“The evil has no songs,” or so goes an old German saying. Yet an English saying contradicts this point of view: “The devil has all the best tunes.”
More than any other art form, music seems to tend to romanticize violence, be it in gangsta-rap, death metal, mafia songs, the rembetiko, warrior songs, or old ballads in praise of murderers.
Besides addressing these musics, “Böse Musik” (Evil Music) will also look at Muzak, sonic warfare, and Nazi rock. Here, the intentionality of humanity is studied using a musical example: what drives people?
Böse Musik | Teaser
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=p5j7crNxo_E
Why do they marvel at lawbreakers? Why do we find violence sexy? What music sounds evil from the point of view of which morality or lifestyle?
The EVIL MUSIC program also investigates the use of sound as a weapon, as well as the banning of particular musical instruments on religious or political grounds.
In this context, it takes a close look at true voodoo culture, which has been buried under horrific colonial myths and hundreds of zombie movies. Finally, it steps up to defend the honor of a genre that is commonly viewed as spurring people to violence: march music.
To be experienced at EVIL MUSIC: “Pure Hate”: Buback label founder Ale Dumbsky, actor and indie musician Robert Stadlober and Volkan Terror in a hate-rap performance to music by Jetzmann.
The Schwarzenbach: collaboration between Kammerflimmer Kollektief and author/singer Dietmar Dath. Voodoo echoes: musician/historian Bruce Sunpie Barnes, Big Chief of a tradition-steeped New Orleans Mardi Gras group, with his Louisiana Sunspots.
Sagbohan Danialou of Benin, home of the Vodun faith, former drummer in L’Orchestre Black Santiago de Bénin. Marches by Mauricio Kagel as well as Verdi, Mozart and Berlioz, performed by the Federal Police Orchestra of Berlin.
“Corridos prohibidos”: Michael Farin and Zeitblom on an excursion into the world of narco-incantations. Colombian Dark Tropical: Duo Chúpame El Dedo, a death-metal rendering of Colombian music’s darker side by Meridian Brothers leader Eblis Álvarez and his Piraña-partner Pedro Ojeda.
“Hombre de Piedra” (Man of Stone): Axel Krygier in an aurally and visually potent dark-comic concert.
And Films: “Blood Must Flow” (“Blut muss fließen”), “United States of Hoodoo”, “Music as a Weapon” (“Musik als Waffe”), “Narco Cultura”. And Böse Lounges: DJs Kode9, Lars Brinkmann, Val-Inc.
Because questions of human nature and motives are of special significance in the “Age of Man”, EVIL is part of “The Anthropocene Project 2013–2014”. Curated by Detlef Diederichsen (HKW) and Holger Schulze (Professor of Sound Studies, HU Berlin).
For the detailed programme and timetable, visit the website: hkw.de
This event is highly recommended by Digital in Berlin! We are giving away 3 x 2 tickets for every night. Just send a mail to win@digitalinberlin.de with “Böse Musik: Hate/ 1st night” or “Böse Musik: Voodoo/ 2nd night” or “Böse Musik: Marching/ 3rd night” or “Böse Musik: Crime/ 4th night” as the subject.
Böse Musik – Evil Music
Odes to Violence, Death and Demons
w/ Axel Krygier, Kode9, The Schwarzenbach, Sagbohan Danialou, the Federal Police Orchestra of Berlin, Chúpame El Dedo, Bruce Sunpie Barnes & The Louisiana Hotspots & many more
presented by D/B
Thursday, 24 October – Sunday, 27 October 2013
Haus der Kulturen der Welt / HKW | John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10 | 10557 Berlin/Tiergarten
