Max Neuhaus began his career as a musician, a percus-sionist. He continues to use sound as his medium. Why. then, do we find his works in the world of art, in places dedicated to seeing, not to listening? Why, in other words, does so much of his work appear on sites, indoors and out, where we would expect to find painting and sculpture? I think answers to these general questions about Neuhaus entire oeuvre must precede the attempt to say anything in particular about specific pieces. We must account for what appears to be an immense, overarching anomaly before taking up the puzzles presented in turn by each of Neuhaus various works.
LIMITED ART EDITION WITH ORIGINAL ART PRINT FROM NAN GOLDIN, SIGNED BY THE ARTIST
Laura Poitras’ Oscar-nominated film »All the Beauty and the Bloodshed« is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin. Told through intimate interviews, photography, and footage, central to the story is her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis. The film cuts to the bone with its incandescent celebration of life and condemnation of those who threaten it. Art and activism are one and the same.
Helping to interweave Goldin’s past and present, multi-disciplinary duo Soundwalk Collective soundtrack her personal and political struggles to sublime effect. The contemporary sonic arts platform of founder and artist Stephan Crasneanscki and producer Simone Merli, the pair work with a rotating constellation of artists and musicians, developing site-and-context-specific sound projects through which to examine conceptual, literary, or artistic themes. And for all the beauty and the bloodshed on show here, the duo strike the balance just right; their compositions in collaboration with Zacharias Falkenberg and Johannes Malfatti producing a trance that oscillates between grace and madness.
Within the score, Crasneanscki draws connections with the life and work of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, who was removed from society through confinement in institutions. In his last poems, written as fragments while he was plagued by mental illness, Hölderlin renders nature, in all its fragility and ephemerality. Similar themes merge in Laura’s portrait of Goldin and serve as an inspiration for the composition of the choral songs and cantus within the soundtrack. Through the repetition of words and the layering of voices, the lyric scansion operates like a language possessed, echoing various styles from sacred music to modern minimalist techniques. The music is characterised by quivering strings and swells, de-tuning and lingering, shifting around the surreal, and creating a spectrum of musical experience. Exerts of Nan’s narration are featured in two of the tracks, her powerful narration offering a more direct approach to the storytelling.
In »All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,« Poitras shows protest is really Goldin’s great artwork: Her entire life had been leading to this moment of passionate expression, an inspired situationist gesture which fused the personal and the political. Art can change the world, which Poitras and Goldin tell us with powerful results. While there are multiple threads in this remarkable portrait which could have carried entire films, the soundtrack provides a sonic identity that helps keep track of proceedings. Utterly unique in their approach, Soundwalk Collective have delivered a gripping and thoughtful score, helping turn Goldin’s personal pain into culture-rattling impact.
A1 Half Of Life A2 Schimmer Sanft Den Klang Des Tages A3 The Land And The Sea A4 Sisters I – Feat. Nan Goldin A5 Des Geistes Werden B1 Before The Light B2 Witnesses B3 Zeitgeist B4 To Zimmer B5 Sisters Ii – Feat. Nan Goldin
Doyenne 002: Singing To Spirits is an anthology curated by artist and writer Flora Yin Wong looking to historical, indigenous rituals worldwide. Bringing together female-identifying musicians, artists and writers on the platform to explore lesser known forms of their artistic practice – the contributions for the first book are from friends & collaborators across the world including:
Christina Vantzou (Kranky), Lisa Lerkenfeldt (Shelter Press), Lucy Liyou, YL Hooi, Lucinda Chua, Dali De Saint Paul (EP/64), Sarah Shin (Ignota Books), Cucina Povera (Editions Mego), Martyna Basta, Marija Bozinovska Jones, Ekaterina Bazhenova-Yamasaki, Ruth Saxelby (ex-Fader), Susu Laroche, Mira Mattar (Granta / Ma Bibliotheque), Heather McCalden (Fitzcarraldo Editions), Hibiki Mizuno, Hana Noorali, Rose Higham-Stainton, Sonia de Jager, Tara Fatehi, and Marianthi Hatzikidi.
Thematically rooted around the tradition of ‘Singing to Spirits’, the notions of music being used as an ancient medium to commune with the afterlife are linked with songlines in Aboriginal animist belief as a connection to the land – featuring texts including intimate personal essays, identity exploration, photographic work and lyrics. The project will be further explored through various events of performances and excursions.
