WeirdCore Visuals

Despite self-described as 'specialising in extreme whatever-ness', WeirdCore has taken the business of pixel-jockeying seriously, warping live visuals at shows for AFX and Simian Mobile Disco's Delicacies Tour and their new video. Speaking to Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never in the current issue of Dazed & Confused, the AV pioneers look back to a time of Commodore 64s and Nintendos that influenced their nostalgic graphics and ADHD visuals. 

Dazed Digital: Tell us about the piece...
WeirdCore: This clip is completely live 3D openGL, and was recorded/captured live off my screen at 4.30am, so it's very rough to say the least... and very first draft style but I'll update it with a better clip asap.

DD: How much involvement did Simian Mobile Disco have in the making of the video?
WeirdCore: The brief I got from SMD was to make a live version of the visuals DVD I made for them about a year ago for their DJ sets... you can see an example here. This DVD was all done in after effects/cinema 4D and took a lot of rendering, and the brief for that was simply 'it's got to be just black and white'. So I did something in the style of one of my favourite artists, Vasarely, and went fully Op Art-tastic. So now I'm carrying on the theme I started on the DVD, but this time they didnt mention anything about black and white, so expect splashes of vibrant colour! But in keeping with the rest, of course... 

DD: What kind of programs did you use?
WeirdCore: Rather than do it in the usual software I use for the AFX show (MAX/MSP-Jitter), I'm learning other softwares, like
Quartz Composer and VMDX, as it's been on my to-do list of to for years now, and I think using all three is the ultimate killer combo. I've been getting help and collaborating on this with my Vimeo friend Toneburst, whom has created live visuals elements for people such as Richie Hawtin and Plastikman.

DD: What's next for Weirdcore?
WeirdCore: Currently preparing for this SMD gig but also getting ready for the next AFX gigs becuases there's two gigs more to go in 2010, as AFX is now also doing a big - so far secret - New Years Eve party somewhere in Europe. We're also planning for the AFX 2011 which is in the pipeline, more videos for Hippos in Tanks, projects for the Sang Bleu magazine.

DD: Wow, busy busy - anything else?
WeirdCore: Yes, an interactive video installation in Dalston Square, which will probably in collaboration with Hudson Powell, who we were good friends with about 10 years ago... but then totally lost touch until I randomly bumped into them last week. Thanks to Toneburst, I've been making leaps and bounds in learning these new softwares... So in conclusion, this is a totally brand new WeirdCore show, and nothing to do with anything else I've done live this year.

Check out the current issue of Dazed & Confused for a head to head conversation between WeirdCore and Oneothrix Point Never