aRCTIC RHYTHMS
by Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky
ABOUT
ARCTIC RHYTHMS
Embark on a journey illuminating the environmental issues of the arctic frontier through the artistry of composer and multimedia artist Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky. In 2007-8, Miller completed two expeditions to Antarctica to shoot a film and create an acoustic portrait of the rapidly changing continent. That led to his celebrated 2011 publication of The Book of Ice and 2013 album Of Water and Ice.
Sponsored by the Sierra Club, Miller then traveled to the Arctic Circle, emerging with the inspiration for another volume of music, ARCTIC RHYTHMS. Channeling messages around sustainability, climate change and our ever-evolving planet, the audience is drawn into an evocative multimedia voyage through pristine landscapes with a live string ensemble, projected imagery and live and recorded hip-hop and electronic music.
A timely work championing environmental awareness and conservation efforts, ARCTIC RHYTHMS premiered in 2014 in tandem with the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and was hosted by National Geographic in Washington, DC, and the work continues to tour globally.
“A beautiful, category-shattering hip-hop journey back from the end of the world, one that summons the hope to turn apocalypse into possibility. Groundbreaking and moving.”
ABOUT PAUL D. MILLER AKA DJ SPOOKY
Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky is a composer, multimedia artist and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. His written work has been published by The Village Voice, The Source, and Artforum, among others, and he is the Editor of Origin Magazine. Miller’s work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial; The Venice Biennial for Architecture; the Ludwig Museum in Cologne; Kunsthalle, Vienna; The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Miami/Art Basel fair, and many other museums and galleries. Miller’s award-winning book “Rhythm Science” was published by MIT Press 2004, and was followed by “Sound Unbound,” an anthology about electronic music and digital media, in 2008. “The Book of Ice”, an experiential visual and acoustic portrait of the Antarctic, was published in 2011 by Random House.
Miller has collaborated with a vast array of recording artists, ranging from Metallica to Chuck D; Steve Reich to Yoko Ono. His large scale, multimedia performance pieces include “Rebirth of a Nation,” “Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica,” which was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the Next Wave Festival 2009, and “Seoul Counterpoint”, written during his residency at Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2014. Miller was the first Artist in Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he premiered his work “A Civil War Symphony” in 2013. In 2014, Miller was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, an honor recognizing visionaries at the forefront of global problem solving. Recent projects include “Peace Symphony,” commissioned by UN Peace Boat, “Hidden Code,” a new planetarium show commissioned by Dartmouth College in collaboration with Museum of Science Boston, “Forest Symphony” commissioned by Oregon State University, the CD/DVD of “Rebirth of a Nation” on Cantaloupe Music, and the publication of his fourth book “The Imaginary App” from MIT Press.
Miller is the 2017-2018 recipient of the The Hewlett 50 Arts Commission Award which will support the creation of "Quantopia," a multimedia performance and an installation based on the history and evolution of the internet, which will premiere in San Francisco in January 2019. Latest album releases include "Phantom Dancehall" with premier reggae label VP Records and his first blockchain album "The Invisible Hand" commissioned by SingularDTV.
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