Aesthetics Matter: New Ways of Storytelling

Audio Talk

How can people work together across the constraints of time and space, and the cultures they determine? In this audio talk, Norient founder Thomas Burkhalter and the artists Abhishek Mathur and Suvani Suri discuss their work on the experimental podcast series TIMEZONES, and the potential of mixing documentary, ethnography, fiction, journalism, sound art, and improvisation.

They discuss the idea behind this series, its unique style of storytelling, and the challenges involved in working with artists from all over the world and across different political dimensions while trying to make the podcast organically and authentically global. As the three were in different time zones when recording the conversation, Thomas in Bern, Abhishek in Dehli, and Suvani in Sydney, the latter sent her contribution as additional thoughts recorded as voice notes.

The TIMEZONES series is produced by Norient with support from the Goethe-Institut. You can listen to the episodes here.

This audio piece is part of the Norient Special «All in It Together» in collaboration with Rewire Festival 2023.

Biography

Dr. Thomas Burkhalter is an anthropologist/ethnomusicologist, AV-artist, and writer from Bern (Switzerland). He is the founder and director of Norient and the Norient Festival (NF), co-directed AV-performances and documentary films (e.g. «Contradict», Berner Filmpreis 2020 + Al-Jazeera Witness), and is the author and co-editor of several books (e.g., «Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut», Routledge, «The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East», Wesleyan University Press). He teaches regularly at universities, and runs workshops for arts institutions. Since 2022 he produces the Norient Mixtape for Swiss National Radio SRF3. Currently, he is working on his new music project «Melodies In My Head», and on the podcast series «South Asian Sound Stories» with musicians from the UK, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Follow him on Spotify, Research Gate, Academia.edu, Instagram, X, or Facebook.

Biography

Abhishek Mathur is a musician and sound designer based in New Delhi, India. He is a guitar player and founding member of Advaita, one of India’s most acclaimed bands. Abhishek has been composing, arranging, and producing music for media such as films, TV, theater, art installations, and podcasts for the past two decades. He is also the facilitator and course designer of a short term program in music production at the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communications, New Delhi. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Biography

Suvani Suri is an artist and researcher based in New Delhi. She works with sound, text, and intermedia assemblages and has been exploring various modes of transmission such as podcasts, auditory texts, sonic environments, objects, installations, fictions, experimental workshops, and live interventions. Her research interests lie in the relational and speculative capacities of listening, voice, aural/oral histories, and the spectral dispositions of sound that can activate critical imaginations. Actively engaged in thinking through the techno-politics that listening is embedded in, her practice is informed by the processes of production, mediation, perception, and distribution of sound. Alongside, she composes sound for video and performance works and teaches at several universities and educational spaces where her pedagogical interests conflate with a sustained inquiry into the digital and sonic sensorium. Follow her on her website, Instagram, or SoundCloud.

Links

Suvani Suri and Abhishek Mathur: «Imagining Worlds and Making Meaning With Four Artists From Delhi» (Timezones Episode 3)

Published on March 15, 2023

Last updated on June 13, 2023

Topics

Communication

Creativity

Ethnomusicology

Experiment

Place

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Specials

All in It Together

TIMEZONES

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When Creativity Meets Chaos by Turkana

When Creativity Meets Chaos

Podcast

by Turkana

Episode 15 of the TIMEZONES podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. This episode offers insight into the uncompressed music scene in Kampala, Uganda. It looks into the evolution of (underground) club culture and shows how house parties contributed so much to create the roots of feeling safe and a support system in the music community. It further discusses the importance of the Nyege Nyege label and festival that has gained massive international attention lately.

Producer’s Note

Many thriving DJs and producers have come out of Kampala’s underground music scene in the past few years. In this podcast episode, we invite our fellow music producers and DJs to share their processes of music production and explain how the city inspires their creativity.

Kampala is a beautiful city surrounded by Lake Victoria and its nature that brings a certain level of peace amidst chaos. We recorded the podcast in the city, relating to the sounds in our surroundings, and how each of the artists connect to different aspects of the city, such as noise, the people, and its environment.

