Mar 31, 2007
my construction site #4: my time
“Why Patterns?” With this question, which he made the title of one of his compositions, Morton Feldman describes the impossibility of putting into words a central phenomenon of music: its ability to influence our perception of time. The constantly shifting patterns of tones, repetitions, variations, and differentiations of pattern music make us simultaneously experience and forget time.
my time focuses on this aspect of the inseparable connection between time and music and collects current pattern music from various cultures, from the bazombo trance sounds of the Congo to American minimal music. Here we find intercultural feedback more than in any other field of contemporary music: FM3, of China, refers to the New Yorker Morton Feldman; the pieces by Konono Nr. 1, from Kinshasa, are sometimes reminiscent of the British Aphex Twin and Autechre; and it is quite noticeable that the Necks, of Australia, have listened to the Kraut rock music of Can. The concert , curated by Nicholas Bussmann, proceeds in a gradual accelerando. Trio Nexus start off with Morton Feldman’s four hour piece “for Philip Guston”, which adheres to a sonata form and is dedicated to Feldman’s friend of many years, the American Abstract Expressionist painter. After a longer intermission with a hearty soup, the evening speeds up with Toshimaru Nakamura’s glassy tones, layered feedback, and loops. The Beijing duo FM3 fuses traditional Chinese music with influences from Western ambient music. This performance in Berlin will be the premiere of their new program. The Necks increase the tempo once more: with influences from African music, minimal music, and jazz, they have developed an unmistakable sound and documented the 20-year history of their band on 12 CDs. Finally, Konono No. 1 from the Congo is the most exciting auditory experience currently on offer in Africa: a kalimba orchestra amplified with a homemade sound system and shrilly distorted ecstatic cascades of tones. The explosive live band is now finally coming to Berlin – at the construction site of the House of World Cultures.
Attention: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the concert by Konono No. 1 has had to be canceled!
>>> detailed information about the concert
“my time” was made possible by a donation from the Friends of the House of World Cultures.