In contemporary sound and performance art, oceans serve as a multi-layered source of sound, an environmental statement and a metaphorical space. Their seemingly infinite size often conceals the vulnerability of this system and inspires critical artistic exploration. This is also the case in the first collaboration between musicians and artists Dana Schechter and Monocube. In the project ‘Blue Ocean/Black Sea’, newly developed for the BLAUES RAUSCHEN Festival, Schechter brings her childhood experiences on the Pacific Ocean to bear, while Monocube reflects on the mythical waves of the Black Sea. This fascination and familiarity bring the two together in this audiovisual work. Distorted lap steel guitar, modular and classical analogue synthesis meet video projections – atmospherically exciting ambient noise, as vast as the sea.

Dana Schechter and Monocube both live and work in Berlin. Schechter, who grew up in California and New York, has been part of the experimental rock and improvisation scene for over a quarter of a century. Well-known (solo) projects include Bee and Flower and Insect Ark, and she has also collaborated with countless others, including Aidan Baker or Wrekmeister Harmonies. From 2020 to 2025, she was part of the no wave noise group Swans.

Monocube was born in Odessa, Ukraine, where he received classical training on the guitar. For several years now, he has devoted himself to modular analogue synthesis and describes his sound as ‘dark ambient’. This has resulted in six albums, whose artwork always features the artist’s black-and-white photographs.