TIMEZONES – Season 2

Compilation

€15.00

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. Season 2 focuses on Beirut, Montréal, Dhaka, Mt Makiling (Philippines), and Gaza.

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.

+++ Purchase Season 2 on Bandcamp now! +++

Tracklist

01 Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi:
Beirut: Traces of a City – A Pod Poem

02 Nesrine Khodr
On Creativity in Times of Crisis and Truthfulness in Sonic Representation (Beirut Bonus Track)

03 Esther Bourdegas:
Montréal, Your Ears Are My Island

04 Stefan Christoff
Artists on Real Estate Monsters and Montréal (Montréal Bonus Track)

05 BLKBX:
Technoloy – The New Normal for Dhaka’s Artists

06 meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis:
Ears on/of Makiling

07 Dayang Yraola
Makiling’s Silence: A Memory, a Source, a Force of Creative Lives and Ceaseless Meanderings (Makiling Bonus Track)

08 Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi:
Gaza – When Beyond the Norm Becomes the Norm

09 Rania Al Namara (Elhelo)
Beyond Borders: Bringing Artists Together Despite the Odds

The Episodes

E06 Beirut
Traces of a City – A Pod Poem

The city of Beirut is a space that is constantly transforming. From the violent conflicts of the recent past to the social uncertainty of the present, Beirut has become synonymous with precariousness.

A podcast by Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi

E07 Montréal
Montréal, Your Ears Are My Island

This episode portrays the diverse music scenes of Montréal. Producer Esther Bourdages traces their global connections and historical roots and explores the effects of gentrification on the city’s cultural life.

A podcast by Esther Bourdegas

E08 Dhaka
Technoloy – The New Normal for Dhaka’s Artists

This episode is produced by the Bangladeshi artist duo BLKBX and delves into Dhaka’s arts scenes. It features the city’s transformation towards digitization and the ramifications for artists living and working in the metropole.

A podcast by BLKBX

E09 Mt Makiling
Ears on/of Makiling

This episode explores the stories and sounds of Mount Makiling, located 80 kilometres South of the Philippine capital of Manila. Makiling is the sacred site of local legends, the setting for numerous classical works of literature, and a pilgrimage destination for many mystics. And it is the home of many artists and arts students.

A podcast by meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis

E10 Gaza
Gaza – When Beyond the Norm Becomes the Norm

This episode features a group of artists from the Gaza Strip, a territory suffering from the Israeli blockade established in 2007. This podcast episode reflects the digital reality of being together as a people and thus sheds light on the enormous challenges of working as a Palestinian artist today.

A podcast by Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi

Trailer Season 2

Imprint and Credits

[NT014]

Podcasts by Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi, Esther Bourdegas, BLKBX, meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis, Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi

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

Featuring: Chaza Charafeddine, Muriel N. Kahwagi, Sharif Sehnaoui, Rana Eid, Adam Basanta, Mili Hong, Silvano Mercado Vilches, Joseph Sannicandro, Kimihiro Yasaka, Sounak Das, Shadwaan Chowdhury, Nazifa Raidah, Muttaki Mahmud, Datu Arellano, Donna Cher dela Cruz, Dennis Gupa, Karlene Moreno Hayworth, Reagan Romero Maiquez, Nono Pardalis, meLê yamomo, Rehaf Al Batniji, Salman Nawati, Mahmoud Al Shaer

Artistic Curation/Editors: Thomas Burkhalter, Svetlana Maraš, Abhishek Mathur, Suvani Suri
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück and Rea Dubach, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere
Video Trailer: Emma Nzioka

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

The work of the artistic editors Suvani Suri and Abhishek Matur is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Additional funding by the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation (episodes Beirut, Dhaka, Gaza).

Artwork This Track Contains Politics (open access)

This Track Contains Politics: The Culture of Sampling in Experimental Electronica

by Hannes Liechti

Book

€29.00

order now

What does it mean to process field recordings from the Ukrainian war in an electronic music track? How can the sampling of an Armenian keyboard melody be read as a critique of traditional gender roles? And what does it say about voyeurism in our culture when a techno producer uses viral YouTube videos as the basic material of his compositions? A book by Norient curator and editor Hannes Liechti. Order now via our shops on Bandcamp or Big Cartel.

