GoGo Penguin: Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi surveys the beauty of the natural world through slow motion and time lapse footage, documenting nature’s uneasy relationship with modern technology. With no text, narration, or dialogue, the film is driven by the interplay between image and sound – and accordingly, GoGo Penguin provide a score that’s full of conflict yet rich in emotion, with acoustic Jazz rubbing up against visceral electronics; swelling dissonance giving way to epic melody. Life out of balance, indeed.

Capturing the intense beauty of our planet while also providing a stark environmental warning, Koyaanisqatsi was originally released in 1982, with a hypnotically memorable score by Philip Glass. Powerful in its simplicity, the film and its score resonated with GoGo Penguin, and they began to create their own score to the film. The result is this concert, originally commissioned by HOME in Manchester, following on from Glass’s score to create a new, densely textured dialogue with Reggio’s remarkable film.