to mood than narrative. But even if "Memoria" is perplexing, it is also incredibly provocative and quietly powerful.

"Memoria" releases in theaters, screening week by week on a "national tour" starting April 1. Check the official "Memoria" website for dates and locations. Watch a trailer for it below, via YouTube.

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Tilda Swinton moves through the dreamy and confounding "Memoria" at her own frequency - Salon

Some may recognize him from that Melbourne bounce inAh Yeah So What and his ability to perfectly execute his own distinctive sound in the scene, either way, it is clear Will Sparks is always on another level to ignite any crowd with the utmost energy. Throwing it down at festivals around the globe and even curating his very own Sparksmania Tour,if you are lucky enough to catch Will Sparks in your area, I highly suggest buying your ticket fast.Defining his own sound comes so naturally to this Australian producer and this legend has shown no signs of slowing down in 2022. Exploring his own take on the beauty of house music, Will Sparks is returning to Armadafor his energetic tune Say It Again which has proven to fire up the crowd no matter where you are in the world. Relying primarily on his creative genes and unorthodox production style, the amount of dedication to his craft does not go unnoticed.

Flowing directly intoSparks world of prolonged frequencies which build up into a climax of distortion, a morphed instrumental infused with drum claps takes over. Dropping all fury on this one, Will Sparks ignites the crowd as menacing basslines and a solid trance-like melody indeed are the perfect match for this fast-tempo tune. Slowing it down with a gentle melody that chimes in and out, Will Sparks is preparing his listeners for what is to come. An eerie backdrop appears with vibrant vocals which leads into the monstrous bassline we all need in our lives. With the legendembarking on another massive year of touring and music releases, hehas already made an unforgettable imprint on the electronic dance music world, but hes far from finished.

Ill say it once and Ill say it again, this hits different Will Sparks

Listen to Say It Again below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Photo Credits: Rukes.com

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Will Sparks fuels the crowd with the utmost energy by delivering 'Say It Again': Listen - We Rave You

Virginie Efira has a confession to make: before playing a 17th-century lesbian nun in Benedetta, she went on a diet and worked out to prepare for the sex scenes. She presents this as if it were a feminist betrayal for which she needs to atone.

I would like to be able to say: Thats it, Im not going on a diet. I find that idea wonderful. But like an imbecile I went on a diet before the shoot; I did a bit of sport, ate loads of broccoli, that sort of thing, she says with contrition. I know, I know, its ridiculous.

Does the Belgium-born Efira, 44, seriously think anyone would do otherwise? Well, all bodies are interesting in the cinema but our appreciation of our own anatomy is not always simple, she adds warming to her mea culpa. In real life its not always easy to live up to our ideals.

That is also a recurring theme in Benedetta, the latest French-language film from the RoboCop, Showgirls and Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven. Released in the UK later this month, the film is set in the Convent of the Mother of God in Counter-Reformation Italy, where Benedetta Carlini is admitted as an eight-year-old novice by the shamelessly mercenary abbess Felicita, played by Charlotte Rampling.

The sacred turns profane with the sudden arrival of Bartolomea (Daphn Patakia), a motherless girl fleeing her father and brothers incestuous abuse. By now the devout Sister Benedetta, played by Efira, is 18 and plagued with bizarre, often erotic visions of a literally sexless Jesus whose loin cloth she removes. When not in a trance, performing minor miracles or saving the town from the plague, Benedetta is enjoying more carnal pleasures with Bartolomea, who introduces her to sex and carves a dildo out of her treasured wooden statuette of the Virgin Mary. Benedetta screams sweet Jesus as she orgasms, at which point the film threatens to plunge into parody. Indeed, its harshest critics have accused it of nunsploitation, blasphemy and resembling a sleazy cross between Hammer Horror and Carry On.