Uganda is a socially conservative, majority Christian and Muslim country. To see the momentum of artists expressing themselves in a free create form is very impressive. We look into the growth of Kampala in the past decade. There’s a lot more light on the music scene now than before. The momentum comes from the multiple cultures that bring along unique sounds that evolve in this creativity space, and there’s a lot of room to be inspired and learn.

Over the years, Kampala has become a global incubator of sounds. We see artists from the diaspora and East African community gaining interest in exploring the city and doing residencies at Nyege Nyege studios (Villa) which has harbored collaborations among artists.

It’s such a beautiful opportunity to bring you into our evolving music scene in East Africa. We hope you enjoy it.

Credits

A podcast by Turkana

Co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut

Featuring: Authentically Plastic, DJ Flo, Martin Kanja, Nsasi, Rey Sapienz

Sound Design: Turkana and Rey Sapienz

Includes a bonus talk, moderated and produced by Gloria Kiconco, featuring Nsasi

Artistic Editor: Abhishek Mathur
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Video Trailer: Karrl
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere
Copy Editing: Kathrin Hadeler

→ Full transcript of episode 15

Listen on

→ Listen to further TIMEZONES episodes

Featured Artists

Authentically Plastic is a DJ, producer, and artist based in Kampala, Uganda. Their sound is necessarily political. Dubbed «Demon of the Nile» by conservative Ugandan media and politicians, Authentically Plastic has never shied away from disrupting norms and expectations. They run a roving, riotous club night in Kampala called Anti Mass which opens space for femme, queer, and experimental artists in an increasingly repressive social climate. Risk-taking in this political environment informs Authentically Plastic’s sound, which has an accelerated, densely layered, improvisational feel. Their sets, at once dark and playful, use gqom, vogue, and techno as a base for exploring other unknown sounds. Their music is influenced by anything from quasi-electronic Northern Ugandan rhythms, to early acid experiments and Afrofuturism. Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, or SoundCloud.

DJ Flo is a mysterious DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist and one third of HHY & the Kampala Unit where she plays the trumpet. Flo aka Florence Lugemwa is involved as a ghetto activist in her hometown (Kampala), where she teaches kids and founded a brass band with them. She did one of her very first public appearances as a DJ for Nyege Nyege Festival in 2020, live on NBS (festival take-over on Ugandan national TV) and turned the crowd on fire with her set that she spiced up MC-ing on improv and drove the party into madness. DJing is a skill she honed over the pandemic and is already excelling at, tipped to become one of the toughest DJs coming out of the Nyege crew since DJ Kampire. Follow her on Instagram.

Martin Kanja is one half of the Kenyan experimental metal duo Duma. Kanja is known as an artist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Follow them on Instagram.

Nsasi’s daring sound embodies both a nostalgia for traditional rhythms/sound palettes, and an affinity for hyper-modern, disruptive compositions in which skittered fluxes of acid are able to collide with Kiganda percussion, or with East African trap. A fluid, compelling style bluntly dislocating the conventional and challenging the ordinary. Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or Bandcamp.

Rey Sapienz is born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo and first got in touch with the musical world in church choir. By age 12 he started performing as a rapper for the Independence Day of Congo. In 2002 he formed a band with Jay Dragon aka Hallyson with whom he would rap on Congolese soukous and perform in local shows. Rey was always involved with his community, and regularly organized writing workshops in youth centers. In 2012, after completing his studies, he traveled to Uganda for a collaboration with various producers from Kampala. As the war made it impossible for him to return to Congo, Rey Sapienz extended his stay in Uganda. Here he co-founded the Hakuna Kulala Label alongside Arlen Dilsizian and Derek Debru. In June 2017, he self-taught music production and within a year, released his first EP HAKUNA KULALA. Currently he is the artist liaison within Hakuna Kulala and also gives Ableton workshops to emerging new producers of Kampala. Follow him on SoundCloud or Instagram.

Bonus Talk

Nature, Nurture, Chaotic Inspiration
moderated and produced by Gloria Kiconco

Can Western-inspired media capture the true nature of the genre-bending music coming out of Kampala while also restricting it to categories? How does creativity thrive in a city where underground spaces are shrinking? In this bonus talk, Turkana and Nsasi, members of the Anti Mass collective share further thoughts on Turkana’s TIMEZONES episode from Kampala and delve into the relationship between media, music, and the compulsion to classify sound. They explore the push-pull dynamic they have with Kampala as a city where chaos is an ingredient in generating creativity and the reason artists seek nature and solitude outside the city. This talk, moderated by writer Gloria Kiconco, develops a portrait of the city as a resistant and nurturing space birthing «uncontrollable sound».

