On Saturday 09 October 2021, in the framework of the Internet Festival in Pisa, EJN in collaboration with Pisa Jazz will do the first live test of the new pan-European collective streaming project “OCTOPUS”.
During this pilot episode six concerts taking place in different European venues will be connected in real time to a common live transmission available online. Following a series of technical tests and rehearsals, this will be the first attempt to create a live bridge between European venues that are hosting concerts on that evening through the new OCTOPUS system, that allows top-quality live streaming to be combined and broadcasted online without the need of highly expensive equipment or satellite connections. At this link you can find a video presentation of the OCTPUS system.
The online event will take place between 20.30 and 22.30 CEST, and will be open for everyone to follow through EJN’s Facebook, Youtube and Twitch channels, with the possibility for the audience to interact through comments and feedback on these platforms. It will feature some excerpts from the following concerts organised by EJN members on that evening:
- Erik Friedlander "Sentinel" at Stadtgarten in Köln, Germany
- Susana Sheiman at Jamboree Jazz Club in Barcelona, Spain
- Of Cabbages And Kings at Unterfahrt in Munich, Germany
- Maciej Obara Quartet at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- John Pope Quintet at Marsden Jazz Festival by Jazz North, UK
- Gianluca Petrella “Cosmic Renaissance” at Club Lumière by Pisa Jazz, Italy
The online event will be hosted by Sigi Beare, British saxophonist based in Pisa.
Before the event at 18.00 CEST on the same day a panel will take place at Internet Festival in Pisa involving EJN General Manager Giambattista Tofoni, and John Barker from Here to Record, who collaborated in the development of OCTOPUS. They will present the project and explain the steps that led to its creation. The panel is also available to follow online by registering through this link.
The OCTOPUS system was developed by EJN during the last year after many EJN members started to produce online concerts in a highly professional way because of the pandemic. From the discussions between members emerged the need to enhance the visibility of these concerts by connecting them in a curated and high-quality way and to present them to a world-wide online audience, something that recent developments in technological equipment for streaming made possible to implement “on a budget”.
EJN will continue to develop the OCTOPUS system and the broadcasting format in the coming months together with its members, curating a series of episodes that will bring the online audience on a journey connecting different venues around Europe allowing them to discover new music, the venues that hosts the live concerts, the artists and the team involved in their creation.
The Internet Festival in Pisa is taking place between 7 and 10 October 2021 with the theme #PHYGITAL and includes workshops, seminars, exhibitions, installations, games and events for a full immersion on the internet’s boundless universe. You can check the full programme at this link.
