Sound and music have always had the capacity to create connections – between ideas, places, and people as well as within us. The interacting global crises we face are fundamentally rooted in the challenge of connecting across diverse perspectives and ideas, often set in opposition. It is more important than ever to explore the potential role that art can play in opening up imagination around possible just and sustainable futures and bringing these into being. 

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sustain.berlin is two days of workshops for artists on connecting sustainability to their sound and music practice. And two evenings of live electronic performances showcasing different approaches to bringing sustainability to life.

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13.10 Workshops - Doors open 12.00, Intros and Welcome 12.30

From producer to performer for under 10€ - Eira

12.45 - 14.45

Producing and performing electronic music should be open to all, but many consider the expensive and time-consuming step of buying and learning hardware to be a prerequisite. However, there are so many avenues to breaking into live performance that can use the same tools that you already use for production. This workshop will primarily focus on Ableton Live Lite with TouchOSC - a powerful and beginner-friendly setup which requires only a laptop of any kind plus a smartphone of any kind and costs less than 5€ - but many alternate and eclectic setups will be touched upon too, including smartphone-only setups, faux-modular setups with VCV Rack and live performance with the Nintendo Switch.

 

Sonification, field recording and sampling: recording and processing natural (and un-natural) sounds - Katharina Bévand

15.00 - 17.00

What is sonification and what can we learn by making inaudible sounds audible? We will dive into the exploration of electromagnetic waves as an artistic tool - which electronic frequencies are around us and what can we learn by listening to them?

 

Sounds of our environment are - literally - all around us, above us, and below us. How can we bring these sounds into our productions and performances? How can we give voice to those who are not heard and seen? This workshop dives into the process and practice of field recording, sampling, and sound processing. Bring along your own recorder or use your phone to get hands on with sounds.

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13.10 Performances - Doors open 19.00, Performances 19.30

drusnoise & Erbse - Can you hear the Earth breathing?

Eira

Felipe Vareschi

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14.10 Workshops Doors open 12.00, Intros and Welcome 12.30

Spatial audio recording. production, and performance - Felipe Vareschi

12.45 - 14.45

This is a practical workshop where attendees will explore a variety of techniques that aim to see space as a tool for composition. If you are interested in going beyond the boundaries of your DAW with your compositions this is the right workshop for you!

In this workshop attendees will build a cohesive composition by positioning, moving and capturing field recordings, electronic soundscapes and electro-acoustic feedback loops in  space.

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Improvisation, sonification and integrating DIY electro-acoustic instruments - JacqNoise

15.00 - 17.00

In a lot of sustainability work, there is a focus on planning and command & control approaches. This works OK until the unexpected happens - warmer temperatures than expected, more rainfall, more big storms - then the system breaks and can't handle it. What is needed are systems that are adaptive and resilient - that can improvise in the face of uncertainty. This workshop explores ideas of improvisation in performance with tips and techniques for adaptive performing. We also explore different ways to setup and translate data expressing the urgency of making our environment more sustainable. And dive into electro--acoustic options to create analog-digital surroundings and present sounds that still have a link to the earth and sustainability.

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14.10 Performances - Doors open 19.00, Performances 19.30

JacqNoise

Katharina Bévand

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sustain.berlin is generously supported with financial support from Ecosia and space provided by Liebig 12