SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTIST BIOS
Rainy weather put a slight damper on our planned outdoor event with Ouïe/Dire, but a dedicated crowd came out for delicious Mexican food by Tacos Berlin, and three back-to-back presentations of “Drei Wege / Berlin” in the SOWIESO theatre. Kristof Guez, Marc Pichelin, and Laurent Sassi spent an intense week recording people and places in Neukölln, from the Türkischer Markt on Maybachufer and the modernist urban development Gropiusstadt to the clocktower of the Neukölln Rathaus. They then mixed them into an audio-video collage with live analogue synth accompaniment, which they plan to release as an “audio postcard” on the Ouïe/Dire label. (Please visit the Ouïe/Dire website for information about their other audio postcards!)
A late-night conversation with the artists brought up questions regarding the poetic vs. informational content of language, the artists’ unique approach to non-documentary site-specific portraits, and their engagement with locals during the working process.
Photos by Conor Clarke
NEUE UHRZEIT/ NEW START TIME – EINTRITT FREI/ FREE ENTRANCE
19:00 Uhr Eröffnung mit Mexikanischem Essen/ Opening with Mexican food by Tacos Berlin
20:00 Uhr Beginn der Performance/ Performance begins
Drei Wege / Berlin: ein Audio-Video-Portrait von Neukölln
Das Werk von Ouïe/Dire bewegt sich in den Grenzgebieten der Ton-Dokumentation, der Aufnahme natürlicher Umgebungsgeräusche, des Hörspiels, der Improvisation, der elektronischen Musik und der Klangkunst. Für CertainSundays wird das Kollektiv Drei Wege/Berlin aufführen – eine „live“ verfasste Audio-Postkarte von Neukölln. Bei dieser Performance wird man Töne hören und Bilder sehen aus Berlins Bezirk mit dem größten Sozialgefälle und dem sich am schnellsten verändernen Kiez. In der Woche, die der Performance vorangeht, wird Ouïe/Dire an mehr und weniger bekannten Neuköllner Orten Töne aufnehmen und diese am Abend selbst in einer elektroakustischen Multikanal-Komposition (in Echtzeit) mit Fotos und Videos kombinieren, die auf der Straße vor dem SOWIESO projiziert werden. Neben der Performance werden die Künstler über ihre Erfahrungen sprechen, die sie während der Arbeit in Berlin gemacht haben und, wie immer, sowohl auf Kommentare und Kritik als auf Fragen und Gedanken aus dem Publikum eingehen.
The CD and photo editions label Ouïe/Dire releases works touching on the borders of sound documentation, field recording, Hörspiel, improvisation, electronic music and sound art. For Certain Sundays, the collective will present Drei Wege/ Berlin a “live” Audio Postcard of Neukölln, a performance including sounds and video from Berlin’s most socially mixed and rapidly changing neighborhood. They will spend a week prior to the performance recording better- and lesser-known places and scenes, and mix the material in a real-time multi-channel electroacoustic composition with photos and video projected on the street outside SOWIESO. In addition to the performance, the artists will share their experiences in Berlin during the working process, and, as always, engage with comments, criticisms, questions, and other thoughts from the audience.
Kristof Guez (Trélissac / Dordogne)
Born in 1972, lives in Trélissac / Dordogne. Kristof Guez regularly works in collaborative projects particularly within Ouïe/Dire. He aims to work towards the staging of photography in everyday life and provide alternative answers to documentary questions. Guez’s collabo-rations with musicians, visual artists are realized as installations, performances, publications or exhibitions.
Marc Pichelin (Périgueux)
Born in 1967 in Albi, lives in Périgueux. Marc Pichelin is interested in electro-acoustic applications in widely diverse situations: live performances in dance and theater, sound exhibitions and improvisational concerts. As a member of Ouïe/Dire Production, he has invented unique CD objects to document his and his partners’ works, such as the sound art post card. He regularly participates in the activities of the Groupe de Musique Electroacoustique d’Albi, especially in projects that relate the quotidian experience of sound with musical practices. As an improvisational performer, he has worked with a number of artists in diverse disciplines, including Lê Quan Ninh, Martine Altenburger, Steve Robins, Michel Mathieu, Michel Donéda, Ly Thanh Tien, Xavier Charles, Kristof Guez, Isabelle Duthoit and David Chiesa. Pichelin has performed in festivals such as Musique Action in Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, Densités in Verdun, Iceberg Meeting in Toulouse, Rencontres de l’improvisation de La Rochelle, Fruits de Mehre, the Festival DíIzmit in Turkey and More Scratch in Nantes. Pichelin is a member of the group Quintet Avant.
Laurent Sassi (Rabastens)
Born in 1973 in Abidjan, he currently lives in Rabastens. Since 1995 he has explored sound in relation to a variety of contemporary fields: improvisation, instrumental and electronic music, phonography and the art of sound in the theatre. Sassi tries to become one with listening, without a priori, his ears constantly opened with all that can occur. He uses phonography as a moment to enter the context of the lives and sounds which he encounters. Sassi is a member of Ouie Dire Production and regularly collaborates with musicians such as John Butcher, David Chiesa, Axel Dörner, Marc Pichelin, Jean Pallandre, Xavier Charles, Isabelle Duthoit, and Kristoff Guez.