An immersive adventure that blends live music and cross-disciplinary art to create an experience like no other, Swell 4.0 – Music as Medicine takes place at the iconic Hotel Esplanade (The Espy) this February.
Some really incredible artists will be performing in ways you’ve never seen before and will never experience again including The General Assembly, Naretha Williams, Edd Fisher (Waxo Paradiso), Loose Tooth, Go Get Mum, Nick Acquroff (n.y.c.k) + Hayden Calnin, David Sauvage (NYC), Hybrid Man, Deep Soulful Sweats, DollFace with more to be announced.
This edition of Swell is the fourth in the series. Each edition is site specific, drawing themes from the location to create a never-before-felt-experience. These shows explore the possibilities of Music As Medicine. Swell 4.0 is part of Espy Arts and is one of a myriad of other diverse and progressive arts experiences lined up at this burgeoning cultural hub.
“This will be the first time in the history of the Espy that audiences will be able to explore all five levels of the hotel through an immersive live art experience,” says Janenne Willis, the artist and maker behind Swell. “If that alone is not enough to provoke your curiosity, then add the fact that this show re-imagines the future of live music, inside one of Melbourne’s most iconic live music institutions.”
Across all five levels of The Espy, the audience used a set of clues roam to different rooms, where they encountered performances designed for each space. The experiences were beyond anybody’s imagination – from the hidden Powder Room to the sun-drenched Pharmacy there were cleansing rituals, a secret society dance off and a synth orchestra.
Willis doesn’t like to give too much away in advance of each show preferring to tantalise the inquisitive: “What I can say is think; music threaded elemental ritual, personal and poetic prose, first-of-a-kind empathic experiments, an invitation to participate in playing music regardless of ability, harmonic healing, and more,” she said.
Swell is a two-hour live art experience that invites the audience, to choose-their-own-adventure through multiple re-imagined live music experiences and interactive installations. It’s intimate, surprising and oozes adventure. No headliners and support acts. No stage and audience set up. No hard and fast rules for what you might discover.
A journey through a weird and wonderful world of music-meets-art encounters inside never before seen parts of this iconic live music institution.
Swell 4.0 – Music as Medicine
Hotel Esplanade, 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda
Performances: Wednesday 20 February, Wednesday 27 February and Sunday 3 March 2019
Information and Bookings: www.hotelesplanade.com.au
Image: courtesy of Hotel Esplanade