Lights, music and funny smells lead to sensory delight at Sencity gig

A live music event in which you can not only hear the music but can see, feel, taste and smell it is coming to Ireland for the first time.

Sencity, which takes place at the RDS, Dublin, next Saturday, is aimed at people both with and without hearing abilities. “You will experience music in a very different way than you would at, say, a music festival, intimate gig or the average night out,” said Rachael Bleakley, a member of the Dublin organising team.

All senses

“It’s open to everyone to experience music through all their senses, not just hearing. You’ll have a chance to try some weird and wonderful food, dance on a vibrating dancefloor and enjoy watching some amazing bands in a pleasantly bizarre-smelling room.”

The centrepiece of the clubbing event will be the vibrating dancefloor, which has been specially shipped over from the Netherlands.

There will also be light jockeys who turn the music into colours, shapes and pictures, aroma jockeys who transpose the sounds into smells, and “food sensations” that complement the music.

Onstage sign dancers will translate the lyrics and emotions of the songs into Irish sign language, and the services of hairdressers, make-up artists and masseurs will be available.

Acts include Dublin DJ Gavxmas, Derry band Wonder Villains, the 11-piece Kormac’s Big Band and Waterford-based Torann Drums, as well as deaf Finnish rap artist Signmark.

Imaginary limitations

The event is organised by Skyway Foundation in the Netherlands, which seeks to prove that, in its own words, “limitations that seem to exist often turn out to be imaginary”.

More than 10,000 people have attended similar events around the world over the past 10 years, including in London, Berlin, São Paulo, Cape Town, Sydney and Miami.

While the events were initially developed for the members of the deaf community, they have since evolved to become open for anyone to attend.

“It’s not advertised as a deaf music event any more, the emphasis is now more on how to feel the music, how to see or smell it,” said Michèle Biedendorf, marketing and communication manager of Sencity Dublin.

“It’s an event where everybody can come and have fun and enjoy the music.”

For more information see your-sencity.com