MindStorm is a multi-media experience by Thomas Ferrella and Aaron Granat intended to be showcased in a planetarium setting. Both the visuals and music are performed live and have an integral spontaneous connection. The visuals performed by Granat are sourced from footage Ferrella has shot and cataloged over the past 20 years. Ferrella’s interest lies in documenting repetitive motion he observes in everyday encounters. With this vast archive encompassing Ferrella's unique visual perspective, Granat uses the footage as the raw materials for a dynamic visual collage that is organically composed in conversation with the accompanying music. Granat uses moving images to defamiliarize ordinary phenomena to discover the underlying shapes, tonalities and rhythms that unify all perception. The live performance of video material aspires to dissolve the boundaries delineating motion picture media, music and visual art.
Music is from a group that Ferrella has co-led with Kevin Schaefer for the past 25 years. The music is described as improvisational soundscapes and the current band incarnation includes Ed Ahrens [sax, guitar], Kevin Schaefer [keys, electronics, percussion], Nick Orlowski [guitar, electronics], Phil Redman [bass, electronics], Steve Tyska [trumpet, violin] and Thomas Ferrella [percussion, trumpet, field recordings].