Manafonistas

Meine dreimonatige Residenz am Starnberger See hat inzwischen Fahrt aufgenommen und den ersten Höhepunkt erreicht: ein Konzert zusammen mit Björn Meyer (el. Bassgitarre und Nour Sokhon (electronics, Objekte). Ein Dreiteiler in einer Dreiergruppe und alles zum ersten Mal – eine echte Premiere. Technisch eine groBe Herausforderung, belohnt aber mit gutem Gelingen und schönem Zusammenklang mit dem Publikum. Überraschenderweise kam auch Ingo Biermann, der im Moment in einem Filmprojekt in München arbeitet, zu dem Konzert, sehr schön! 
 
Dreiteiler meint – The concert had three parts
 

• A primal solo performance by Swiss electric bass guitarist Björn Meyer 

• A live-remix (in the Punkt tradition) of Björn Meyer’s performance by Lebanese multi-disciplinary artist Nour Sokhon 
• A common improvisation by Nour Sokhon and Björn Meyer entitled  

 
           “What are you doing here”
 
 

 
 
In all three parts Henning Bolte’s synchronous live-drawing and object manipulation was projected as a visual manifestation of his listening process given shape spontaneously, ex tempore.  

The live-remix (qua defiitionem) started immediately after Björn Meyer’s initial solo performance. In contrast to classical improvisation, a live-remix(er) reacts on a performance in its entirety transforming it according to the remixer’s own reception perspective. 
 
 

 
 
Björn Meyer is a truly extraordinary electric bass guitar player from Switzerland known from his work with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin, the trio of Anouar Brahem and the trio Amiirah (w/Klaus Gesing and Samuel Rohrer), the bazaarpool and his solo-work on the ECM label a.o.. 

 

Young Lebanese artist Nour Sokhon has gained reputation through her work with Ensemble Modern and contributions to a.o. Huddersfield Festival (UK), Punkt Festival (Norway) and Gaudeamus Festival (NL) a.o. as well as cooperation with Onassis Stegi (Athens) and Henie Onstad Centre (Oslo). She studied Fine Arts in Dubai and Sound Design in Glasgow and brings in a special quality of electronic and acoustic, rough and sweet. 

 

Henning Bolte is a visual artist, music critic, music organizer and linguist from Amsterdam. He has been engaged in live-drawing work at a great variety of European festivals, documented in many exhibitions (a.o. Wroclaw, Katowice, Rotterdam, Kalicz, Heidelberg, Parma, Saalfelden, Dortmund). He also works with the drummers Sun-Mi Hong and Sofia Borges, bass clarinetist Fie Schouten and vocalist/cellist Sanem Kalfa. 
 
 

 
 
The concert presented higher technical demands, especially for the remix and the projection. Happily the Munich venue SCHWERE REITER, where also dance and theatre performances take place, was able to cope with it. As a speciality, the sound engineer in our case was Zoro Babel, a striking name that immediately evoked memories of a for me significant ECM album of the past “Cosi lontana … Quasi dentro” with a great cover and line-up (Markus Stockhausen, Fabrizzio Ottaviucci, Gary Peacock). There is a longer interesting story behind it. 
 
 

 
 
The picture on top shows the pulse of the music and the trio in action at SCHWERE REITER in Munich. The other pictures show some more details of the performance. 
 
 

 
 
P.S.

My last contribution in 2023 dealt with the extraordinary vocalist Sunny Kim from Melbourne and her album “Liminal Silence”, apparently a new name for Manafonistas. As in the case of earlier contributions of mine last year there was not much reaction or intrinsic interest. It caused increasing disorientation and as a consequence slowed down my efforts. I became aware that my work follows different dynamics and and a different focus such that I did feel less and less connected to the flow of the blog. 

 

I am grateful that I got the possibility twice to contribute to this blog for a longer period and have been involved in enriching disputes. I learned a lot and enjoyed and learnt a lot. This post about my Munich residency also indicates that my activity meanwhile has been shifting more to performing and to exchange and discussion about it. That’s why I decided to stop contributing to Manafonistas. 

 

Thanks for all inspiration, encouragement, discovery and new insights. Keep writing, exchanging resourcefully and smiling friendly. Good luck! 
 
 

 
 

Am Freitag, den 23.Februar, wird im Dortmunder Domizil eine Ausstellung meiner live drawings eröffnet:

 

HÖRWEGE/OHRBILDER

 

Ich werde zur Eröffnung improvisierend zeichnend mit dem Bassisten Antonio Borghini in wechselseitigen Austausch treten. 

 

in Bälde

 

 
 

 

 
 
 

Lieber Michael,

hier die Antwort von Mayo Bucher: 

Das Bild heisst eigentlich „December Walk“. Was es genau darstellt, bleibt der Fantasie überlassen. Nur so viel: Ich habe das Foto 2010 auf dem Flugplatz Dübendorf (wo sich auch mein Atelier befand) im Nebel geschossen, und der Boden war voller Raureif- so dass das gefrorene Gras beim Laufen geknistert hat. Die Schwarz-Weiss Fotografie wurde mit Pigmentdruck auf Malerei auf Holz übertragen. Matt und Glanz spielen im Original auch eine wichtige Rolle.

Das finde ich sehr passend! Vielschichtig, knisternd, glitzernd, aber gleichzeitig etwas Weiches – tief, aber sanft etc. 

Liebe Grüsse, Björn 

 

 

 
 
 

It’s a beautiful day. I have all the words piled up, stuffed, caused to collapse reflecting those Lucinda Williams vibes still running through my veins. But not now. In the very early morning I saw a ship appearing out of a milky horizon. My borrowed blue metallic caravan did a risky thing tonight, wild camping in the Netherlands. Before sleep, a cold swim, and Björn Meyer’s forthcoming „Provenance“ from discreet loudspeakers. Where-am-I-drifting-music. I can’t get enough from small waves‘ tender touch. There’s an anti-nostalgic side in everything. That’s the way the mind works suddenly turning a different page. Remember Sgt. Pepper, remember „A Day in the Life“. The song is overpoweringly heartsick, John sings in his most spectral voice, treated with what he calls his „Elvis echo“, a la „Heartbreak Hotel“. As the hours go slowly by, and in the company of appel pannenkoek and Bessen Genever, one of the darkest albums of the ’70s springs to mind, Neil Young’s „On The Beach“. Beauty hurts, and darkness works as medicine. I blame it on C.J. Box’s „Paradise  Valley“ that a serial killer visited me tonight. Learned my lesson, do love all these empty pages of a fucking beautiful day, all these empty pages …