Espresso & Mud – a (virtual) double bass duo between improvisation and composition. Nina Polaschegg uses in her play next to the purely painted and plucked bass sound numerous preparations to rethink the instrument and to develop nuances of tonal color.
Bruno Strobl works with samples of different origins – some of them were written as part of his compositional work, many of them are close-up microphoned double-bass sounds by Nina Polaschegg. Pur played samples are next to heavily electronically alienated and thus form an equivalent to the multi-dimensional sound on the double bass. Third in the league is always the room. Its architectonics, its acoustics, its atmosphere, what they specifically include.
Activity Center over the course of 30 years has developed a unique style of musical performance. Their distinctive way to “create spontaneous compositional structures” has been referred to as “improvised sound art” or “hand-played musique concrete” and described as “almost hyperactive yet never busy or overbearing, lining out a clear, highly defined space in which their sounds float about and bang into one another”. Activity Center gained some recognition for playing its idiosyncratic version of it and consequently became one of the original ingredients of the renown Berlin septet Phosphor at the turn of the millennium and throughout the decade of the group’s existence.
Currently the number of available seats is limited and a concert visit is only possible with advance reservation.
Activity Center // Espresso & mud
Sunday, 1st of November | Starts 20:00 CET
Exploratorium Berlin | Mehringdamm 55, Sarotti-Höfe | 10961 Berlin
Photo: © Ian Stenhouse
