Semi Conductor - Worlds in Flux
by Jamie Rowland
published: 23 / 3 / 2007

intro
Semiconductor are UK artists Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, who have been working together since 1999 making sound-films, music videos and live animation. Jamie Rowland finds that their compilation DVD, 'Words in Flux', will be most enjoyed by those with a keen interest in art
Semiconductor are UK artists Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, who have been working together since 1999 making sound-films, music videos and live animation. This DVD, 'Worlds in Flux', is a collection of works representing cities in motion and shifting landscapes. The short films are, like a lot of modern visual art, quite hard to get to grips with in my opinion. They are very beautiful, particularly 'Brilliant Noise', which shows images of solar flares shooting up from the surface of a sun. This film is also notable for the number of artists who have provided alternative soundtracks for it, including Our Brother The Native and Ensemble. I would say, however, that you need a particular interest in art, and in particular video art, to really enjoy these pieces. 'Do You Think Science ?' stand outs from the other videos, in that rather than having created extraordinary visuals, it features a number of people, presumably scientists, answering questions such as "can science understand everything?" The answers these people give are really very interesting and, I feel, quite enlightening, and the piece makes for enjoyable viewing. The music videos featured on the DVD include Mum's 'Green Grass of Tunnel', a painfully brilliant piece of music accompanied by a beautiful video where a flock of paper birds soar over a created landscape. Also featured is Double Adaptor's '200 Nanowebbers'. The insanity of the music is complimented here by a video of connected particles floating in a white space, growing and pulsing along to the music and forming beautiful shapes and formations. This is, I think, my favourite of all the videos featured on 'Worlds in Flux'. The third, and final, of the music videos included is QT's 'qqq'. Again, the music is insane, and the video no different. A sea of white dots explodes into life, forming different colours and shapes. It's only about a minute long, but it's striking none-the-less. The other section of the DVD is 'Live Cinema', a selection of videos documenting Semiconductor's live performances. Again, this will be most appreciated by those with a real interest for visual art. 'Worlds in Flux' is a really interesting watch, even if it's not a DVD you will watch again and again. The work Jarman and Gerhardt create really is impressively beautiful, but I think a lot of people will find it a little too arty to really enjoy.
digital downloads
most viewed articles
current edition
Bathers - (With Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown), Strathaven Hotel, Strathavan, 17/6/2022Cornbury Music Festival - Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire, 8/7/2022...10/7/2022 -The Final Goodbye
Felix Cavaliere - From Pelham, NY to Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
NIck Godfrey - Interview
Prolapse - Peel Sessions 20.08.94 and 08.04.97
Andy Ellison - Interview
Dorothy Bird - Jimmy's, Liverpool, 30/6/2022
Queen and Adam Lambert - O2 Arena, London, 20/6/2022
Silent Running - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
previous editions
World Party - InterviewSam Brown - Interview 2008
Television - The Drug of the Nation : Part 2
Cliff Richard - Vs Elvis Presley
Television - The Drug of the Nation : Part 1
Richard Hawley - Leadmill, Sheffield, 11/9/2005
Paul Clerehugh - Interview
Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, 1/4/2022
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Oasis - London Finsbury Park, 5/7/2002
most viewed reviews
current edition
Hurrah! - David Jensen 08.12.82Moon Under Water - Fragments EP
Marine Research - John Peel 18.05.99
Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet
Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow - Ready for the Times
Burning Hell - Garbage Island
Dave Edwards - Many Rivers
Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp - 18
Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
Blue Orchids - Angus Tempus Memoir
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart