Seismic

Seismic rethinks the musical space, where sound unfolds as a physical, almost tectonic force. Seven performers gradually invade the sonic field, sculpting what Maria W. Horn - who composes and performs a new work specifically for this project together with Ictus - calls “aural monoliths.” Slowness here is not serenity; it is tension, ritual, and the unveiling of hidden fractures within sound itself.

Seismic dissolves the boundaries between disciplines: movement becomes sound, sound transforms into visual arts, and light reshapes perception. The concert space itself turns into an unstable terrain, where deep textures of music - layered, shifting, and unpredictable - reveal their seismic nature. Sound, light, and movement do not merely coexist; they merge into a single, fluctuating material, forming a landscape of continuous transformation.

As the performance unfolds, the audience is enveloped in a space of disorientation and renewal, where perception oscillates between presence and dissolution, structure and collapse. Seismic is not just heard - it is inhabited. It is a sonic and visual ecosystem in constant flux, where meaning does not lie in a fixed structure but emerges in the present moment, in the immediate confrontation of sound, space, performers, and visitors.

Concept & direction: Aïda Gabriëls

Created with and performed by Maria W. Horn, Aisha Orabayeva, Victor Guaita, Geert De Bièvre, Nabou Claerhout, Ruben Orio and Matteo Sedda

Dramaturgy: Tom Pauwels 

Production: B-Classic, Ictus & Oester

Co-production: Botanique (Brussels) & Concertgebouw (Bruges)

Commissioned by Botanique (Brussels).