When Creativity Meets Chaos by Gloria Kiconco

Gloria Kiconco is a poet, essayist, and zine-maker based in Kampala, Uganda. Gloria self-publishes and creates spoken word performances, readings, and audio compilations in collaboration with music producers. She was an inaugural Writer-in-Residence (2019) with Goethe Institut, Burkina Faso, and the inaugural poet-in-residence (2023) with the Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has published many poetry zine collections including SOLD OUT (2016), RETURN TO SENDER (2018) in collaboration with illustrator Liz Kobusinge, You Are Lost, You Are Here X (2020) and Tunnel of Delight (2021). As an arts journalist, Gloria prioritizes femme African and afro-diasporan artists. Her work appears online and in print with People Stories Project, Dazed Magazine, The Wire, and Perform! Her personal essays can be found on Adda and More of Us. Follow her via Instagram or Twitter.

Playlist

A selection of recent releases from Kampala’s prospering underground music scene, including artists from this TIMEZONES episode. «They represent the sound and the talent of my city», says playlist curator Turkana.

Trailer

by Karrl

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what does living and working in culture and the arts involve in different countries, cities, and contexts today? The artists’ thoughts on their moods, their social, political, and intellectual realities and their philosophies (of life) have been worked up into experimental audio collages.

The podcasts run the gamut of formats and content, from straight journalism to experimental and documentary approaches, ethnography and fiction, sound art, and improvisation. The TIMEZONES series endeavours to create new artistic forms of storytelling, listening and exchange across the boundaries of geography, time zones, genres, and practices.

The TIMEZONES podcast series is co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. This episode is supported by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council.

Biography

Turkana is a South Sudanese artist, grew up in Kakuma, near Lake Turkana in Kenya before moving to Uganda. Turkana’s background has been defined by Perpetual Dislocation & Rapid, Improvised Reconstitution, and this is the dominant «form» of her music. Turkana has carved out a unique sonic space, characterized by sharp, decisive breaks between sounds and genres, while remaining squarely in the domain of hard cunty electronics. Follow her on Instagram, and SoundCloud.

Published on September 27, 2023

Last updated on May 14, 2024

Topics

City

Creativity

Music Business

Music Production

Queer

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Special

TIMEZONES

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Music or Weapon: Four Monologues from Ukraine by Dmytro Fedorenko

Music or Weapon: Four Monologues from Ukraine

Podcast

by Dmytro Fedorenko

Episode 14 of the TIMEZONES podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. This episode features four testimonials from Ukrainian artists. They were recorded during the summer of 2022, a few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The statements are candid monologues about music, dignity, and life during the darkest of times. The four artists speak about their visions of freedom and fear, their feelings about the future, and the influence of this war on their lives and their music; the situations they are facing and the choices they are making. What happened to their art and how do they perceive the role of the artist in this war?

Ukraine is fighting for freedom against Russia, and for many Ukrainians, this war, along with death and destruction, has prompted extreme and often unexpected transformations of consciousness. The country appears united again, more so than ever before. Artists have become volunteers and soldiers. Music and art have turned into a part of the total resistance. Every day, new meanings and concepts are being devised, everything inevitably changes, and a new future for Ukraine is being born as we speak.

Credits

A podcast by Dmytro Fedorenko

Co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut

Featuring: Burning Woman, Symonenko, Ujif_notfound, and Igor Yalivec
Includes a bonus talk, moderated and produced by Peter Kirn, featuring Sophia Bulgakova

Interviews recorded in August 2022

Artistic Editor: Suvani Suri
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Video Trailer: Emma Nzioka
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere

→ Full transcript of episode 14

Listen On

→ Listen to further TIMEZONES episodes

Featured Artists

Burning Woman is the moniker of Kyiv musician, sound designer, and DJ Kateryna Kostrova who works in the genres of dark ambient, drone, techno, IDM, industrial, and noise. She constantly experiments with her own sound, using various methods of sound synthesis and processing as well as field recordings. Being born and raised in Eastern Ukraine, the artist has nurtured a tender love for industrial aesthetics and tries to reflect this in her work, creating noisy sound textures. Kateryna is a member of the Women’s Sound educational platform for female electronic music producers and has performed at many of its events. Follow her on SoundCloud, YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.

