[Macumbista modular at CTM Touch night via CTM Fest Twitter]

I had the chance to rescue an artist whose work I appreciate immensely last night at the CTM Festival, when his gear ended up in Tel Aviv instead of Berlin. I knew I kept this heavy metal monster around for some reason….

All in all, it was a wonderful festival. Personal highlights include Chris Salter’s Just Noticeable Difference installation, Anke Eckhardt’s Between You and Me, Supersilent + Stian Westerhus vs Joshua Light Show, two works and a talk by one of my hugest inspirations Eliane Radigue and of course the entire Touch Spire closing evening program.

Big thanks to CTM organizers and artists for an awesome week!

I just received my permit to stay in Germany for two more years. I expected five, so I was a bit disappointed. However, this permit allows me to actually take normal contracted work like any other normal person living in Germany. So I will be investigating some leads in that direction.

The only hitch this time was that I needed a declaration of my income from the last six months from a certified tax accountant. The lady I normally have doing my taxes is good, but not certified, so the Ausländerbehörde sent me home and told me to get a proper Steuerberater/in to sign the paper. So watch out for this, if you are going through the procedure.

Another thing to consider: they are not accepting any kind of international travel insurance, so do yourself a favor and do the KSK application now. Bad side: expect to pay 20% of your income for insurance, like every other normal German. Sorry kids, no way around that one. Just think that, combined with the other 20% the KSK or your employer pays, almost half the value of your income goes to health insurance, pension and nursing care (most of which you will never use unless you retire in Germany). This is before income tax is taken, by the way. And the Teabaggers back home thought Obamacare was steep! Welcome to the expensive safetynet of the welfare state…

Currently I am gearing up for a four month stay in Aarhus, Denmark as DIVA artist-in-residence at the Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium. I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING ANY NEW GIGS OR WORKSHOPS until 2012. The break from travel will be good for creating some sort of daily routine. Wish me luck.

Now Playing

barn owl & the infinite strings ensemble–the headlands[2011 important]
bohren and der club of gore–beileid ep[2011 ipecac]
chief commander ebenezer obey & his international bros.–miliki sound[1973 decca]
fever ray–fever ray[2009 rabid]
joe colley–disasters of self 3xlp[2010 crippled intellect]
hecker–speculative solution[2011 editions mego]
jefre cantu-ledesma–shining skull breath[2011 students of decay]
loscil-coast-range-arc[2011 glacial movements]
townes van zandt–minneapolis mn[1973]

I just received news that I will be DIVA artist-in-residence at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus from 15 August until 15 December 2011. This is great news, and I’ll be using the time to work on some sound/space-related synthesizer experiments, as well as work with students there on electro-acoustic compositions.

Because of this, I am looking to sublet my 42m flat in Friedrichshain, Berlin during that time, or perhaps even until mid-January. Please write macumbista AT THE DOMAIN gmail.com for details.

TONEWHEELS Live

02.May.2011 – Multiplace Festival, Brno CZ
03.May.2011 – Školská 28, Prague CZ
07.May.2011 – Fête01, Orléans FR

SoundBoxes Workshop

09-10 June.2011 – Proximos Festival, Tenerife, Canary Islands ES

Descubre las escondidas calidades sonicas de los objetos de la vida cotidiana en estos dos días de taller, combinando las artes de la electrónica, ruidismo, escultura y collage. Los elementos básicos del taller serán una caja de madera, un altavoz, un pequeño amplificador y un micrófono de contacto (piezo). A todo esto lo mas atrevidos podrán añadir sus propios objetos, gráfica personalizada, imágenes, memorias e ideas para crear una única caja de ruido electro acústica.

INSCRIPCIÓN AQUÍ

Other News

A friend of mine was murdered here in Berlin last week. Up to now, I believed this to be one of the safest cities I have ever lived in. She will be missed. Ladies, if your country doesn’t allow you to carry a handgun, please learn kung-fu.

Regenwald 2011 was coordinated by DEREK HOLZER [US/DE] and MADS BECH PALUSZEWSKI[DK] for Club Transmediale 28 Jan – 05 Feb 2011. The players were DIANA COMBO [PT], ALAN GLEESON [IR], LARS LUNDEHAVE HANSEN [DK], DEREK HOLZER [US/DE], MACDARA Ó MAOLBHUAIDH [IR], JOÃO MIGUEL PAIS [PT], PETER VOTAVA [AT], CHRISTIAN ZOLLNER [AT]. Photos by Mads.

Now Playing

bohren and der club of gore–beileid ep[2011 ipecac]
chief commander ebenezer obey & his international bros.-miliki sound[1973 decca]
expo 70–death voyage[2010 dead pilot]
john macedo–chaotic analog synthesis #1[2011 the black plume][thx john!]
moussa doumbia–keleya: malian funk of the 1970s[2006 oriki]
various artists–brass pins & match heads: international 78s[2011 mississippi]
various artists–ivory coast soul: afro funk & soul in abidjan 1972-82[2010 hot casa]
various artists–those shocking shaking days: indonesian funk 1970-78[2010 now-again]

Photos by Stéphane Bombard. Locations: NK Project Berlin, my home studio RSS82 (last minute repairs), Madame Claude (final presentation). Workshop participants Stéphane Bombard, Julian Ringel, Antonio Cardenas. Thanks guys!!!!!!

