When used in a physical rather than a musical sense, the term ‘electroacoustics’ describes the conversion of sound into electrical signals. The performance ‘Key Commands’ by the duo Lehn x Graewe, which will have its world premiere at the BLAUES RAUSCHEN Festival, is, according to this understanding, an electroacoustic project in its purest form. The starting point for this pas de deux of keyboard instruments is Graewe’s piano playing, which is interlinked with Lehn’s synthesiser via microphones, interacting with it and short-circuiting it. This creates two parallel cycles: on the one hand, the synthesiser modulates, distorts and shapes the piano tones, while on the other hand, the envelope curve of the piano playing repeatedly triggers independent synthesiser tracks. Although Thomas Lehn and Georg Graewe have known each other for over 30 years, this is their first joint performance.

Thomas Lehn (born in Fröndenberg in 1958) is one of the most prominent performers and artists in new and contemporary music, electroacoustics and live improvisation. He is a founding member of the ensemble]h[iatus and has worked with TOOT and Marcus Schmickler, among others; he has also performed works by Éliane Radigue and Zbigniew Karkowski. His current solo project is entitled ‘SYNKLAVIA’.

Georg Graewe (born in Bochum in 1956) now lives in Wien (Austria). At the age of 18, he founded his first quintet and later led numerous ensembles, including the GrubenKlangOrchester. He is a fixture on the international avant-garde jazz scene and has worked with Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker and Roscoe Mitchell. He currently conducts the Sonic Fiction Orchestra in Vienna.