TEMPORAL RECONFIGURATIONS
Seething Mass
Seething Mass presents a live performance exploring the interplay between structure, instability and collective exchange. Each member begins with pre-constructed material—compositions drawn from sampling, synthesis and recorded sound—that are activated, layered and transformed in real time. Through contact microphones, synth modules, feedback systems and live triggering, these fixed materials are continuously reconfigured, generating a process of renewal rather than destruction.
Collaboration functions as both method and medium. Individually developed tracks intersect and evolve through live improvisation, as members respond to and manipulate each other’s material in the moment. This exchange between control and unpredictability allows sound to exist as an open system. Fluid, responsive and perpetually redefined.
Accompanying the sound is a visual layer composed of pre-recorded fragments. Brief, disjointed images that surface and fade throughout the performance. Some of these visuals draw from archival experimental films, spliced and recontextualized to echo Seething Mass’s compositional process of sampling and reconstruction. Rather than illustrating the music, these visuals emerge as interruptions or fleeting residues, their suddenness maybe even jarring against the sound. Projected onto irregular or textured surfaces, they assume a tactile, almost accidental presence, extending the sonic experience without overpowering it.
Each performance becomes a singular manifestation of shared authorship. A living sonic organism where composition, improvisation and image coexist in tension. Each extending the other without domination. In this space, Seething Mass treats performance as a continual reactivation, where sound and image remain fluid, interdependent and never fully resolved.
Rooted in a shared background in crate-digging, DJing, graffiti, hiphop and experimental art, Nonplus and Caliph8 have cultivated a collaborative practice that extends into sonic and audiovisual exploration, developing a distinct language grounded in hybridity, convergence and live improvisation.
As Seething Mass (Manila), they engage in free-form performance built around real-time sound manipulation, signal processing, and the interplay between analog and digital sources. Their setup often involves electronic instruments, prepared objects and recorded materials, which are reconfigured and recontextualized through improvisation. The duo’s process foregrounds both instinct and control, navigating the dialectics of tension, summation and resolution to create immersive sonic environments where structure and chaos coalesce within a continuously shifting landscape.
Seething Mass has performed at internationally recognized platforms including CTM Festival (Berghain, Berlin), Club ALL (Shanghai), Nusasonic Festival (Yogyakarta), DaDa (Beijing), GU Space (Hanoi) and Sonic Shaman Festival (Taiwan).