Yes indeed I have been traveling and working almost nonstop since the start of the Year. A quick rundown of my activities:

09-15 Jan 2011 – Mechanical Sound Instruments workshop, TAIK University of Art and Design, Helsinki FI

Workshop = awesome! Design students built Arduino-powered electro-acoustic instruments like this one below. I’ll be editing video docs I made in Helsinki soon.

Electro-Acoustic Musical Instrument from Palash on Vimeo.

Hotel room = passable. Töölö Towers is the University’s home for wandering academics, with a very institutional vibe, spotty wifi coverage and full length mirrors for me to shoot very serious-looking self portraits in…

18-21 Jan 2011 – Tuned City: sound+space workshop, Estonian Academy of Arts Media Dept, Tallinn EE

Workshop = 5.5 out of 10. I’m still figuring out what kind of tools are necessary to crack the shells of the Estonian oysters. After some prodding, most of the students really gave their best in making and discussing the recordings. One girl Facebooked and texted the entire workshop until I pointed out that her computer was “broken” and she’d be better off at home.

Hotel = decent. Maneezi house, guestrooms of the Estonian Arts Academy, has everything you would ever want in a post-Soviet flat…a long flight of stairs, some heavy metal doors, a warm radiator and even running water.

01-05 Feb 2011 — Regenwald2011 workshop+installation, West Germany/Club Transmediale, Berlin DE

Workshop = mostly good. Trying to wrangle seven very different artistic personalities into one piece in only five days is never easy. I have decided that giving them less freedom rather than more is the only solution. The audience response to the piece, on the other hand, was quite positive and enthusiastic.

Hotel = not applicable. One of the longest stretches I’ve been able to sleep in my own bed in ages!!!

07-11 Feb 2011 – Field Recording workshop, Royal Music Conservatory, Aarhus DK

Workshop = one of the best! Very high level of capabilities by these composition students at the Electronic Music department there. I gave them one hour to take three random one-minute field recordings from their neighbor and make a short piece out of them, and they all pulled it off! And that was only one of the exercises. If only every group I taught had their shit so together.

Hotel = comical. The Cabinn is a concept hotel, they told me. As near as I can figure, the concept was to make the hotel room itself as much like the sleeping couchette on an overnight train as possible.

A few weeks later I saw an exhibition of living/working spaces by French-Israeli artist Absalon at the KW Berlin. Made to the measure of his own body, and likely inspired by the fact that most of the artist’s short life was spent in the Israeli military, the constructions impressed me as the ideal prototype of future dehumanizing architecture for the 21st Century.

12-14 Feb 2011 – Tuned City:sound+space, Estonian Academy of Arts Architecture Dept, Tallinn EE

Workshop: another five and a half. The concept here was to teach architects to experience urban space through sound, and this worked pretty well. The students brought in recordings of various spaces around Tallinn for us to listen to and analyze. My mistake was in giving them “homework” for the last day. Despite assurances from everyone that they had time and energy to do it, only two came back the next day.

Also during this week I braved the -25C weather to investigate some locations for next summer’s Tuned City event, such as the lobby of the Linnahall, a disused auditorium/ice rink constructed for the 1980 Olympic games.

Hotel: deceptively posh. Somehow I was taken in by the spacious rooms, tall windows, tacky wallpaper and inoffensive framed prints of the Old Town Maestro. Until I realized that the strip-club-disco downstairs wouldn’t stop the party until 7am.

23-27 Feb 2011 – Neanderthal Electronics, NK Project, Berlin DE

Workshop = can I call this an 8? What should have been a warm homecoming was dampened by some kind of breakdown in publicity. The three guys that did show up for the workshop kicked some serious ass though, and made really nice boxes which they played the following Monday for the Experimontag at Madame Claude. Photos and such soon.

Hotel = forget it! I locked the door to my flat and stayed in bed for three whole days when all this was over.

Now Playing

ben frost–live at berghain, berlin 24.02.11
earth–angels of darkness, demons of light I[2011 southern lord]
eleh–radiant intervals[2011 important]
flower travellin’ band–anywhere[1970 philips]
tim hecker–ravedeath 1972[2011 kranky]

Regenwald2011 at Club Transmediale from macumbista on Vimeo.

By Derek Holzer & Mads Bech Paluszewski

Regenwald 2011 was a contemporary re-interpretation of David Tudor’s series of compositions from the 1970’s entitled “Rainforest”. It used different types of sonic transducers to play sounds through a series of resonant metal objects suspended in the space. Additionally, two 8×8 matrix mixers allowed the sound from any of the objects or performers to be sent to any other node in the network, making the whole piece an experiment in generative chaos.

Regenwald 2011 was developed prior to the festival in a workshop format over a period of five days. The opening night presentation featured a live session with the system,
while the installation running during the week employed recordings made with the system. The audience was free to move around the performance space, engage in conversations and explore the sonic objects, thus adding new life to the rainforest.

