Transmissions

Yves Klein’s preeminent musical gesture is a single chord that erupts into the room and is sustained by an orchestra for 20 minutes. As suddenly as it begins, the sound ends, and is immediately mirrored by an equally oceanic 20 minutes of silence. The Monotone Silence Symphony is the consummation of Klein’s desire to have audiences “bathe in a cosmic sensibility.”

In Ravel Ravel Revisited Redux, time comes unstitched, expanding and contracting space around itself. Anri Sala’s masterful reconstruction of Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major by Maurice Ravel finds new dimensions in the semi-anechoic chamber of Reethaus, making a very particular kind of music out of two absences: the absence of a right hand and the absence of an echo. Following the playing of the work as part of the “Transmissions” series curated by Soundwalk Collective and an intermission, Anri Sala will be in conversation with Stephan Crasneanscki of Soundwalk Collective, after which Ravel Ravel Revisited Redux will be played again.

In Ravel Ravel Revisited Redux, time comes unstitched, expanding and contracting space around itself. Anri Sala’s masterful reconstruction of Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major by Maurice Ravel finds new dimensions in the semi-anechoic chamber of Reethaus, making a very particular kind of music out of two absences: the absence of a right hand and the absence of an echo. Following the playing of the work as part of the “Transmissions” series curated by Soundwalk Collective and an intermission, Anri Sala will be in conversation with Stephan Crasneanscki of Soundwalk Collective, after which Ravel Ravel Revisited Redux will be played again.

Building on a centuries-long legacy of sonic experimentation, Reethaus invites visitors to experience 12 binaural beats designed to synchronize human brainwaves, offering the possibility of converging on unique states of consciousness. Spatialized for our 360-degree sound system, the frequencies have been created by Soundwalk Collective based on the principle of Frequency Following Response first explored by the pioneering Prussian physicist and meteorologist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove.

Mileece presents a composition combining new recordings and her archive of computer-generated algorithmic works from 1999 to today, moving through her sound design journey. This includes new iterations of previous pieces, recordings from various biomes around the world, as well as the groundbreaking album called "Formations" from 2004, based on natural phenomena such as light's changing patterns. The sound artist and biophilic inventor offers her symbiotic song on the 360-degree Reethaus spatial sound system as an overture to inter-species harmony.

The iconic director and pioneer of American independent cinema presents an arrangement of the score to his 2013 classic, “Only Lovers Left Alive,” on the 360-degree sound system of the Reethaus. Jarmusch composed and recorded the score with his “marginal rock band,” SQÛRL, and the Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem. Part of the “Transmissions” series curated by Soundwalk Collective, the 45-minute listening experience will be followed by a conversation between Jarmusch and Stephan Crasneanscki of Soundwalk Collective.

The iconic director and pioneer of American independent cinema presents an arrangement of the score to his 2013 classic, “Only Lovers Left Alive,” on the 360-degree sound system of the Reethaus. Jarmusch composed and recorded the score with his “marginal rock band,” SQÛRL, and the Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem. Part of the “Transmissions” series curated by Soundwalk Collective, the 45-minute listening experience will be followed by a conversation between Jarmusch and Stephan Crasneanscki of Soundwalk Collective.

“They will rattle your bones”, Mickey Hart said about the Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir. No small praise coming from the drummer of the Grateful Dead. To launch our 2024 program at the Reethaus, Soundwalk Collective presents Hart’s 1986 recording of the choir, part of the Gyuto Order originating in Tibet in the 15th century. Their chanting was never heard outside the context of their temples until after the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959, when the order fled to India. At that point, their prayers became political, expressive of the Tibetan resistance, and a spiritual rallying cry for repressed peoples. “Close your eyes, leave behind your prejudices,” Hart said, “After an hour of their sound, you’ll be different, cleaner, lighter.”

As part of Soundwalk Collective's "Transmissions" series, Lyra Pramuk performs a site-specific, neo-psychedelic curing ritual: auratic, emotional and sensual. Her sounds are built from liquified vocals and mystical electronics, offering transcendental qualities that exceed the pure listening-experience. Pramuk’s take on ancient folk music and spirituality is driven by the desire to explore the healing potentials of music. She fuses classical vocalism, pop sensibilities, performance practices and contemporary club culture, investigating the relation between technology and humanity and a post-human, non-binary understanding of life. Light food and drinks will be served over the course of the evening. The performance will be followed by moderated conversation with Lyra Pramuk and musical collaborator and synth virtuoso Caterina Barbieri.

As part of Soundwalk Collective's "Transmissions" series, Norwegian sound artist Jana Winderen performs a 16-channel sound composition using field recordings of fish, crustacea and mammals, part of her longtime project revealing underwater audio topographies and our interaction with them. Light food and drinks will be served over the course of the evening, and a panel discussion will follow the performance. 

Presented by Soundwalk Collective and spatialized by MONOM, the Reethaus hosts a rare staging of an early composition by La Monte Young, one of the first American minimalist composers, a drone music pioneer and a central figure in Fluxus and postwar avant-garde music. The sound installation takes place during Young's 88th birthday and will include the full-length rendition of "The Well-Tuned Piano in the Magenta Lights: 87 V 10 6:43:00 PM — 87 V 11 1:07:45 AM NYC," a solo improvised work that he performed live in public over 65 times between 1974 and 1987 in the Marian Zazeela light environment.

Known for her raw storytelling approach melding performance art, music, dance and film, composer and artist Pan Daijing's multi-sensorial approach to music comes alive on the 360-degree spatial sound system in the Reethaus as part of Soundwalk Collective's "Transmissions" series. Food, wine, sake and cocktails will be served over the course of the evening, and the listening session will be followed by a conversation between Pan Daijing and Andrea Lissoni, curator of her upcoming solo exhibition at Haus der Kunst in Munich and of the 2019 Tate Modern debut performance of her five-act opera “Tissues.”

To kick off their "Transmissions" series at the Reethaus, Soundwalk Collective performs their score to Laura Poitras’ Oscar-nominated documentary film "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," a biographical documentary about the internationally renowned photographer, artist and activist Nan Goldin, for the first time in a live environment. Vocals will be performed by lead vocalist Mulay and members of the Berlin choir A Song for You, some of whom sang on the original score. Light food and drinks will be served over the course of the evening and the performance will be followed by a panel discussion.