TALLINN - Could you live without your mobile phone for 24 hours?
A team of Estonian artists will challenge people to hand over their phones for a bizarre installation in central Tallinn from 9 p.m. on Sept. 13.
The phones will be hung from a tree near Vabaduse Valjak for 24 hours, creating a "light and sound installation" that makes people question the necessity of the devices.
"We feel very dependent on our phones. We don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, but it's only when you distance yourself from something that you can see the true value of it," says coordinator Riina Kranna-Roos.
They hope at least 100 people will participate, and have worked out a system so that their phones are safely returned to them.
The project is just one part of the Plektrum Festival, which calls itself a "festival of visual sound."
It features workshops, concerts, DJ and VJ nights, and interesting art events.
The highlight of the festival is its concert night at Von Krahl on Saturday Sept. 15, featuring some of the best indie bands in Tallinn.
At the top of the list is Ans.Andur, a classic cymbal-crashing shoe-gazing rock band with upbeat tunes. Their signature tune is sung at a childlike falsetto pitch, drawing out the playfulness of their style. It's almost impossible to not have fun while watching Ans.Andur.
Then there's Pia Fraus, one of the original indie rock bands, who are approaching their tenth anniversary. Mixing several male and female members, Pia Fraus are a little more introspective than Ans.Andur but can still make a crowd of students dance 's or at least bop up and down.
Also on the bill is Maikamakers, a crazed dub-influenced psychedelic rock band. At their last gig in the Polymer culture factory, Maikamakers put on an energetic show that had both the audience and band sweating. Their baselines and beats are influenced by the basic elements of reggae, but are twisted and accelerated well beyond that genre.
The Plektrum Concert Night will see Von Krahl overrun by DJs, VJs and bands from 10 p.m. onwards. At 150 kroons, the door price is a little steep, but worth it considering the talent inside.
Plektrum 's Festival of Visual Sound
Von Krahl and other venues
Sept. 12 - 16
www.plektrum.ee