Efira admits it was sometimes difficult to keep a straight face on set. It wasnt too serious, she says. In all Paul Verhoevens films there is an ambiguity in the situations. So we were doing things that were obvious and not so obvious, with him insisting it didnt in any way become melodramatic. This meant there were a lot of moments when we couldnt help laughing, even when trying to play something super straight, like when I was in a trance shouting: Jesus, Im coming Im all yours.

We are talking via Zoom from Brittany where Efira is working on her latest film, Rodo. Isnt this great? she says, turning her laptop round to show me the view from her rented accommodation: a sunny vista over the sea. As soon as her shoot finishes, she is heading back to Paris, where she lives with her eight-year-old daughter, Ali. She currently has five projects on the go. We are shooting a film about a woman who has her children taken away by social services, she says. It made me think of Ken Loachs Ladybird, Ladybird, which is exceptional work, a real chef doeuvre. How he manages to do such beautiful things is marvellous.And I have three other films coming out, though Im definitely taking June, July and August as holiday, she says, hardly drawing breath.

Efira is chatty, but measured in her answers, as if she is weighing each word. She became a household name in Belgium and France as a television presenter on Star Academy and then Nouvelle Star, both reality shows dreamed up by the producers of the Big Brother franchise, Endemol. In 2010 she left light entertainment behind, saying she would no longer do television unless I have five children who have nothing to eat.

Her cinema career began with mostly lightweight romcoms. But then in 2016, Verhoeven cast her as the wife of a rapist in Elle, his psychological thriller starring Isabelle Huppert. Since then she has got more daring. In Sibyl, directed by Justine Triet, Efira played a jaded psychotherapist who becomes unhealthily, almost obsessively, involved with a former patient. The comedy Bye Bye Morons (Adieu Les Cons in French), which won six prizes at the Csar awards (Frances answer to the Oscars) including the best film award, saw her in the role of a hairdresser who discovers she has a terminal illness and goes looking for the child she abandoned at 15.

But Benedetta, which was shot four years ago but had its release delayed by Covid, is Efiras most challenging role to date. The story is taken from historian Judith C Browns 1986 book, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, written from archive material Brown found in Florence from the trial of the real Carlini. In the original document, the clerk of the court was so shocked by the explicit details of the sexual acts described by Sister Bartolomea he had difficulty writing them down. Verhoevens take on that tale leaves viewers unsure whether the visionary nun is truly a religious fanatic or a fake, with the film touching provocatively on themes of faith, manipulation, power and politics. The film-maker has been accused of prurience in his racy and sexually graphic interpretation of Browns account, but Efira will not hear a word against Verhoeven, whom she frequently mentions in quasi-hallowed terms.

I wanted to do the film even before I read the script because Paul Verhoeven, my favourite director, was doing it, she says. I had seen his films at the age of 15 and I believe the biggest impressions you make as an adolescent stay with you. I adored him because he is someone who succeeded even in the vicious system that was Hollywood in the 1990s. He worked at the heart of the system but was transgressive and his heroines always have a complex side you dont see anywhere else.

Honestly, he could have asked me to remake Little Red Riding Hood and Id have said yes. Then when I read the script, I loved it. It was truly exciting; on every third page there was something crazy that touched on the sacred, the intimate, the theatrical nature of religion, passion she adds.

Both Patakia and Efira have said Verhoeven made the sexual content of the film clear to them when they first met, detailing how it would be shot. Still, things do turn racy in the convent. Was Efira apprehensive?

Im quite modest in real life and of course doing something like this is always a bit scary, but sometimes being scared is good, she says. And it was quite interesting being over 40 and playing a virgin! It didnt bother me being nude, but you cant do it [sex scenes] with just anyone; you have to do it with directors who are interested in the sexuality and the sensuality [of the scene]. Verhoeven is someone who prepares everything in advance; even before I saw the script he told me there were these scenes it was all storyboarded as well. So everything was well prepared Daphne and I got on well, and everything was very natural between us.