Across five detailed case studies, Hannes Liechti discusses the culture and politics of musical sampling from a new perspective. Giving particular attention to the reasons behind sampling processes, Liechti’s in-depth analysis of sampling strategies by artists such as COOL FOR YOU and Lara Sarkissian shows that sampling political material, and sampling with political intentions reveals a complex net of contexts, meanings, and often deeply personal choices and creative decisions.

Offering tangible tools and concepts for further exploration of sample-based music, the book illustrates the potential of popular music to tell stories about the world, and it describes the habits, thoughts, and realities of the laptop producer, one of the core actors in 21^st century music-making.

+++ order the book via Bandcamp or Big Cartel +++

+++ download full PDF version (open access) +++

book launches and events

Sep 9, 2023, 2.45pm: Klang – Moor – Schopfe Gais (CH)
May 4, 2023, 7pm: Gewölbe Paderborn (DE)
Apr 9, 2023, 3.15pm: Rewire Festival The Hague (NL)
Jan 24, 2023, 7pm: Echo Bücher Berlin (DE)
Sep 16, 2022, 7pm: Planet Ears Festival Mannheim (DE)

Imprint

[NB005]
Hannes Liechti
This Track Contains Politics: The Culture of Sampling in Experimental Electronica
four colors, softback
16,5 × 23,5 cm, 354 pages

ISBN 978-3-9525444-2-6
https://doi.org/10.56513/xkwv4402

Language: English
Release Date: September 22, 2022
Publisher: Norient Books

Graphic Design: gut&schön Zürich, Annegreth Schärli
Copy Editor: Angus Finlayson

Infosheet w/ Introduction (PDF)

[Citation]

The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

Order Now

You can order the book directly via our Shops on Bandcamp or Big Cartel. Find also other books and vinyl on the shop’s sites.

CHF 34.00 / EUR 29.00 + Mailing

Voices

«Liechti’s careful study is a welcome and needed contribution to our understanding of sampling as a central practice in the production of music – and of meaning. Grounded in ethnographic fieldwork and focusing on poetics rather than reception, this book steers clear of interpretive speculation about what certain samples might mean. With analytical rigor and nuance, and a laudable focus on non-commercial productions spanning various styles, Liechti foregrounds producers’ perspectives as he examines a range of approaches to ‹political› sampling. Going beyond questions of what is being sampled and how it has been processed, Liechti’s work crucially addresses why certain producers deliberately link sampling to politics.»

Wayne Marshall, Berklee College of Music (USA)

«This book profoundly focuses on the production side of non-commercial electronic music and suggests a typology of political music – based on five transnational case studies. Liechti’s precise and innovative cultural analyses and ethnographic fieldwork impressively show the politics and technologies of sampled music and how sampling is historically and systematically influencing the cultural worlds of popular and especially electronic popular and experimental music. Our worlds of culture are sampled worlds in every hindsight – as you can see looking at the well-designed book itself – and Liechti’s study is developing a kind of witty ‹trackology› and ‹trackstory› instead of a his- or herstory.»

Christoph Jacke, Paderborn University (Germany)

«I admired Liechti’s tenacity in theorizing the playful and often random approaches of the producers he observed and interviewed. His theoretical rigour is balanced by his sensitive and nuanced voice, which is strongest when it becomes active, especially in the self-reflexive passages which reveal themselves when he addresses some of the problems encountered in trying to do fieldwork in the intimate work environments of ‹laptop producers›.»

Moses Iten, RMIT Melbourne (Australia)

Media Coverage / Reviews

→ Neural, IT, 27.12.2023, book review (Link)
→ Dancecult: Journal for Electronic Dance Music Culture 15 (1), book review (Link)
→ Gonzo Circus, NL, 1.5.2023, Issue #175, book review (Link)
→ Radio RaBe, Subkutan, CH, 29.3.2023
→ Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Kompressor, DE, 3.2.2023, «Wann ist Sampling politisch?» (Link)
→ Schweizer Musikzeitung, CH, 3.10.2022, publication note
→ Jazz Thing & Blue Rhythm, DE, 30.9.2022, publication note (Link)

About the Author

Hannes Liechti is a popular music scholar and lecturer living in Bern, Switzerland. He works as a curator and producer for the platform for music research Norient. Find detailed biography here.