Franziska Buhre (ed.) Klangteppich V Magazin Festival für Musik der iranischen Diaspora
Editorial Support: Hannes Liechti Design: MüllerValentini – Agentur für Markendesign Copy Editing: Angus Finlayson, Tash Siddiqui, Meredith Slifkin, Tucker Wiedenkeller
Since 2021, Norient has been publishing an Online Special together with Klangteppich, the Berlin-based festival for music from the Iranian diaspora. In the meantime, this publication has developed into an archive of lively perspectives on contemporary music-making in Iran and the Iranian diaspora.
The texts have been created as an invitation to festival artists and other authors to deepen their own narratives and meaningful historiographies of exchange between Iran and the world.
With this Special, we want to raise awareness of the complex realities in which diasporic artists work. The fifth festival edition is now an opportunity to collect a selection of previous and new texts in a printed magazine.
Table of Contents:
Franziska Buhre und Hannes Liechti: «Prolog» Impressionen Klangteppich I 2018 (Photo Series) Shayan Navab: «And Somewhere I’ve Heard the Screams Before» (Short Essay) Sophie Grobler: «Our Homeland» (Short Essay) Amin Hashemi: «On the History of Iranian Popular Music» (Short Essay)
Impressionen Klangteppich II 2019 (Fotoserie) Shaahin Peymani: «One Way Passage to Tehran» (Short Essay) Franziska Buhre, Hadi Bastani: «Listening Is at the Heart of What I Do» (Interview) Erum Naqvi: «Diaspora Comes Home» (Round Up) Arshia Samsaminia: «Making Persian Music More Accessible to Outsiders» (Music Theory)
Impressionen Klangteppich III 2021 (Photo Series) Franziska Buhre: «Bass Drums, Cowbells, Tambourines» (Essay) Ali Kamrani: «Lass mich mit Hass nicht allein» (Gedicht) Tanasgol Sabbagh: «Dard I Door» (Poetic Text) Pardis Zarghampour: «Wann gehen wir zurück?» (Essay)
Impressionen Klangteppich IV 2022 (Fotoserie) Nikan Khosravi: «Being on the Right Side of History» (Essay) Shabnam Parvaresh: «Blinde Passagiere» (Essay) Matthias Küntzel: «Der Rundfunk als Waffe. Die Persisch-sprachige Nazipropaganda und ihre Folgen» (Essay)
With contributions by Hadi Bastani, Franziska Buhre, Sophia Grobler, Amin Hashemi, Ali Kamrani, Nikan Khosravi, Matthias Küntzel, Erum Naqvi, Shayan Navab, Shabnam Parvaresh, Shaahin Peymani, Tanasgol Sabbagh, Arshia Samsaminia and Pardis Zarghampour
KALEIDOSCOPE’s new issue 42 (Spring/Summer 2023) launches with a set of six covers.
A decade after his howling debut album—released at only 18, preciously young and totally timeless—we captureArchy Marshall aka King Krule through the lens of Mark Kean. About to release his fourth record, he sits down with Cyrus Goberville to talk about becoming a father, his move from London to Liverpool, writing on commuter trains between the two cities, and lingering in the “space between.”
Shot in Tokyo by Joshua Gordon, Japanese director Takashi Miike has gained a cult following, both in his homeland and internationally, as a filmmaker of the extremes of brutality, sex, and gore. Through a transoceanic cultural reading by Tetsuya Suzuki, we get acquainted with the cinematic icon, who, despite over 30 years work in film, retains the ethos of the permanent outsider.
Inaugurating a new carte blanche format “outsourcing” an editorial segment to like-minded global creatives,“Upstate” features original photography by Richard Kern and an essay by Olivia Kan-Sperling, within a special insert (cum foldedtwo-sided poster) produced and designed by game-changing New York-based modelling agency,No Agency.
A photographic portfolio by Bolade Banjo captures Popcaan, Jamaica’s biggest dancehall star, in London’s Savile Row—with an accompanying conversation between Jamaican academic Carolyn Cooper and Anglo-Jamaican curator Carol Tulloch, discussing dancehall style and culture across the two countries, in its homegrown and diasporic evolutions.