Regenwald 2011 was coordinated by Derek Holzer and Mads Bech Paluszewski, and was a joint production of CTM.11 and Tuned City / DOCK e.V.

The Players:
DIANA COMBO [PT]
ALAN GLEESON [IR]
LARS LUNDEHAVE HANSEN [DK]
DEREK HOLZER [US/DE]
MACDARA Ó MAOLBHUAIDH [IR]
JOÃO MIGUEL PAIS [PT]
PETER VOTAVA [AT]
CHRISTIAN ZOLLNER [AT]

With Thanks To:

Robert Dahlke, Jan Rolf, Carsten Stabenow, Oliver Stabenow, West Germany

Neanderthal Electronics group presentation
Vinyl-terror & -horror
Macumbista
Avant-Reguard (DJ set)

Monday 28 February 2011, doors 19.00 show 21.00
Madame Claude Lübbener Str. 19, X-Berg 10997 Berlin

Sorry for lack of updates lately, been in constant motion since new years. News will follow shortly.

Neanderthal Electronics 2011 @ NK Berlin

Wednesday 23 February 2011 – Sunday 27 February 2011, 12:00-19:00 daily.

This 5 day workshop is designed for up to 12 people, possibly with a background in sound, but with no previous electronics experience. They are shown how to use simple objects from our modern environment (resistors, capacitors, transistors, LEDs, integrated circuit chips…) to design and build their own personal, customized primitive noise synthesizers. Each is a tiny world of its own, using primitive analog computers in combination with feedback, sensors and audio inputs to create a unique sound. Even from the same plan, no two are alike!

Participants are encouraged to use found materials for the construction of their personal instrument, with an emphasis on discovering creative and physical methods of controlling them.

The workshop will conclude with a group performance at Experimontag @ Madame Claude on Monday 28 February and an invitation to the audience to experiment with each of the instruments which have been created. Previous Neanderthal Electronics workshop participants are welcome to join this performance with their own instruments, please contact “MACUMBISTA at_the_domain GMAIL.COM” directly to arrange.

More info and videos from previous workshops can be found here:
http://macumbista.net/?page_id=497

Participation is limited to 12 participants.
Registration: Pre-registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de

DATES: 23-27 February 12:00-19:00 / Presentation 28 February 21:00 (Madame Claude)

FEE: EUR 120 including materials, with a deposit of EUR 27 to be paid beforehand.

LOCATION: NK, Elsenstr. 52/2.Hinterhaus Etage 2, 12059 Berlin Neukölln/MADAME CLAUDE, Lübbener Str.19, 10997 Berlin Kreuzberg

About the Instructor

Derek Holzer (1972) is an American sound artist living in Berlin, whose current interests include DIY analog electronics, sound art, field recording and the meeting points of electroacoustic, noise, improv and extreme music. He has played live experimental sound, as well as taught workshops in noise art technology, across Europe, North America, Brazil and New Zealand.

PARTICIPANT INFO

WHAT TO BRING

I will provide most of the tools and materials necessary for constructing your Neanderthal synthesizers, however there are a few things you should bring yourself:

1) A Box (REQUIRED): This should be made of thin wood or cardboard. Plastic can also be used, but it doesn’t sound very good, and metal is too difficult to cut and drill with the tools we will have. This box should be a minimum of 10x10x3cm, or bigger if you want to use a larger speaker or have more room to decorate and add objects. Cigar boxes, small suitcases, instrument cases or jewelry/silverware boxes are all good things to look for. At least one side of the box should be no more than 4mm thick, to allow the potentiometers, switches, knobs and jacks to be mounted.

2) A speaker (OPTIONAL): I will provide a selection of speakers ranging from approximately 6-12cm diameter. If you want to use a larger one, you’ll have to provide it yourself. Besides buying one, you can salvage one from old hi-fi systems or portable stereos.

3) Decorative materials/sonic objects (REQUIRED): Please bring as many found objects as you can to decorate your soundbox or use as a sound source via the contact microphone. Photographs, cloth, leather, paper or any other kind of material can be useful for covering the box and making collages. Bones, shells, small sticks, bells, springs, strings, wires or anything else made out of solid yet resonant material make great sound sources. Paint, markers and pens may also be useful.

WHERE TO FIND THINGS

–Weekend flea markets at Mauerpark, Arkonaplatz, Schlesisches strasse, Boxhagenerplatz, the canal in Kreuzberg and the Obi parking lot near Templehof
–Your local Humana or other second hand shops
–Conrad.de at Hermannplatz (expensive!)
–Modulor.de near Südstern (architect/designer supply shop)

FURTHER INSPIRATION

Please check the videos from previous workshops here:

http://macumbista.net/?page_id=497

Some graphical inspiration from participants of Tore “Origami” Boe’s 2009 Acoustic Laptop workshop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41681117@N05/

More advanced inspiration can be found by browsing the incredible selection of instruments on the Folktek website:

http://folktek.com/instruments