Symonenko, born in Luhansk, is a live artist and DJ from Kyiv who works mostly with electronic dance music such as techno and its substyles. The artist came to his recent sound through classical guitar music and songwriting in the indie band Simon Stone. He recently immersed himself in a modular experimental setup and also works on a modular live dance performance. Follow him on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Facebook, or Instagram.

Ujif_notfound is a media project of Georgy Potopalsky, new media artist, electronic musician, and composer. Founder of the alternative art space Kontrapunkt. Resident of the KVITNU label. Co-founder of BLCK BOX Media Art School and PHOTINUS Studio. As a media artist, he has participated in numerous Ukrainian and international projects and festivals. Lives and works in Kyiv. Georgy Potopalsky combines the practice of a media artist and a musician. His installations and live performances usually merge software, visual, and audio components. Follow him on his website or on SoundCloud, Vimeo, Bandcamp, Instagram 1, Instagram 2, or Facebook.

Igor Yalivec is a composer, musician, sound artist, and founder of the bands Gamardah Fungus and Submatukana from Dnipro, Ukraine. Follow him on Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.

Bonus Talk

Ukrainian Artists on International Terrain: Staying Connected, Being Heard
moderated and produced by Peter Kirn, feat. Sophia Bulgakova

In this bonus episode of TIMEZONES, we shift the focus from Ukrainian artists in a country at war to those who permanently live and work abroad. Independent digital media artist Sophia Bulgakova, based in The Hague, Netherlands, joins series producer Dmytro Fedorenko. Both artists have been politically active, interweaving their message with their music and art practice among other things.

Fedorenko describes how he envisioned this series and what he hoped to achieve with it. Bulgakova talks about how she’s managed the flood of news and trauma since the full-scale invasion in February, how she stays connected with loved ones in the country, and how she has adapted her artistic work. They also discuss the challenges of the international arena and foreign audiences. Bulgakova details some of the problematic aspects of the ongoing entanglements of international art with Russian artists and Russian funding. Both also reflect on where art, activism, and the Ukrainian and European arts communities may be headed next.

Music or Weapon: Four Monologues from Ukraine by Dmytro Fedorenko

Peter Kirn is a composer, music producer, and journalist. He is the creator of the daily music technology and electronic music site CDM.link and writes for various publications, including recent contributions to Resident Advisor, Chapter Magazine, and others. For RA, he has written in detail about efforts by Kyiv clubbers to help free their friend Brahim Saadoun, imprisoned in Russian-occupied Donetsk. He is also a curator and organizer, facilitating the MusicMakers Hacklab for CTM Festival. Peter has worked on various international collaborative projects, including in Russia, prior to their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He now runs the label Establishment in Berlin and appears regularly on Refuge Worldwide.

Sophia Bulgakova (born 1997, Odesa, Ukraine) is an ArtScientist interdisciplinary artist and activist currently based in The Hague, Netherlands. Sophia is working on the intersection of art, technology, and society, focusing on the relationship between light, perception, and imagination. In her installations and performances, she engages viewers through various sensorial inputs, impacting their ways of perceiving reality and exploring new possibilities beyond it.

Playlists

A selection of recent releases of Ukrainian experimental music, including artists from the TIMEZONES episode Ukraine. Several of the tracks were written or released in 2022 during the war.

To be released on Spotify January 5, 2023.

Curated by Dmytro Fedorenko

Trailer

By Emma Nzioka

The TIMEZONES podcast series is co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut.

This episode is supported by:

Biography

Dmytro Fedorenko is a multidisciplinary artist and one of the early and most active pioneers of the Ukrainian experimental electronic music scene, responsible for a huge number of highly acclaimed experimental music projects, festivals, and art events in his home country. Now based in Berlin. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, or on his Website.

Published on December 29, 2022

Last updated on October 12, 2023

Topic

War

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Special

TIMEZONES

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