The Zulu God of Creation and the Buddhist Protector of Dharma Meet Through the 2010 FIFA World Cup
(Part of MomenTech's NEO-NOMAD series of art and technology projects that investigate postinternationalism, transnationalism and neo-nomadism)
NEW YORK, June 25, 2010 -- Much has been discussed about the vuvuzela, the plastic horn that is commonly used by fans in South African soccer matches and which has become the audio signature of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Now, MomenTech, a secretive multi-platform technology company, today announced that it has released Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu, a 1'04" audio work that combines a modulated live duet recording of vuvuzelas with bell sounds common in Tibetan Buddhist chants and crowd cheers from the World Cup.
The first part of the works title is taken from the title of a traditional Tibetan chant, "Invocation and Offering to Mahakala," which honors Mahakala, the Buddhist deity who is the protector of dharma, or one's "righteous duty." The name Unkulunkulu means "God" in the language of the Zulu, the main tribe in South Africa. This aural experiment is a philosophical and sound-based combination of the two disparate cultures, revealing fundamental similarities.
Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu examines the formation of socio-cultural identity through sound, specifically how the vuvuzela of the World Cup has come to identify something particularly South African, an identity marked by the nation's history of apartheid. The addition of the Tibetan bell acts as a reminder of the current struggle for identity of the Tibetan people, who are fighting for their independence from Chinese rule.
Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu is part of MomenTech's NEO-NOMAD series of art and technology projects that investigate postinternationalism, transnationalism and neo-nomadism. Other projects in the NEO-NOMAD series include the Nang-Pu Spirit Project (connecting Austria and Mongolia through a liquer), the See-You/See Me Project (connecting beaches in Israel and the Gaza Strip), the Holy Grail Project (launched with a diptych of the Ugandan bombings on July 11, 2010, and Dutch footballers at the World Cup Final) and Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu (connecting South Africa and Tibet through the 2010 FIFA World Cup).
Listen to "Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu" at http://www.myspace.com/momentech.
Download an AIF audio file of "Invocation and Offering to Unkulunkulu."