Throughout an artistic career dedicated to examining America‘s iconographies, religions, and utopias, Jim Shaw has experimented with almost every art form. Shot by Max Farago in his L.A. studio, he talks with Hans Ulrich Obrist about drawing, painting, playing in punk bands, working in the movies, collecting ephemera, and chronicling his dreams.
If you can’t buy the painting, why not get the T-shirt? Featuring an essay by Patrick McGraw and a special insert by Procell, the trend repot ART <3 MERCH investigates the unstoppable rise of museum and art gallery merchandise over the past decade—the cumulative point of an economic and creative process that started with Pop Art.
In the magazine’s front-of-the-book section, through the lens of Chris Lensz, we trawl Paris’ arrondissements with a new class of multi-hyphenate Situationists who are making and unmaking the city. Featuring DJ and visual artist Crystallmess, book dealer and curator Rare Books Paris, artist and musician Erwan Sene, and chef Mathieu Canet.
Presenting a new A.I. generated body of work, Jon Rafman builds virtual worlds for the viewer to get lost within. In conversation with Jak Ritger, he reflects on the profound ways technology has affected human society, while also exploring the sublime, the uncanny, the ingenuity of human creativity, and the changing role of the artist.
Reenergising the classical forms of the institution with what they’ve termed “post-internet dance,“ Marseille-based collective(LA)HORDE departs from the exclusionary rigidity of the ballet with poetic, punk, and politically engagedworks. Words by Isabelle Bucklow and photography by Winter Vandenbrink encapsulate the power of real bodies moving.
Also featured in this issue: American novelist Emma Cline (photography by Caroline Tompkins and interview by Lola Kramer), a new series of drawings by Aurel Schmidt (words by Sophie Kemp), Japanese photographer Hiroh Kikai(words by Jeppe Ugelvig), Italian punk band CCCP (words by Achille Filipponi), and “Five NYC Painters”(paintings by Brook Hsu, Francesca Facciola, Michelle Uckotter, Olivia Van Kuiken, and Justine Neuberger, and words by Reilly Davidson).
Side A: Quantum Echoes Pt. 1……..10.44 Quantum Echoes Pt. 2……..8.42
Side B: The Spirit Channel Pt. 1……..11.24 The Spirit Channel Pt. 2……..8.54
Patrick Shiroishi Alto Saxophone, Voice Lena Pozdnyakova – Amplified Objects Eldar Tagi – Serge and Ciat-Lonbarde synthesizers, Daxophone, Shtar
Production, Mastering – Eldar Tagi Recorded in Los Angeles, CA July 11, 2021
Cover Design: Lena Pozdnyakova Image Source: Painting by Liza Kin (“Eine Linie” series)
Motto Editions
‘New r Age’ is the follow-up collaborative album from composers and improvisers Eldar Tagi and Patrick Shiroishi. This time around, they’re joined by interdisciplinary artist and researcher Lena Pozdnyakova, bringing a fresh twist to their creative partnership. The recording took place on a sunny afternoon on July 11th, 2021, in a cozy apartment in Los Angeles’ Rampart Village—a place Tagi and Pozdnyakova used to call home for several years before moving to Berlin.
In this recording, the trio used a broad range of sounds. Shiroishi contributed his expert alto saxophone skills, sometimes blending his voice with the music. Tagi experimented with a variety of instruments such as the daxophone and Shtar, as well as Ciat-Lonbarde and Serge synthesizers. Pozdnyakova, on the other hand, added her unique touch by incorporating noises from amplified everyday objects.
The result is a blend of sounds that shift and change in intensity, keeping listeners on their toes. While the raw energy of the improvised performances is still front and center, additional layers of electronic tones and careful post-processing give the recording an extra amount of density and dimension. So, sit back and enjoy this unique sonic experience that “New r Age” offers.
About the artists:
Patrick Shiroishi is a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Los Angeles.
Lena Pozdnyakova is a Kazakhstan-born interdisciplinary artist and researcher currently based in Berlin, Germany.
Eldar Tagi is a Kazakhstan-born multi-instrumentalist and composer currently based in Berlin, Germany.
We’re pleased to welcome you to an enchanting evening filled with poetry and music at our courtyard, this coming Friday, June 16th, from 18:30 onwards.
