UNSETTLING SOUNDS

The degradation of migration, complex biographies and the increasing threat to a pluralistic, open society are becoming drastically and threateningly apparent before our eyes. Perspectives of People of Color and people whose families or who have immigrated themselves are missing from the public discourse, although their representation and presence are urgently needed and have been overdue for decades.

In response to these conditions, the Trickster Orchestra will perform the world premiere of the work UNSETTLING SOUNDS. The Berlin ensemble develops new collective improvisation concepts and explores trans-traditional sound as a way of expressing emotional states of unsettledness, perceived threat and speechlessness. The focus is on which forms of sound and space can be combined with feelings of insecurity: What sound language can make persistent violence and experienced dehumanization heard? With its global instrumentation and transcultural richness of language and timbre, the Trickster Orchestra, which was recently included in the “Excellent Orchestral Landscape Germany”, highlights the massive threat to post-migrant, diverse life in Germany. The improvisations fall under concepts such as failure, exclusion, dead end and dysfunctionality. The staging in the AEG industrial hall in Oberschöneweide reduces the possibilities of finding a foothold and locating sound sources: acoustic changes of perspective, movement and the questioning of the relationship between musicians and listeners disorientate and open up the listening space.

UNSETTLING SOUNDS uses the paradigm of insecurity to develop acoustic forms that combine new music with an active approach to social conditions – a musical outcry for more hearing, presence and solidarity.