CD – Gruenrekorder

Composer Hannes Seidl and media artist Daniel Koetter have worked together for more than a decade. In the past, their musical performances focused on works of art and free time, then later on the mechanisms of financial markets and the law. Now the duo returns with another major topic of contemporary audio cultures: the sound of cities. They devote themselves to the study of multi-layered social and urban development over time, a situation in constant flux that produces very particular acoustic experiences. The quality of an urban space depends on various factors, and the challenges faced by each city are complex and change according to the productive vocation of the area in question. The 42-minute track that gives life to this radio play is made up of plaintive voices, and environmental audio samples. These elements coalesce in this enchanting mix of concepts, thoughts and speeches on the themes of the city and urban life. Where does the city begin and where does it end? Is it limited only to its administrative boundaries? Why are cities not copies of each other? How would I like to live in the future?. These are just some of the questions the two sound experimentalists try to ask (although the easy answer would be to say that urban development always follows the needs of capital, even if this answer may seem too direct and deterministic). The question of the influence of economic processes on urban environment is explored in this complex and abstract radio drama. The cultured but pragmatic discussion of urban and architectural planning emerges as a new form of activism and social communication. From the perspective of the soundtrack, which is so much more than a simple backdrop to the textual content, some elements stand out: the dark and repetitive settings, the indistinguishable audio samples and the urban field recordings whose volume and structure is never distorted in such a way as to cloud the clarity of the authors’ and speakers’ interventions. The sound flow is continuous, orderly and electronic. The musical score is by Sebastian Berweck, Martin Lorenz and Andrea Neumann, while Christina Kubisch contributed the electromagnetic sounds. All in all, the play makes for original and interesting listening: the city resounds with its own character without a subjective point of view prevailing.   The release also includes a booklet with texts and photos of the project’s development.

 

Daniel Kötter & Hannes Seidl – „Stadt (Land Fluss)“ a radio play