Flying Chairs and other Roses

At the end of the last performance on the very last day of the festival, I had to say some words of gratitude and farewell; a ceremonial moment, during which I threw a chair in somebody's face. Some of the audience might have wondered at this punkish behaviour. But those who knew the victim, know better. In fact it was Markus Schwill -who should work on his reflections- that got caught by this identifiable flying object. Markus has been a loyal visitor to all the evenings, and one of the thriving forces in the propaganda machine. (In fact Markus is one of the most accurate organisers I know in Berlin). He could take my action with grandeur.

There is so many people I have to say thank you to, to those invisibles out there who supported me with cash that I could hand over to the artists that came in from far away; to the artists themselves who were prepared to take the risk of loosing money on their trip; to the owners of the venues; to the individuals who helped me promoting; to those who contacted me through mail; Man, I should have prepared my speech, next time I will thank God and my parents.

It was not only about performances, but also about meeting new friends. It was particularly entertaining to have Patrick McGinley (Murmer) and Yannick Franck as a guest, or the two punks from Malmö. The short lived ritual of long breakfasts in Kurt's gallery/sousterrain/living room with Björn Eriksson was heavenly appreciated, as were the hilarious dialogues between Dr.Frank McCoy and Patrick. It was also great fun, almost like playing at a concert, to be interviewed by Wolfgang Dorninger and his wife Gaby, who are shooting a documantary on 'field recordings.'

As for the evenings itself, I missed most of the Glogauer evenings, so I cannot judge on that. If there should be a price for the best performance, it has to go to Gilles Aubrey' audiostory about Cairo. In fact that evening in Stralau68 was one that stood out, because of the light, the set up, and the very intimate atmosphere that slowly fell upon the evening.

Completely opposed was the evening with Wolfgang, Debashis Sinha and Yannick, more joyfull and not as introspective as the Swedish/Swiss coproduction in Stralau68, but a very coherent composition of three diverse approaches.

Everyone will have his own favourites. Udo Noll and his Radio Aporee are a complete eye and ear opener to me; Mattin's performance was one that should slowly become legendarious; I remember the intensily satisfied face of Lucciano Maggiore and the ovational applause his performance got; the guy who took a walk along the Landwehrkanal listening to Kate Donovan's tape; I could mention every single one, but hey, some of you I will meet again, and hopefully we can continue doing things together.

Last but not least I would like to mention Tore Honoré Boe. To be nominated for the Nobel price for Peace.

Please check this blop, or bookmark it, because here you will find the announcements of field recording related events that I will set up in Berlin. See you next time, and thanks for your ears and your support!