-Julien

It was truly a great beginning and looking forward to the coming days..

Enjoy the photos!

-Julien

This panel discussion will be hosted by Sunil Sharpe, and will charter the careers of three successful Berlin based djs Chymera, Diarmaid O’Meara and Liefko. Each moved to the city to further their musical opportunities, and for this discussion will focus in-depth on life as a dj/producer abroad, and how they now call Berlin home.

Panel:
Chymera (Cocoon, Connaisseur)
Diarmaid O’Meara (Gobsmacked, Mastertraxx)
Liefko (Afrilounge, Poker Flat)

Host: Sunil Sharpe

Topics
- Background to each dj’s career
- Circumstances leading to their move abroad
- Integrating into a new city/way of life
- Approaching and finding a dj agency
- Value of royalty/publishing money.
- Working with labels / signing contracts / securing advances for releases
- Pros and cons of moving away from homeland, family and friends.
- Additional work (if any) needed to supplement income
- Sustaining dj profile, improving position on ‘ladder’

Links:
www.chymera.org
www.diarmaidomeara.com
soundcloud.com/liefko-afrilounge

Most of the previous research on musical terminology were confined to classical music. In the twenty-first century, it is necessary to separate the specific electronic music terminology. The individual discourse community of electronic music has two layers, which are closly connected to each other. These layers are the musicians, and the people who are connected to this culture and scene, so called „fans“. Both of their language using have enormous effects on the development of terminology. Some electronic music dictionaries are available in English and other more widely spoken languages (e.g. German), but not in smaller languages, like Hungarian. This is why these languages accept the incoming terms from English. But at the same time, the incoming process causes some problems in adopting new terms to the language. Therefore, the members of this discourse community do not use the termonology consistently, which is attributable to the incomplete terminological norm. So this norm must be elaborated by an up-dated and prominent dictionary also in smaller languages.

The written sources of this termonology are analysed on different discourse channels and platforms in my research. These are the thematic texts; multimodal texts; and the Internet platforms, as web-sites, blogs, forums and social networks. In the presentation, the different examples will show e.g. the effects of the Internet on language using (web 2.0 and its influences), the meanings of multimodal texts and the virtual mask of cyber space etc.

In 2010, Anita Jóri (HU/DE) graduated history and applied lingusitics at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). She studied in Prague and Vilnius as well. She is doing a PhD in applied lingusitics at University of Pécs (Hungary), and writing her thesis about Electronic Music Terminology. Anita is a scientific assistant at the University of Pécs and an assistant at Vilém Flusser Archive (UdK, Berlin) at the same time.

1.Refined listening skills// One of the important essentials for a good production.

2. An analytical point of view// Having the possibility to lead certain parts and the arrangement to the extreme is a good way to see everything from a different point of view. Examples of this are given (below)

3. The power of the keynote// Every keynote has an underlying atmosphere or mood. Therefore it is very important to be aware of that and decide in advance which is the right one for the upcoming production.

4. The psychological component of the production// Acustic deception due to unconcious influences.

5. The foundation for a gripping and exciting arrangement- sequence// Different versions on how to arrange are shown.

www.cem-berlin.de

The «Beatification of the Beat». The transformation of Rave Subculture to Clubculture and the Young Ravers who finally became Adult Clubbers.

«Everything starts with an email posted on the net between Ravers and ends, well, continues with a Dj performing live and sited down, after his movie premiere (where he plays the main role) and in front of thousands, just by using a controller and a laptop».

The scenes mentioned above, refer to communicational acts performed by members of a group with common ways of expression and communication, common interests, common identities and after all a common goal: the participation on an event where they can come together, communicate and dance to the music they love. Rave, Techno, House… in general… Electronic Dance Music (EDM). Music which is produced from sounds coming out from (virtual or not) synthesizers, samplers and drum machines and is mixed and arranged on a computer. The nature of this music combined with the ways of expression and communication of the people listening to, dance to or even producing it, refers to a dynamic and always developing or at least transforming subculture (the Rave Subculture) which is always highly depended on the latest achievements in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The Presentation is going to examine the Rave subculture or however nowadays the Club Culture, its relationship with the ICTs and its affection on the former «Ravers» identities and on the Club Scene in general. From Vinyl to digital downloading, from the analog synthesizers and the Turntables to the VSTs and Sample Packs, from the IRC Chat to facebook, from the secret warehouse Rave Parties to the Big Club Events in Ibiza, Berlin or London, from the Dj as a medium to the Dj as a Creator… Crazy Young Ravers who became Adult Clubbers and Adult Clubbers who want more and more from a Subculture which surely transforms into a «big and fat» Culture…

This discussion aims to give a brief explanation and understanding on how artists are booked to perform to an event. This will include all the necessary information and discussion on how the system works and everything the artists (participants) need to know about their own career.

