Machine for Making Sense (MFMS) have been producing exploratory music and interdisciplinary work in Sydney and around the world since 1989. The NOW now began life in October 2001 arising from a grass roots desire; there was no other institution in Sydney fostering and developing improvised music. In 2005 the two organizations merged.
The aims of MFMS are to facilitate the regular performance of improvised music, create opportunities for new collaborations between experienced and emerging artists and to promote interdisciplinary practice.
• They produce the bimonthly concert series, known as The Now now Series.
• They release and promote cd's of local musicians working through the independent record label, www.Splitrec.com
• They run and update theNOWnow.net a web site that promotes all experimental music happening in Sydney, regardless of venue or promoter.
• An annual festival event The Now now attracts an audience of over 2000.
• They organise the Splinter Orchestra, a large improvising group.
The experimental and improvised music scene in Australia has developed the last few years to be one of the most interesting and unique scenes in the world. It is essential that there is a context for the music to develop, they are committed to providing that context.
A clear strength of the festival is its interdependence with our bi-monthly series, The Now now series. Many of the acts and artists that develop in the supportive atmosphere of the series can be showcased in the festival.
Shannon O'Neill writing in Real Time said of the 2007 festival.
“The festival has had a profound influence on Sydney's experimental music scene. Overcoming the city's tendency to cliquey fragmentation, the NOW now has pulled many people from diverse musical backgrounds into its warm embrace. It is a place where improvisation is an ethical, as much as a musical approach. The emphasis is on finding ways of engaging as equals.
Similarly remarkable is that audiences have responded with equal warmth and enthusiasm, with an average of over 300 people attending each of the four nights of this year's festival. The NOW now now plays a vital role in developing local artists and audiences.”
The festival´s have created artistic bonds between many, communities from Perth, Christchurch, Wollongong, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tasmania, Wellington and Auckland.
MFMS have seen many international improvisers perform at the NOW now - Cor Fuhler (Holland), Mike Pride (USA), Kentaro Saito (Japan), Thomas Lehn and Johannes Bauer (Germany), Audrey Chen (USA), Xavier Charles (France), Dean Roberts (NZ), Robin Haywood (Germany), Werner Dafeldecker (Austria) and Jamie Fennelly (USA).
These internationals have performed and rehearsed with local musicians - MFMS want visiting artists to have a viable and organic relationship with the local performers.
As well as geographic exchange there is intergenerational exchange. The festival started off collectively organized by the younger musicians but they have included many older performers, and many film and video artists.
www.newmusicnetwork.com.au/machine