Laurens Kolks > spatial design

Rotterdam Muzak Festival

A free-of-charge music festival celebrating compositions of the 'social workers of the music world': four composers of music that seeks to ease the mind, commonly referred to as muzak.

Rotterdam's Nieuwe Binnenweg was a street known for its many record shops. It therefore appeared to be the proper location for putting the spotlight on a number of artists that were both virtuoso and classically trained, but who's work typically stays explicitly in the background.

Four custom-made sound sources were installed to funnel the music of Louis Clark, Annunzio Mantovani, Paul Mauriat and Frank Pourcel into four of the tram stops along the Nieuwe Binnenweg. Each separate stop was dedicated to an individual composer. A text within the silouette of the artist on the tram stop's window provided background information while his music filled the space.

Rotterdam Muzak Festival (RMF) t-shirts featuring the festival's ethereal logo were available from the nearby Center for Visual Arts, located along the same street.

Client

Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Rotterdam

Details

Music: Louis Clark, Annunzio Mantovani, Paul Mauriat and Frank Pourcel.