Sound topographies − In the field of tension between resistance, memory and collective resonance

Musicians from three very different corners of the planet come together at the Rabbit Hole Theater and the Neue Musik Zentrale in Essen. Their works revolve around the question of how sound can function as an archive − be it as a carrier of cultural identity, as a means of digital deconstruction or as a bridge between past and present. In a mixture of electro-acoustic experiments, transcultural references and documentary sound practices, a multi-layered examination of memory, resistance and sonic hybridity emerges.

Argentinian musician Yamila combines baroque harmonies, Spanish folklore, and digital noise; she doesn’t smooth the edges, but instead creates her pieces in a strikingly confrontational way. MahaVoice from Iran have been collaborating for ten years, working on a symbiosis between the oscillating sound waves of MahaVoice’s self-built synthesizers and the floating resonance of Hamzeh’s sitar. Hany Tea, from the Asian diaspora, explores origin and identity as an interdisciplinary artist and activist. She produces narrative pieces from field recordings and oral history, in which personal and collective stories are interwoven. At her side: Emma Lo, writer, researcher and sound artist focussing on embodied archives and collective sonic expressions. Together, Hany and Emma founded Spätifunk Berlin and are part of the Mutating Kinship Lab − a platform that explores sound as a social practice and collective memory.