She says the film, which premiered at Cannes last year, was well received in France and is not anti-religion. It poses questions about belief and faith and criticises the dogma without criticising the religion, she says. It shows the force of great faith. This was a period that was very interesting for women, it was an era when religion didnt go hand in hand with individual and sexual freedoms.

After our call, I email Efira to ask if she thinks Benedetta is a feminist film; she replies quickly. Like roads and Rome , her answer leads back to Verhoeven. Like all his films, its feminist because it features a complex woman which I like more than the idea that a feminist film should necessarily feature a strong woman who struggles in a male environment and power to gain freedom. Long before #MeToo Paul Verhoeven never had a male gaze; his way of looking at things is always on the side of his heroine, who is never objectified whether she is naked or dressed, she writes.

Some would strongly disagree.

Sharon Stone alleges that she was tricked into appearing without underwear during the infamous leg-uncrossing scene in Basic Instinct, an accusation that Verhoeven has repeatedly denied. And the jury is still out on whether Showgirls, which ruined Elizabeth Berkleys career, is a movie about misogyny or a misogynistic movie. But Efiras faith in the director is unshakeable. Whether British cinemagoers will be so ready to worship at the altar of Verhoeven remains to be seen.

Benedetta is in UK cinemas on 15 April.

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Virginie Efira: On every third page of the script there was something crazy, sacred, intimate - The Guardian

Framed

1) REVISITING: Spring (Vasantha)

The first season, Spring, is about the act of revisiting. I called it an antidote to abandonment. I have an estranged relationship with my works, wherein I dont come back to them once they are finished, and I cant even look at them at times. I cant sit with them or talk to them either, but there is always a sense of celebration and joy whenever I do see them because each one is a living entity in itself.

Here, in a cathartic moment, we get to a place where everything is overwhelming and it all seems to sink into the ground; our protagonist sits with this heaviness. In my paintings, there are spiral patterns symbolic of time, and in this one, the stag symbolises moving on to the next season.

2) HIBERNATION: Summer (Grishma)

Summer is about hibernation lullabies and the world of dreams. As I rest, I try to absorb inspiration from all kinds of things and spaces around me. Dreams play a major role in my visual dictionary; I often borrow from my dreams, and a lot of things in my life make sense to me because of my dreams.

The tapestry of flora in the image is a metaphor for a dream branching and growing out of me. The protagonist is clay-like, earthy buried underground like a seed. The network of mycelium grows all around as the protagonist takes everything in, hibernating. There is not much activity, just absorption soaking in the surroundings.

3) POSSESSION: Monsoon (Varsha)

Monsoon stands for possession. Sometimes, I just feel like the blue one. Its an expansive sensation; I truly feel as if my entire identity gets dissolved, but then lightning strikes and a channel of ideas inspiration pours through me. I become a vessel that holds this inspiration.I have tried to picture our protagonist walking from the summer sleep into the sea and laying down there. This is the moment when the protagonist is possessed.

4) THE DANCE: Early Autumn (Sarath)

Early Autumns dance is an extension of the possession. Its the act of creating art. Ferocious moments settle into subtle, graceful dance poses as ideas take form. Its a state of frenzy, a state of trance, but thats only Early Autumn.

5) HOME: Late Autumn (Hemantha)

Late Autumn is about coming home. I dont think that works of art are ever complete; you simply choose to abandon them at a point. You choose to stop working on them, but you do it when you feel the time is right. In Late Autumn, I take in my entire universe of work. It all comes together, and the landscape feels like home.

6) PENANCE: Winter (Sisira)

Once the act of creation happens, exhaustion takes over. There are questions, doubts, discomfort, and it suddenly feels like the frosty winters extremely cold and unforgiving. I have realised that the only way to make peace with this is to look at the entire period as one of penance the stage of pollination before bloom where I am not forcing myself to consume things and am instead trying to find silence in myself and my surroundings. I would compare it to a long period of meditation. But Winter is also about the hope that I am going to revisit the familiar and transition into Spring.

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