Chapters Overview

Front Matter, pp 1–2
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Table of Contents, pp 3–5
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Acknowledgements, pp 6–8
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

**

Chapter 1, pp 9–32
Introduction
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Part I: Tools and Theory

Chapter 2, pp 33–82
Terminology and Methods
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 3, pp 83–100
The Analysis of Sample-Based Music
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 4, pp 101–108
The Fader of Visibility (FOV)
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 5, pp 109–144
The Spider of Sampling Reasons (SSR)
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Part II: Case Studies

Introduction, pp 145–148
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 6, pp 149–176
«Stabilized, YES!» by COOL FOR YOU: a Political Message
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 7, pp 177–200
«kenats» by Lara Sarkissian: a Political Signature
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 8, pp 201–222
«Libres» by Moro: Politicizing Sound
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 9, pp 223–244
«Perversas» by Eomac: Depoliticizing Sound
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Chapter 10, pp 245–272
«Methy Imbiß» by M.E.S.H.: Concealed Politics
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Interlude: Field Notes

Chapter 11, pp 273–296
Inside the Factory: Observing Musical Production
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

**

Chapter 12, pp 297–314
Conclusions and Outlook
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

**

Appendix, pp 315–354
Glossary, Interviews and Personal Communication, List of References, Sampling Definitions, Index
[PDF] [DOI] [Citation]

Case Studies from Part II, Chapters 6–10

MOOD MANAGEMENT by COOL FOR YOU

Norient Special: Sampling Stories

A loose series of blog posts and interviews created as part of Hannes Liechti’s research on sampling in experimental electronic pop music.

Digital Publication: Sampling Politics Today

Norient Special 001: Sampling Politics Today

In this first issue of the Norient Sound Series, Hannes Liechti, Philipp Rhensius, and Thomas Burkhalter examine how political contexts of our time are transformed into musical production. Among many further accounts, they follow the sampling of car horns in Indonesia, read about an Italian refugee project that uses smartphones as sampling resources, and reflect on ethical questions such as: can one sample sounds of war? With case studies from all around the world, this Norient Special approaches sampling as a tool for critical thought and a way of alternative storytelling. Download PDF with introduction and table of contents here.

Gengepress

by Raphael Kariuki,

Kamwangi Njue

Download

€6.00

purchase

Both curators of the Norient City Sounds: Nairobi Special, Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0) and Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph), are active in the Nairobi underground electronic scene, and both are residents at the weekly Mist night in Westlands where they try to showcase local talent and different sounds from around the world. In this compilation, both worked on music and sounds by fellow Nairobi-based producers, distilling hours of conversation between Thomas Burkhalter and the selected artists from early 2020 into this collection of remixes. The conversations touched topics such as music production and sonic fiction, most of them focusing on gengetone, a hip hop and dancehall influenced mainstream genre, originated in Nairobi.

+++ Purchase this EP on Bandcamp now! +++

Part of the Norient Special Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

In this first Norient City Sounds Online Special, we focus on Nairobi, Kenya, at a time when political and social pressures are rising in tandem with the cost of things and the noise of the approaching elections in Summer 2022. Titled «NairobiConscious», this virtual exhibition began with the curators discussing a perceived increase in «serious» social and political content in the popular songs of the city. The investigation into «conscious» music develops into a portrait of the city taken from interesting and varied perspectives, resulting in a colorful number of articles, podcasts, graphics, photographs, tracks, and more. Curated by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Explore full Special.

Tracklist

1. DJ Raph: «Complete Faith» feat. Blinky Bill

2. Kamwangi Njue: «On Playing Gengetone» feat. Coco Em

3. DJ Raph: «Gengepress» feat. Hitman Kaht

4. DJ Raph: «Fuck Police Everywhere» feat. 7Headc0

5. 7Headc0: «My Name Is» feat. Jinku

6. 7Headc0: «Happy Songs» feat. Moroko Kalahari

7. 7Headc0: «Touch in Time» feat. MR LU*

Imprint and Credits

[NT016]
These remixes are part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.
Released May 6, 2022