The path of b1n0's binary questions

Hall 3 of L'Auditori is dark and, apart from the house staff, there is no one else. The small hall looks bigger than ever. Not a single chair. Spectators will stand. The bleachers are hidden. The striped parquet floor intends to be a symbolic dance floor; in addition, it hosts a small bar serving various refreshments. And, on the ceiling, a light grid to deny absolute gloom. The synthetic and minimalist discourse of the new album ---the reason why the concert is part of L'Auditori's 25th anniversary celebration--- seems to be reflected in the venue. A string of LEDs presides over an already set stage. Minutes later, a peculiar hint will come from the stage. The audience begins to arrive. The transversality of the audience is surprising. Very diverse ages. Curiosity for the electronic dance music (EDM) proposal or generational conviction?

The notes ---or bits--- of Glitch City, the piece that closes Blue Screen (2024), the third album by the artists from Girona, represent a sweet punch to the solar plexus. That is the general tone of the new songs. During the presentation, it will be the album's opening piece. But, before that, a thoughtful and well-resolved introduction was heard. The performers opened the set with very nuanced previous tracks, such as, for example, R0M4N71C153D V3R510N, from b1n0 (2019); ME, with vocals by Tarta Relena; the well-known Bumbum, with Ferran Palau's voice, and Ahh!, with Marina Herlop, from Bi (2021). Then, they brought back Dance Dance Decadence V12, a single (2010) featuring El Petit de Cal Eril on vocals.

The performance, with an evident audiovisual and sensory load, results in a clear statement by b1n0 (Between Ones and Zeroes); that is, Emili Bosch, on keyboards, and Malcus Codolà, on percussion. The times they live in indicate that they may prefer bits to express themselves, which does not prevent a certain sense of digital identity in the response of the bodily and repetitive movements of many of the attendees. A type of sensitive conductor, an optical fiber, as a backbone, to stir the stimuli of those present. A hybrid capacity of skin and brain that is stimulated by binary impulses navigating from the stage.

The path of b1n0's binary questions is active; digital nomads continue their journey.

A separate paragraph deserves the sober set design, with the presence of a shell, which shelters the trio of participants, made up of a multitude of LED diode lines, programmed and triggered by the audiovisual engineer, a member of the Playmodes research studio. Here, minimalism reigns, and the constant repetition of moving lights that seem to have a more android than human objective. The expression Blue Screen of Death serves to refer to the screen errors displayed in various operating systems. The duo from La Bisbal d'Empordà and Eduard Frigola use their knowledge and capabilities multidisciplinarily in the exhibition of this new work, borrowing the concept of the blue screen to delve into a bitmap that knows no boundaries. Will conventional instruments expire?

Many things can be said about the duo, but surely their members cannot be called wild. They appeared punctually for the appointment without a word. They played the last song and left in the same way. In silence. Not an encore. Nor were there the typical shouts from the audience. To a large extent, as they headed out, the comments were positive. The path of b1n0's binary questions is active. The digital nomads continue their journey.