Moxhelis: its Musical Aesthetics Between the Industrial and the Post-Industrial

Abstract

This paper explores the sound aesthetics of the Uruguayan performance group Moxhelis focusing on its relationship with industrial and postindustrial music. The aesthetics of the group's performances consisted on a juxtaposition of fragmentary images in which post-industrial, circus, post-avant-garde, retro-futuristic and post-apocalyptic elements were intertwined. The Moxhelian aesthetics can be addressed from different perspectives, whether focusing on its sound, its visuals or on the bodily dimension. Moreover, these positions interact with each other in every performance, producing a complex network of meanings and aesthetic perceptions. Through the analysis of the preserved audiovisual archive, in this paper we will approach the sound dimension succinctly, presenting the group's performances in the 1990s in Uruguay.