SUBSET FESTIVAL 2025 - DAY 1

20:00 - AMPHITHEATRE Dimitris Kamarotos - A Time Ratio [COMMISSION] Based on Yiorgos Veltsos’s texts Sketch for Electra and Sketch for Phaedra In A Time Ratio, composer Dimitris Kamarotos proposes a work that unfolds in two spaces and forms, based on Yiorgos Veltsos texts Sketch for Electra and Sketch for Phaedra, respectively. According to the composer, the piece represents the fusion of ceaseless research and an ideal point in time where, for an instant, all that is perceptible converges into sound. The first part of the work features a concert with vocal performer Anna Pangalou, in which a concert piano and a grand percussive instrument are activated through a special oscillated system handled by the composer. Without the aid of any musicians, the system produces the sonic plateaus that engage in dialogue with the vocal line. The second part presents an underground installation operating continuously in the basement sound studios of the Athens Conservatory, which are opening to the public for the first time. The labyrinthine installation combines the recorded voice of Amalia Moutousi with the historical Monster Analogue Synthesizer EMS-SYNTHI 100 of KSYME (Contemporary Music Research Centre). From his early tenure on the side of Iannis Xenakis as a UPIC system supervisor to his collaborations with an array of contemporary directors, Dimitris Kamarotos delves further into his creative agony, investing music and sound design with dramaturgical force, while his compositional signature moves with admirable fluency from organic and natural expression to the electroacoustic idiom. Philippos Tsalachouris - Lapis Silentium [COMMISSION] The body, an ever-changing terrain “The understanding of the human body as an ever-changing terrain” provided the springboard for the project, as noted by the visual artist Rena Tsangaiou, who is responsible for this forty-minute video projection. It is “an attempt at a geological mapping of the body that transforms over time, perception, and memory,” with the artist concluding that “people do not merely inhabit landscapes but also carry them within themselves, imbuing them with shape and meaning.” Inspired by Tsangaiou’s mesmerising and deeply poignant imagery, composer Philippos Tsalachouris created a series of “aural images” for piano and string quartet, which will accompany the projection in real-time and parallel mode. The images set the stage for sound, and the sound breathes time into the images. GENERAL ADMISSION €12 STUDENTS/ 65+/ ARTISTS’ UNIONS/ MULTI-CHILD FAMILIES/ FESTIVAL FRIEND €9,60 PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES/ UNEMPLOYED/ ART STUDENTS €5 - 22:30 - NEW STAGE Theodoros Lotis - SCRAPING – Silent Landscapes and Sonic Pariahs [COMMISSION] SCRAPING – Silent Landscapes and Sonic Pariahs is an interactive algorithmic music composition that explores and sheds light on the often-overlooked soundscape of noise pollution in urban environments. Extending over 40 minutes and presented through an immersive ambisonic sound system, the work focuses on the relentless mechanical hum of generators, air-conditioning systems, and refrigerator units that overwhelms the city streets. Through targeted field recordings at central locations of Athens and the use of specialised ambisonic microphones, the artist traces these low-information and high-redundancy sounds, revealing the hidden sonic layers that shape how we perceive the urban environment. The composition transforms these industrial drones into a bold auditory experience, inviting the audience to confront the unseen sonic backdrop of everyday life. Presented through a fully immersive ambisonic sound system, the work enables the listeners to physically and emotionally interact with the evolving textures of urban noise, enhancing their conscious auditory perception and their relationship with the modern-day soundscape. The work is supported by the expertise and equipment of the Electroacoustic Music Research and Applications Laboratory of the Ionian University, guaranteeing a deep and high-fidelity acoustic experience. In collaboration with the Electroacoustic Music Research and Applications Laboratory, Department of Music Studies, Ionian University GENERAL ADMISSION €8 STUDENTS/ 65+/ ARTISTS’ UNIONS/ MULTI-CHILD FAMILIES/ FESTIVAL FRIEND €6,60