TURMOIL TURMOIL EXPERIENCE THE CTM FESTIVAL 20 1 8 ADVENturouS MUSIC & Art 19TH EDITION / BERLIN THE FUTURE OF PROFESSIONAL DJ PERFORMANCE 02 UNEASY TIMES DEMAND UNEASY MUSIC 44 LISTENING to VoYAGER Introduction by Jan Rohlf By Paul Steinbeck 04 THE SouND OF NEW FUTURES: IN PURSUIT 50 WHY DO WE WANT OUR ComputERS oF DIFFERENT TrutHS to ImproVISE? By Mollie Zhang By George E. Lewis 10 THE ABYSS STARES BACK... AND IT’S SMILING 56 MINDS, MACHINES, AND CENTRALISATION: Colin H. Van Eeckhout in Conversation with WHY MUSICIANS NEED to HACK AI NOW Louise Brown By Peter Kirn 14 LATE-PHASE IDENTITY POLITICS 60 MUSIC From THE PETRI DISH Terre Thaemlitz in Conversation with Guy Ben-Ary in conversation with Marc Schwegler Christian de Lutz & Jan Rohlf 20 THE KIDS ARE Alt-RIGHT — TRACING THE 66 I NEED IT to ForgiVE ME SouNDTRACK OF NEO-REACTIONARY By Nora Khan TURMOIL By Jens Balzer 74 GABBER OVERDRIve — NOISE, Horror, AND ACCELERATION 26 IN SoNIC DEFIANCE OF EXTINCTION By Hillegonda C. Rietveld By Rory Gibb, Anja Kanngieser & Paul Rekret 78 »I’M TRYING to IMAGINE A SPACE A LITTLE #PRIMETRIBE 30 DISTRIBUTED HYpoCRISY bETTER THAN WHAT we’VE INHERITED« By James Ginzburg Kilbourne in conversation with Cristina Plett 34 CALLING OUT For CoNTEXT 82 RAVING At 200 BPM: INSIDE POLand’S By Christine Kakaire NEO-GABBER UNDErgrouND By Derek Opperman 38 THIS IS NOW A HIStorY OF THE WAY I LOVE IT 90 ERNEST BERK AND ELECtroNIC MUSIC By Claire Tolan By Ian Helliwell 106 CREDITS DENONDJ.COM 3 UNEASY TIMES DEMAND UNEASY MUSIC BY JAN roHLF The world is in turmoil. And so are many of us. No matter what What can such sonic tumult offer? Is answering the world’s tur- and togetherness across differences. It is certainly also true Peter Kirn and Ioann Maria, hosts of the MusicMakers Hacklab; perspective we take, what used to be familiar is becoming in- moil with aesthetic turmoil our only viable strategy? Hasn’t this that, to fill the void so destructively driving the vortex of neolib- Dahlia Borsche, Matthias Hänisch, and Taïca Replansky, who creasingly alien, oscillating widely between peril and hope, be- long been co-opted by the very forces we try to resist? Should eral transformation, we need nothing more than the revitalisa- provided crucial contributions to this year’s Discourse pro- tween regression and progress, between standstill and explo- we not, in the face of conflict’s escalating logic and capital- tion of an overarching sense of community and of compassion. gramme; MONOM, who contributed a special performance sive change. Tensions are running high for us all. But we can’t ism’s voracious desire for intensification, move on to explore In times in which plutocratic oligarchies strategically employ programme exploring spatial sound; Berlin’s Akademie der endure this strain for very long; we are worn down by the over- the opposite: an aesthetics of placidness and disengagement? inequality to increase and justify their devastating power and Künste and Ensemble Kaleidoskop, who contributed a unique load of polarised politics, self-righteous agitation, digital de- Or what other sonic and musical responses could we conceive obscene wealth, music might be able to provide a rare context concert evening; and WHITEvoid and Kraftwerk Berlin, who ceit, neglect and unbridled narcissism paired with authoritari- of as an antidote for both the present and the future? in which we can imagine, speculate on, promote, and some- proposed and produced the spectacular SKALAR installation anism, unevaluated technologies disrupting the fabric of our times experience, a positive alternative social vision. and performance by Christopher Bauder and Kangding Ray. communities, environmental crisis, libertarian recklessness, How can we as artists, festival organisers, or music producers and pervasive violence. All the while, we try to engage with respond to the devastating state of our world? Is continuing However, it would be more than naïve to think of such a vision For their support of our organisation and in particular of this the new complexities of a multipolar world and its increasingly what we do at all relevant and justifiable? Sometimes, when re- as a form of togetherness that negates our different histories, 19th festival edition we — Oliver Baurhenn, Remco Schuurbiers diverse societies, and attempt to distinguish vapid »virtue sig- flecting on our own festival, it feels as if upholding the activities experiences, and traumas, or the structural discrimination and and I — would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our many part- nalling« from earnest commitment. Squeezed under an almost to which we have now dedicated almost 20 years rather con- privileges that mark our current identities. We simply cannot ners and sponsors: first and foremost, Berlin’s Senate Depart- inescapable regime of permanent excitation, we burn out, we tributes