An experimental music ensemble that exists partially within Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Ensemble Whose Name is Uhhhhhmm… (Spelled with Five H’s and Two M’s) is Dicky Bahto, Erika Bell, Morgan Gerstmar, and Stephanie Smith.

Press

“Really strange, quotidian, domestic, experimental music which is really compelling … it’s almost like various people walking into a room together and rattling the things around them, that’s what it kind of sounds like. But that’s the basis of experimental music isn’t it, in the John Cagean way, so why not do it in Animal Crossing as well? ” – Fielding Hope of Cafe Oto, London.

“I was watching it with my 11 year old who was just fascinated” – Verity Sharp, BBC3

BBC3 Late Junction, hosted by Verity Sharp with guest Fielding Hope, aired September 18, 2020. Listen here

“…while the game’s cute graphics and the performances’ overall premise may feel gimmicky at first, the meticulous consideration for rhythm, sonic qualities and spirited experimentation are undeniable upon viewing and very much in the lineage of Fluxus … what they accomplish here feels surprising, enthralling and nothing short of singular.” – Joshua Minsoo Kim, The Wire, August 2020, Issue 438, p.84. Read the full article here.

Listen to an interview with the ensemble with Theresa Beyer on SRF radio here

Shows

Second Performance
January 5, 2021
Elastic Arts presents We Series: Food
Watch here: www.twitch.tv/elasticartschicago

The Ensemble performed a work called Snacks from ‘Le voir dit’.

First Performance
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Infrequent Seams Streamfest, Night No. 3
4-night festival of music and performance curated and organized by the Infrequent Seams record label and co-presented by Rhizome. Performances by Anaïs Maviel, Anna Vitale & Shelley Salant, Aperture Duo, Rachel Devorah & Carl Testa, Dan Blake, Olivia Da Prato & Josh Modney, James Ilgenfritz, Damon Holzborn & John O’Brien, Stephanie Sleeper & Yuri Zupançic, Ty Citerman & Qhintan Ana Wikswo with vocalists Judith Berkson & Sara Serpa, and the Zodiac Saxophone Quartet. All of the details at infrequentseamsstreamfest.com.

The Ensemble performed a work called Surveillance Piece.