The history of disco

Performance/föreläsning av Olof Olsson
Onsdag 27 januari 2010 kl 19.00

Photo: Olof Olsson

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“I lost my heart to disco a few weeks after I’d become a teenager. It was a very cold night in January, 1979. I lived in a small town in Sweden, where there wasn’t much entertainment. I had a transistor radio, but there was a state monopoly on broadcasting, with only two hours of pop every week. That winter night, a bit past midnight, I discovered a local pirate station. And for the first time in my life I heard songs like ‘Le Freak’ and ‘In the Bush’. It was a completely overwhelming cultural experience.” Olof Olsson

Olof Olsson, konstnär baserad i Köpenhamn, har gett sig ut på Europaturné med sin performance/föreläsning kring discomusikens historia och dess ursprung som ett politiskt uttryck för kärlek och jämlikhet. Nästa stopp är Malmö och Signal – Center för samtidskonst där Olof Olson kommer att spela upp musikaliska exempel och reflektera över deras roll och betydelse för discons utveckling och förfall.

Olsson bor i en etta i Köpenhamn tillsammans med 6000 vinyl skivor – övervägande disco. Han har studerat filosofi, språk och översättning vid Lunds universitet samt konst vid Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi i Köpenhamn. Under 1980-talet var han en frekvent DJ på piratradiostationer.

Varmt välkomna!

The history of disco

Performance by Olof Olsson
Wednesday 27 January at 7pm

“I lost my heart to disco a few weeks after I’d become a teenager. It was a very cold night in January, 1979. I lived in a small town in Sweden, where there wasn’t much entertainment. I had a transistor radio, but there was a state monopoly on broadcasting, with only two hours of pop every week. That winter night, a bit past midnight, I discovered a local pirate station. And for the first time in my life I heard songs like ‘Le Freak’ and ‘In the Bush’. It was a completely overwhelming cultural experience.” Olof Olsson

Olof Olsson, artist based in Copenhagen, is on a European tour with his performance/lecture on the history of disco. Disco’s message of love was a politically charged one, demanding equality, freedom and fun for everyone. The next stop is Malmö and Signal – Center for Contemporary Art where Olof Olsson will play musical examples, and reflect on their role and relevance to the development and decline of the sound and social experience of disco.

Olsson lives in a one-room apartment in Copenhagen together with 6000 vinyl records - most of them disco. He has studied philosophy, languages and translation theory at Lund University, and art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. In the 1980s he worked extensively as a pirate and community radio DJ.

The evening will be held in English.

With support from The Danish Arts Council.

A very warm welcome!