We’ll begin the evening with the remarkable Robert Stastny, a Berlin-inspired artist, who’ll read out pieces from his acclaimed Portraits. He’ll also give us an exclusive glimpse into his latest works. Following Robert’s spellbinding readings, we’ll transition into a vibrant musical performance by Yellow Hotel.
Poetry is an adventure, in itself. A voyage to somewhere, where the world of men and women – and anything you want to be – has less of an influence.
Music connects onto poetry naturally, Yellow Hotel is Roy Estel Hughes, recently transplanted from Austin to Berlin, and Robert.
Together we will travel – from poetry, to music, to somewhere else.
So, come join us at Motto for a relaxed evening filled with amusing poetry, music, books, and refreshing drinks. We can’t wait to see you there!
»Chromacolor« is one of those records that immediately feels like home even though it is hard to locate stylistically. Written and recorded by Hanno Leichtmann in Berlin and Madeira between 2020 and 2022, it draws on rhythmic minimalism as a guiding principle and might call to mind organic, instrument-based ambient music, but also incorporates jazzy moments as well as Annie Garlids multi-layered vocals that permeate through these nine pieces.
The foundation for Leichtmann’s Chromacolor project was laid when the prolific Berlin-based producer, musician, and drummer borrowed a vibraphone and a Fender Rhodes from two friends. Combining their unique sonic affordances with those of a Guitaret, an electric lamellophone, he further expanded his sound palette by inviting other musicians—Anthea Caddy, Sabine Vogel, Tobias Delius, Els Vandeweyer, Sabine Ercklentz, Mike Majkowski, Andrei Ladeishchikov, Oona Farchy, Gonçalo Caboz as well as Rafael and Hugo Andrade—to play small but vital parts in the production of the album.
The opener »Kisses and Wine« masterfully sets the tone for an album that is as inviting as it is challenging. Working with relaxed repetitive rhythms, Garlid’s anthemic vocals and a sprinkle of saxophone and flute tones courtesy of Delius and Vogel, respectively, as well as tender piano notes played by Leichtmann, it evokes a lot with only few means: a certain melancholy, but also an elevated atmosphere that feels both exuberant and restrained. Leichtmann’s elegant study of the power of repetition, minute rhythmic shifts and subtle use of melodic and harmonic elements creates ambiguities and polyvalences like these throughout the entire record, up until its understated finale, aptly titled »A Beautiful Day«—a drone-jazz piece, if you will, both longing and joyful. As an album, »Chromacolor« is hard to pigeonhole, but rich and rewarding. All it takes is immersing yourself in it.
We are happy to invite you about a special event coming up that we’re certain will pique the interest of those who delight in the fusion of music, video art, and performance.
X-IMG presents a program of audio-visual excess and dark dance music on May 18th at Ohm, Berlin.
Jubal Brown and Tasman Richardson, who recently awed us with a stunning reading and performance at our bookstore, are now set to light up the stage.
A-B features two sound works made in 2022, both recorded and edited in Charlois, Rotterdam. Side A, ‘Walk’, is best listened to when going out for a stroll. It is a guided tour with a narrator-companion holding an essayistic monologue about how we observe the world and ourselves while walking. Side B, ‘Sticks and Bells’, is a pastoral play choreographed for an array of 12 cowbells and 12 walking sticks, which tells the story of a conflict between a group of hikers and a herd of cows. The riso-printed libretto to this instrumental piece is published with the tape.
credits
released February 16, 2023
All sounds recorded in Charlois, Rotterdam.
Printed at KIOSK Rotterdam, bound at De Boog Rotterdam.
A big thanks to the performers of Sticks and Bells: Ash Kilmartin, Bobby Sayers, Bruno Neves, Claudia Schouten, Ghislain Amar, Kate Price, Kirsten Van Lienden, Lisa Meijer, Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz, Marie Saladin, Marloes de Vries, Matt Plezier and Ronja Calle.
Further thanks to Ash Kilmartin, Flip Driest and Frédéric Van de Velde.
Shell-printed cassette with a riso-printed cover. Includes the libretto to Sticks and Bells. Hand-printed, cut and bound at KIOSK and De Boog Rotterdam. Edition of 50.
