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Summerhall – Lower Church Basement
Transporting, fun and unapologetically loud, KlangHaus invites audiences to the ultimate house party.Summary
Rating
Excellent
What makes KlangHaus so different from anything I’ve ever seen before is their ability to create worlds through music. Consisting of a collaboration between sound artists The Neutrinos (Karen Reilly, Jon Baker, Mark Howe, Jeron Gundersen) and visual artist Sal Pittman, the company is famous for their immersive soundscapes in urban settings.
Their special way of translating landscapes into sound is, in turn, complemented by visuals in the form of Pittman’s projections. In their capable hands, buildings are transformed into immersive experiences – as they did at the Royal Festival Hall in 2017 with 800 Breaths.
On this occasion, their presence at Summerhall repeats the successful Edinburgh outing of 2014 and involves a takeover of the Lower Church Basement – the same space where they also perform Darkroom, an unmissable show for one solo audience member.
What happens within InHaus is hard to describe with words. There are about 25 of us in what’s essentially a large dining room and the adjacent living room. We are invited to sit wherever we find space, which is something we need to negotiate with a great number of musical instruments scattered everywhere. Music is made there; and then it happens around us and inside us.
The hosts walk amongst us and we never feel like we’re just spectators. We are guests of the most extraordinary house party and sometimes we’re also called to help by humming a note or passing a guitar on. At one point, we are asked to stand up and follow them. We are encouraged to let our bodies sway, as the drums threaten to pierce the ceiling at any minute.
Everything is unapologetically loud (ear defenders are provided), often drowning the lyrics, and sometimes also incredibly quiet. It’s an aural rollercoaster soaked in the oversaturated images projected on the walls. It’s assertive and absorbing in such a subliminal way that sixty minutes fly by. Well done KlangHaus: never stop making “noise please”!
Written, Directed and Produced by: KlangHaus
Klanghaus: InHaus plays at EdFringe 2023 until 27 August at Summerhall. Times vary. Further information and bookings here.