Teams will be made with six members each at the maximum, who are going to record self-produced tones or sounds at a selected place in Berlin. At the same time, photos and videos will be taken. The musical works will be produced with the recorded sound material and compiled to a video or photo performance with the footage. Overall, the main point is to initiate the creative process and to create thrilling, honest, original, lasting works with depth which shall be able to trigger emotions and change established viewpoints.

The results will be presented, evaluated and discussed further at the close of the workshop. In order to revive manual working skills, there will be additional tips and tricks for the optimization of the working flow, for the development of the artist’s personality and for the work with audio clips, samples, audio effects, synthesizers, arrangement, mixing and mastering. During the workshop there will be a daily interexchange between all participants. Interviews and discussion groups with firmly established artists and makers of the electronic scene will be a component, too. The following topics will be addressed:

- The environment forms the human being
- Copyrights and what is best for me
- Mixing, mastering & EQing
- Analog sound production (integration of hardware into software)
- Electronic music as art versus commercialization
- Transformation from musician to cross media or multimedia artist
- DJing, live performance

Condition for participation in the workshop: laptop (DAW software sampler) and a compact audio recorder for each team.

1. Imaginary Soundscape – talking about electronic music pioneers

This workshop aims to share historical content in form of theory + sound / audiovisual examples and to stimulate an open discussion among the participants which can lead to a reflection about the more contemporary ways of electronic music production.

Emphasis will be given to the major break with the conventions provided by the musical thought of some pioneering composers and by technological advances that have enabled the advent of electronic music and its development in the last century. New musical languages transformed both the work of composition and listening – changes on perception and on sound implementation constitute therefore an essential part of the theme. To better understand how the innovations and ruptures changed the way we listen and produce sounds nowadays, a retrospective of the period under review will be conducted based on the concepts and work of John Cage, key figure of the twentieth century, space-time protagonist of this reflection. Certain conceptual changes operated by certain composers and technological developments led to the emergence and evolution of electronic music, which became a field of experimentation, both technical and ideological – the music of the 20th century was heavily influenced by electronic music, whether or not the composers used electronic instruments for their compositions. The constant questioning of the musical art was central to John Cage and other composers who searched for unconventional ways to use instruments. Cage, in creating new sounds from the modification of the piano, performed sound experiments that would become common in electronic studios. His and other composer´s pioneering thought was essential to carry out what was announced some time ago: the confrontation with the myriad of sounds. Technological advances in the development of electronic equipment allowed the openness to all sounds (all sounds of future, as predicted by the most visionary composers) and the implementation of microtonal music. Electronic means of recording and sound production has allowed the expansion of sensory and perceptual capacities of the audience, promoting new ways of listening to new ways of building sounds.

Time. 1,5 hours

2. Live electronic music – towards a living electronic music, from Imaginary Landscape no.1 to the present day

This workshop/discussion will question its participants on how to produce work and performance situations with higher degrees of liveness, taking the link between performer and audience as an important variable for the unfolding of a live act.

During the 60´s electronic music´s sounds were criticized as being dead, and indeed, they were in some respects. Some of the problems related to this were taken seriously by composers, and the combination of electronic music and live elements has become increasingly common. The main interest turned to the live performance of electronic musical equipment, in what would be called “live electronic music”. Cage was also a pioneer in this field, with Imaginary Landscape n.1 (1939), but since then little had been done. In the mid 60′s, sets of live electronic music multiplied which began to use both conventional and electronic instruments (sometimes synthesizers), and electronic amplification and modification of sounds. Nowadays we deal with new forms of criticism that are mainly based on the use of laptops for electronic music performance. No matter how many real-time decisions are being made or how influential the audience is for the unfolding of the sonorities, a link between performer and listeners is made fragile by the lack of correspondance or possibilities of interpretation of the performer´s gestures and its consequent sounds. Electronic music producers and DJs play an important part on the construction of communication processes with the audiences when playing live – during the workshop participants can tell about their own live act strategies or the ones they appreciate the most, sharing contents and proposing new solutions for this sometimes problematic aspect of our work.

Time: 1,5 hours

Date: 20.02. – 27.02. 2012 Berlin
Conference: Suicide Club Berlin
Chill & Produce: Sunflower Hostel

www.sunflower-hostel.de
www.suicide-berlin.com