THE COLOUR WHEEL
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Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul
Friday
Tickets: $15 here or $20 at the door.
The Stones famously wanted to "paint it black".
For Australian rock stalwart Jim Moginie, it is all about the colour - 64 of them, to be precise.
The Midnight Oil guitarist is introducing audiences to a visual and musical feast with his latest artistic venture, The Colour Wheel, which combines chamber music with live painting.
But Moginie's orchestra is unlike any other in the country - it is made up entirely of electric guitars.
The 58-year-old musician had been toying with the concept for years before deciding to use his current residency at Campbelltown Art Centre to bring it to life.
"It's basically six electric guitar players using various different types of sounds, so it kind of works like a chamber orchestra [in the sense] the guitars almost correspond to orchestral instruments," Moginie says.
"It really explores the tone of electric guitar and what can be done with it.
"A lot of the stuff is very atmospheric and abstract ... so it's really fascinating for me after being in the Oils for so many years, to do something so unusual."
Joining Moginie on stage is Kent Steedman (hex guitar 1), Michael Trifunovic (high guitar), Tim Kevin (baritone guitar), Matthew Steffen (bass guitar and fender) and Alex Young (hex guitar 2).
Presented together with a live artist painting a colour wheel, the elements create a kind of synaesthesia between the colours, musical pieces and emotion they convey.
The combined effect on audiences is fascinating for Moginie, who often hears reports from people who "cried during the green" or "felt alive when you played the purple".
The musician's passion for art stems from his touring days with the Oils, when he would find himself stranded in a foreign city with time on his hands.
"We'd find ourselves in different cities in Europe or American and you'd have a day off and go to the art gallery, the Art Institute in Chicago or Musee d'Orsay in Paris. So I kind of got an art education by default, by going on the road with the band," he says.
Moginie worked with his artist friends to pair his compositions with colours.
He says the overall performance, which can last up to an hour and a half, invites the listener to become lost in the music without being bombarded by a lyric or sentiment.
Composing and performing the "modern classical" style of music has been an enjoyable departure for the hardened rocker.
"A part of me is very loyal to what Midnight Oil was and I love the fact that it was a great rock band, but I'm not really wanting to go back there immediately unless the whole band wants to get back together," he says.
"I'm really interested in doing other things and enriching the palette of what a musician can be and what life as an artist could be as well."
