Optical Sound Night: Mothwasp + Gamut

“Never seen anything like this before. Fantastic. More please.”

These are the words of a member of the audience last time Gamut came to the festival in 2023. Well, we aim to please. The French electronic collective make their return to Birmingham for Flatpack 2026, on the bill alongside Flatpack favourite Mothwasp who will perform their latest mind-warping experiment in moving image.

Mothwasp: Life Can Only Be Understood Backwards, But It Must Be Lived Forwards (8:15 - 8:45pm)
An immersive, psycho-geographic drift through inner, remote (and not so remote) places. Matt Watkins' (aka Mothwasp) new live performance features an anthology of DIY experimental films with live score and field recordings.

The performance also includes phone footage, 16mm direct film, modified analogue video gear and liquid light works inspired by loss, illness, Phill Niblock and Stan Brakhage. Also showcased is a sequence developed in partnership with Birmingham artist Lucy McLauchlan.

Gamut - Panorama (9.20 - 10.10pm)
Gamut will deliver their unique and joyful blend of art and music with the UK premiere of their latest piece Panorama.

Combining modular synthesizers with live hand-made kaleidoscopic animation, Panorama plays with perception as we know it. Sound and image feed off of one another. Drawings produce sounds. Music informs visual creation.

Step into Gamut’s colourful world with us - you won’t regret it.