Carriageworks, one of Australia’s most significant contemporary multi-arts venue and organisation, is set to host the boundary-pushing collective SOFT CENTRE as part of Australia’s largest festival, Vivid Sydney 2023. The event will take place on 11 June from 1pm – 11pm with a full precinct takeover, promising a multi-sensory festival experience unlike any other.

After its successful debut in 2022, SOFT CENTRE returns with a program presenting an eclectic mix of cutting-edge creators from the local and global underground. The event will showcase daring performance art, pulsing music, and a monumental 22-metre projector screen that will be activated for immersive audio-visual performances. Renowned for their unique collaborations, SOFT CENTRE will also showcase a suite of newly commissioned cross-disciplinary works.

The event promises to be a feast for the senses, traversing leftfield club, noise and ambient music, contemporary dance and endurance performances, immersive A/V concerts, cutting-edge digital art, and large-scale lightworks. The full line-up includes an impressive array of acts from around the world, such as Finnish duo Amnesia Scanner (PAN) and digital provocateur Freeka Tet with their collaborative A/V performance, kaoss.in. This closing concert fuses grotesque online aesthetics in hyper-detailed 16K fantasy color with Amnesia Scanner’s signature avant-EDM sound.

Other highlights include Kenyan producer and DJ Slikback, who will perform alongside visuals from anonymous video artist Weirdcore, known for their work with Aphex Twin, M.I.A., Oneohtrix Point Never, and The Caretaker. Rising Emo Pop singer daine, who is the protégé of British superstar Charli XCX, will unleash an A/V concert with Eek, while Club iconoclast aya (Hyperdub) presents a new live set, contorting language, dialect, gender, and sexuality between controlled bursts of rhythm, noise, and aural goop.

The event also promises to be a visual feast, with large-scale lightworks and immersive audio-visual performances. Corin (UIQ) will present the Australian premiere of Lux Aeterna Live AV, with visuals by Tristan Jalleh, exploring the possibilities of a heightened collective consciousness in times of crisis. Queer filmmakers Garden Reflexxx will accompany ambient composer Lydian Dunbar (Tralala Blip, Room 40) for a world premiere live A/V show.

Acting Carriageworks CEO Jonty Claypole expressed excitement about the event, saying, “At Carriageworks, we champion diverse art forms and can’t wait to welcome back SOFT CENTRE after last year’s incredible event which saw the precinct come alive with experimental art, music, and performance. SOFT CENTRE is Australia’s premiere experimental arts and electronic music festival, and this year’s program promises to be just as dynamic, with cutting-edge artists from across the globe.”

The full program and line-up can be found on the Carriageworks website. Presale tickets for the event went on sale on 15 March, with general sale tickets available from the same day. SOFT CENTRE is presented as part of Vivid Sydney 2023 on 11 June at Carriageworks, and promises to be an unmissable event for art, music, and performance enthusiasts.

SOFT CENTRE
Date: Sunday 11 June
Time: 1 – 11pm
Tickets: $99/109 + BF