Worldtronics: Israel

Israel is constantly in the headlines. Even so, we know very little about the diverse cultures there. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict obscures our view of the variety of perspectives and realities there.

Israel also happens to be the home of a widespread and growing scene of electronic musicians. In a society that has come about largely through immigration, with a diversity of cultures that has given rise to constantly new forms of music. When the curators compiled their selection for WORLDTRONICS, they did not want to limit themselves to presenting what people normally associate with ‘Israeli music’, but only the kind of music that ‘we find just as exciting, challenging, surprising, cynical and amusing as the many realities that one can experience in Israel’.

8 pm
Latifa Punk (Adina Adler) with Nemoi

Latifa Punk has created a unique sound with her mixture of breaks, noise, oriental music and quotes from films, as well as original recordings taken from everyday life. She started off as Companion DJ on the Jerusalem label, Miklataklitim and soon became one of the most promising artists on the label. Her job as DJ keeps her constantly on the road in Israel. However, she also explores unchartered paths with her own music. Drawing on the wealth of sounds of city life, as well as samples from Hip-hop and Arab music, she is creating a new musical vocabulary for Jerusalem.

9 pm
Yayehe Smon

Yayehe Smon is a musical field researcher, music producer, DJ and sound artist. He works with a wide range of musical styles, from the duo Gaza, who release music on Fact Records, to projects such as Mebrat, an audio-visual reappraisal of recordings from his home country, Ethiopia, in which he challenges established identities. This unique document of Ethiopian music and life was released as a CD on Latitude. Nor do his activities end there: together with Zadik Zecharia, Yayehe Smon has also been transforming Kurdish melodies into House hymns: a diversity of styles as a journey through time and space.

10 pm
Gal & Maurin (Teder)

Behind high stacks of analogue devices, David Ovadia, the ambient-drone musician, and Gal Tushia, the minimalist audio- and video-artist, create original drones and beats in their breathtaking live performances. The duo are not afraid to take risks in other areas too: they operate the independent Teder label, which specialises in minimal and experimental electronic sounds, and, at the same time, explores the interfaces between electronic music and the fine arts, video and design. Their performances bear the stamp of the venues they play and generate new forms of interaction with their listeners.

11 pm
Acute (Undrey Schneider)

Smart and elaborate electronics are his trademark – as you can hear on albums like Made As You Wish (2004) and Ducks Don´t Swim in Swamps (2006). Recently, he started operating his own label, Pleasant Recordings. He combines musical motifs from classical music and Baroque with electro and techno-beats, as well as real-time manipulation. His unique style is characterised by his use of warm tones, creating music that is subtle and absolutely danceable.

11.45 pm
Adi Gelbart

Do-it-yourself-experimental-pop: Adi Gelbart combines old analogue equipment, guitars and newly wired, battery-powered instruments to generate his very own brand of lo-fi electronic music. He also composes film music on the side. Gelbart has created his own musical signature in which musical complexity goes hand in hand with naive playfulness. He currently lives in Berlin. In addition to his own projects, he also manages a country band in which four cows appear under the name The Lonesomes.
Adi Gelbart at MySpace...

00.30 am
Worldtronics: After-Festival-Party im Tape with Anna Haleta & glitterbug
Tape-Club, Heidestraße 14, Berlin-Mitte, free admission with Worldtronic-ticket

To round off the series, the House of World Cultures, with WORLDTRONICS, will be visiting its new neighbours: the Tape-Club in Heidestrasse. There, the Israeli DJ Anna Haleta and the German DJ Till Rohmann a.k.a. glitterbug will be performing music together. And there will be a surprise line-up with the curators of WORLDTRONICS 2007. It promises to be a long night!

Anna Haleta
Energetic, technically brilliant DJ sets, suitable both for the intellect of the shrewd electronic connoisseur and for the dance reflexes of the full-time clubber: no wonder that Anna Haleta is one of the most successful techno DJs and producers in Israel. She comes from the illegal ‘party underground’ in Jerusalem and is one of the co-founders of the ‘Pacotek’ techno-series and the eponymous label.
Website of Pacotec...

Till Rohmann, a.k.a. glitterbug
glitterbug plays an experimental techno that shimmers and hisses. He also works internationally as a producer, artist and curator. He first travelled to Israel after receiving an invitation. Once there, he made friends with comrades-in-arms and electro-activists and actively supported the scene. Years of teamwork on the mixers have created a close bond between him and Anna Haleta. In Israel, their combined performances are legendary.
Till Rohmann at MySpace...