News about the 4th edition of the Festival that will take place in Berlin all through the year 2008. The information about the former editions that were held on 22-26 november 2006, 13-22 february 2007 and 1-29 august, 2007 are still to be found somewhere in the jungle of this blop.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

11.August - Stralau68, Berlin Friedrichshain

This saturday will be a day of geographic contrasts. Björn Eriksson will bring sounds from his hometown near the polar circle. There is a clarinet in his luggage, that he might use. Please don't throw your glasses or bottles on the floor, because Björn will play barefoot.



Gilles Aubry left his audience breathless at the second edition of th efestival, when he performed his recordings from Berlin backyards. As rain came to Berlin, Gilles was lucky to leave for Egypt, where he stayed for two months working on sounds. The recordings he made in that period will be presented in a new composition specially made for the festival.

Hwem/Namenlos Soundsystem are two young guys Tobias Åström and Peter Henning from Malmö. In their own words: "HNSS play plunderphonic improvisations largely based on cassette players, found sounds and feedbacking equipment. Whether the result is relentless walls of thick droning or abstract electro-accoustic scraping the music always attempts to express the conflicting facets of everyday life."

Stralau 68
Alt-Stralau 68
Berlin Friedrichshain
S-Bahn Treptower park
map

2 Comments:

Blogger rinus said...

If it was the set up in Stralau, with the table in the middle and a reddish glowing light on it, or Björn' set that balanced between intimate moments and an essay in sound, or just me being annoyed with the fact that half of the audience was arrogant enough to think they could sneak in for free, I don't know. After Björns concert, so quiet with that ticking that reminded of silent arctic days, and so inspiring thanks to the recordings in real time and its immediate use, I waited for the applause to be washed away by the shuffling of feet, caught Björn while he returned to his seat in the audience, and asked him a question to which he answered, a bit surprised, but after a while completely at ease. One question took to an other. I thought I am talking a lot, and this is really getting exagerated, but I also thought I am going to bore those non paying music lovers as much as I want. Paying guests are motivated guests and listen with different ears.

I repeated the same procedure after Gilles set, that, to judge from the long applause was the absolute highlight of the evening and maybe of the festival. I thought it was absolutely marvellous, a sonic approach to a city that resulted in a novel that didn't need any words to it. Gilles managed to silence Cairo, and translate (what I thougth) the climate, the feel of the day into a layer of peacefull quiet. Not a concert, but a piece of art this was. Again followed by a short interview, because after all we were doing radio at the same time.

Hwem/Namenlos Soundsystem, Anders and Peter from Malmö, showed us yet an other approach. Peter used tapes from Greece and cassettes he had saved from the garbage bin. But there was also the usual equipment one needs to make some noise. It was energetic and playfull, even entertaining to look at, and very much in the moment it self.

How the three approaches reflected three different stages in the history of this kind of music was discussed at the end of the evening. But by then the public had gone, and only Björn's recording device was there to wittness it all.

In your ears soon.

1:17 pm

 
Blogger rinus said...

Sorry Tobias, your name is not Anders.

1:18 pm

 

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