Mid-way through pop-up book production...

The Famille Von Phizmiz are delighted to be popping-up in Rotterdam and making a pop-up book with the marvellous folks of the marvellous DePlayer. Mid-way through production, this is roughly what's happening....

UOEIA * the histories of yodelling - UK Tour October 18th-22nd 2013

UOEIA * the histories of yodelling, from Swiss Family Phizmiz. 

UK mini-tour October 2013

18th LIVERPOOL Mellomello
19th WHITBY Musicport
21st GLASGOW The Old Hairdresser's
22nd LONDON The Old Dentist's

A production of DePlayer, based on books by Bart Plantenga.

Yodelling: the crack in the human voice when pushed to its limit, the plaintive wail of man against mountains. From the Pygmy tribes in the jungles of Africa, to the mountains of Switzerland, or the plains of the Wild West, to frantic Persian ululations and yelps, yodelling is a worldwide phenomenon that betrays its perceived image as a benchmark of kitsch.

In “UOEIA: Favola in Jodel”, Ergo Phizmiz presents the history of yodelling through music, masks, puppetry, collage, and animation. Based on the books “Yodel in Hi-Fi” and “Yodel-Ay-Eee-Ooo” by Bart Plantenga, and performed by Swiss Family Phizmiz, UOEIA invites you through time and culture, yodelling from cavemen to the modern age.

UOEIA * the histories of yodelling around the world * UK mini tour October 2013

Ergo Phizmiz presents “UOEIA” 

* the histories of yodelling around the world

A production of DePlayer

UK tour October 2013 * Dates tba soon

Yodelling: the crack in the human voice when pushed to its limit, the plaintive wail of man against mountains. From the Pygmy tribes in the jungles of Africa, to the mountains of Switzerland, or the plains of the Wild West, to frantic Persian ululations and yelps, yodelling is a worldwide phenomenon that betrays its perceived image as a benchmark of kitsch.

In “UOEIA: Favola in Jodel”, Ergo Phizmiz presents the history of yodelling through music, masks, puppetry, collage, and animation. Based on the books “Yodel in Hi-Fi” and “Yodel-Ay-Eee-Ooo” by Bart Plantenga, and performed by Swiss Family Phizmiz, UOEIA invites you through time and culture, yodelling from cavemen to the modern age.

"UOEIA" premiere, May 30th 2013

“UOEIA”, an operina on the histories of yodelling by Ergo Phizmiz, based on books by Bart Plantenga. In woodland school, two young foxes are presented with the history of the world through yodelling: the enchantment of the planet, the birth of civilisation, through to the attempted destruction of yodelling by church and state, all culminating in the rescue at sea by yodelling by Harry Torrani, the English yodelling cowboy, of Mercedes Gleitze, first lady to swim the English channel.

“UOEIA” is performed by what, appropriately enough, should be termed “Swiss Family Phizmiz”, in a mixture of vocalisation, performance, shadow-puppetry, masks, paper-collage, and animation, with a kaleidoscopic music score that twists between original acoustic composition and sound-collage from across the history and richly varied cultures of yodelling.

Writer, Director, Composer: Ergo Phizmiz

Performers: Martha Moopette, Talulah Lotus, Autumn Poppy, Ergo Phizmiz

Video: Ergo Phizmiz, Simon Mathewson, Martha Moopette

“UOEIA” is a commission of DePlayer, and will premiere at Operadagen Rotterdam on May 30^th 2013, as part of the yodel themed evening “That Global Glottis”.

With "That Global Glottis" DE PLAYER presents a program poised on the cutting edge of where experimental sound meets opera and the phenomenon known as yodeling. The technique of yodeling basically accents that jolt of air that occurs during the rapid movement between chest and head voice. While opera singers are taught to polish away that vocal leap with glissando techniques, yodelers do the opposite: they highlight the breaking of the voice.