to keeping up an illusion that things are not that bad, celebrate such positive potential without facing our own com- ment for Culture and Europe, that is now supporting the fes- retreat, and we can’t help but normalise the madness, the pace, and thus provides another brick in the habitual wall that keeps plicitness in the current turmoil of corporate exploitation, en- tival for a second year and that has also already guaranteed the anxiety. Yet, masking the turmoil comes at a price too — a us from demanding and bringing forth the radical change this vironmental degradation, social injustice, and oppression. To funding for our 20th anniversary in 2019. Special focus pro- creeping, subterranean unease gains traction and eats away world so urgently needs. On the other hand, persistence in the understand what brought us here, and to one day overcome grammes this year are funded by the German Federal Cultur- at us. face of the ruthless backlash that is turning back the wheel to- the mess in which we find ourselves, it is mandatory to become al Foundation (focus on Music and Artificial Intelligence), the wards authoritarian, plutocratic, and chauvinist rule — a rule aware of and assume our own entanglements, contradictions, Capital Cultural Fund (supporting »Flexing/Five,« an explora- And so we need music and sound that unsettles us for a rea- that we had, not so long ago, hoped of gradually overcoming and confusions. Although it might seem far-fetched and over- tion of the intersections of music and dance), and the TANZ- son. For music and sound that doesn’t escape the immanence — might be equally important. So, how can we, in the limited idealistic given the grim enormity of the challenges we face, FONDS ERBE — and initiative of the German Federal Cultural of our troubles. That mirrors the dissonance of the world and framework of our music culture, make contributions to resist- this will be the only way out of the polarised discourse that re- Foundation, that provides the resources for the long overdue resonates with our anxieties. That aims to articulate discontent ing and fighting back in the current moment of crisis? And how inforces thinking in extremes instead of fostering dialogue and rediscovery of electronic music pioneer, dancer, and choreog- and protest. That shakes up our habits by invading our safety does this translate into the format of a festival? Certainly, these understanding. It serves as the first step towards more deci- rapher Ernest Berk. We also thank the Goethe-Institut and the zones and transgressing norms. That cracks open fixed iden- are some of the questions that nag the minds of many in music. sive common conclusions that will hopefully enable us to de- Federal Foreign Office of Germany for supporting the partici- tities in order to bring us into contact with each other. Music mand and enact change both on a personal level and in soci- pation of the many artists based outside of Europe, as well as that calls for empathy to stir us out of the dullness of our apa- The current crisis has made obvious and undeniable the fact ety at large. the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media for sup- thy, and to question our compliance with, and complicitness in, that we need to push back against the power of the ultra-rich, porting the festival’s opening concert. Furthermore, we wish everyday exploitation and violence. Sound that makes us feel who have seized positions of power and influence in many of In this sense, we could also try to see opportunity in the cur- to thank our longstanding partner transmediale — festival for to make us think. Music that cancels out our pains with pain. this world’s countries — be they authoritarian regimes or liberal rent turmoil. One that allows us to come to a recognition of the art and digital culture; the Creative Europe programme of the That deadens inner agitation with external uproar. Sound that democracies. We need to substantially reduce the grotesque fears, pains, and hopes of others, and that offers us new ac- European Union; Kampnagel for co-producing and premiering provides outlets for our accumulated angers. Music that thrills economic inequality. We need to stop mindless material con- cess and insights into our own repressed confusions. The art- Rashaad Newsome’s project, »FIVE Berlin«; all of the partners and exhausts in order to allow a rare moment of rest. Music that sumption that destroys the planet. We must object to puritanism ists and participants contributing to CTM 2018, as well as the that provide their fantastic venues to the festival; the many em- mistrusts itself, that challenges fraud with fraud and consum- of all sorts, and need to make way for more inclusive societies contributors to this magazine, have the courage to be honest bassies, consulates, and cultural institutions involved; and our erism with consumerism.