"That Global Glottis" features a reading, a film series, and a Late Night Performance Event that spotlights this unique vocal technique as global phenomeon. The program was developed in close collaboration with author bart plantenga, renowned for his books YODEL-AY-EE-OOOO: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World and his recently published Yodel in Hi-Fi, From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica. Both books emphasize the fact that yodeling is found everywhere from pop to opera, not just among the Swiss and in the Alps but also among the African Pygmies, the Nazi Jugend SS, Bollywood star Kishore Kumar and countless others.

UOEIA Trailer

UOEIA, an operina on the histories of yodelling by Ergo Phizmiz, based on books by Bart Plantenga, premieres at Operadagen Rotterdam on May 30th 2013.

"UOEIA" Operina for cracked voices by Ergo Phizmiz

DePlayer, Operadagen Rotterdam and Bart Plantenga present "That Global Glottis", an evening of performance on the practice and history of yodelling, including the premiere of "UOEIA", an operina drawing from the history of yodelling around the world. May 30th 2013, Rotterdam.

The event will also feature performances from Phil Minton and Kutzkelina. See it!

More information here, here and here.

The Mourning Show at Tete-a-Tete: The Opera Festival

We are jolly excited to announce the UK premiere of Ergo Phizmiz's opera about UK DJ Chris Evans, radio, magic and death ....

On his regular early morning show, popular DJ Chris Evans is telephoned by three ladies.

They proceed to destroy his mind.

Convinced he is a bird, he exits via the fourth storey window.

From “maverick composer” Ergo Phizmiz, The Mourning Show is a demonic-memetic-suitcase-living-room-opera.

More info and booking at Tete-a-Tete.

If you just can't wait, download the Pot-Pourri of instrumental music from the opera here.

The Mourning Show - Rehearsal Photos

From the rehearsals of the new opera about the death of Chris Evans, which previewed last night in Nijmegen....

The Mourning Show

"THE MOURNING SHOW" by ERGO PHIZMIZ PREMIERE IMMINENT!

Download an mp3 of "STASIMON 2"

From DePlayer:

"For this COM.POST Ergo Phizmiz made a suitcase opera. easy to transport but impressive in it's refined content and output.

An evening of adventures homegrown operesqette business about about the English talk radio DJ Chris Evans doing a phone-in show. Somehow by the end he'll be dead.

This year the term 'Memetism' is a guideline to create new performative soundpieces leaning forward or bending over to opera, ritualistic slaughter, group autistics, chamber meetings amongst others.

The research element for this production will come through the combination of various historical operatic compositional models into a mad amalgamation of self-reflective music.

The evening will be served with a program around this masterpiece, existing of the following bits:
-A collage film about opera, demonology, and the ideas / processes of The Mourning Show
-A series of drawings and collages on opera
-A special party mix of opera-pop
-A set of foundsound by The Travelling Mongoose

THE MOURNING SHOW will have its try-out at Extrapool, Nijmegen at thursday 6 may.

On Sunday 10 may it will play in Les Atelier Claus, Bruxelles.

Later this year it will do another tour in Holland, France, Germany and Poland


COM.POST is financially supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, the City of Rotterdam Department of Culture, Nederlands Fonds voor Podiumkunsten+,
the Pact op Zuid, the Stichting ter bevordering van Volkskracht and Vestia."

The Mourning Show - May 2010

De Player presents
"The Mourning Show"
An Opera about Death, Magic & Radio

Written & Composed by Ergo Phizmiz

Starring Erik Bumbledonk as Chris Evans

With the voices of Lucinda Guy, Martha Moopette & Margita Zalite

Project Consultant The Travelling Mongoose

Masks by Vulnavia Vanity

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The first performances of The Mourning Show
will take place at:

May 6th 2010 - Extrapool, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

May 8th 2010 - DePlayer, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

May 9th 2010 - Les Ateliers Claus, Brussels, Belgium

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Download the hi-res poster

Download an mp3 preview of a Pot-Pourri of music from "The Mourning Show"

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We will be delighted to see you there .....