Far beyond musical mainstream, the independent label Denovali has made its mark in the last couple of years with unique and ambitious releases of numerous artists.
Rather than publishing music easily assignable to prevalent genre classifications, the work of the label focuses on artists crossing musical boundaries in fields such as experimental, ambient, dark jazz, electronica, jazz as far as new and classical music.
Since 2007 the Denovali record label curates and organizes a three days music festival called Denovali Swingfest. The first editions took place in Essen, Germany. Since 2013 Denovali presents similar festivals in London and Berlin.
Tim Hecker | The Piano Drop
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=EE9mT4JaW_0
Focused on experimental music the lineup offers a wonderful opportunity to discover a wide range of international denovali artists live and is rounded off by various renowned non-label guest artists. A hallmark of the festival is the renunciation of the headliner principle: all artists are receiving the same attention – the length of each artist’s concert is equal.
In addition to the musical program the festival features yearly changing specials like an experimental film cinema, installations or lectures. Performing artists of the second day of the festival are Field Rotation, The Alvaret Ensemble, Thomas Köner, Poppy Ackroyd, Tim Hecker, Ulrich Schnauss and Nat Urazmetova.
Field Rotation | Zeitreise
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=kSzF6zkjiWM
Field Rotation was founded in 2008 by the electronic music composer and producer Christoph Berg in the city of Kiel on the Baltic Sea coast. With Field Rotation, Berg experiments with electronic and classical elements.
The project combines floating soundscapes with electroacoustic colours to create minimalistic soundtracks renouncing of visualisation but interacting with the listeners emotions and feelings. As a violinist and pianist Christoph fuses the synthetic sound engineering with natural sounds to communicate his acoustic tales and impressions.
The Alvaret Ensemble | Muo
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ie5_zOZPfbA
The Alvaret Ensemble is a new improvisatory collective based around Greg Haines, Jan Kleefstra, Romke Kleefstra and Sytze Pruiksma, often expanding to include other musicians from around the world.
In the beautiful and bright acoustics of the Grunewaldkirche in Berlin, the first selftitled album was recorded entirely at night in candlelit atmosphere, with many guest musicians participating. AE will enthuse fans of Set Fire To Flames, Rachels, Arvo Pärt and the ECM catalogue.
Thomas Köner | Tabula Smaragdina
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=by5T3W3ipGs
Thomas Köner is a pioneering multimedia artist whose main interest lies in combining visual and auditory experiences. Over his long, much celebrated career, he has worked between installation works, sound art, minimal soundscapes, and as one half of Porter Ricks.
Thomas has extended his concept of time and sound colour to images, resulting in video installations, photography and net art. His point of departure was composition of sound in which aspects of a performance and visual language were gradually integrated. Following this, he started to compose film soundtracks and music to accompany historic silent films.
Poppy Ackroyd | Aliquot
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=KD3yRyj_I4M
Poppy Ackroyd is a performer and composer from London who is currently based in Edinburgh. Classically trained on violin and piano, she fell in love with contemporary piano music and with the piano beyond the keys, discovering the world of sound that could be made from other parts of the instrument.
Realising the violin had the same potential, she has spent the last few years composing delicate, intricate and beautifully atmospheric music by manipulating and multi-tracking sounds from these two instruments.
Tim Hecker | Dungeoneering
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=pE37ihb8ot8
Tim Hecker is a Canadian-based musician and sound artist, born in Vancouver. Since 1996, he has produced a range of audio works for Mille Plateaux, Alien8, Force Inc, and Staalplaat. His works have been described as “structured ambient”, “tectonic color plates” and “cathedral electronic music”.
More to the point, he has focused on exploring the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody, fostering an approach to songcraft which is both physical and emotive. His work has also included commissions for contemporary dance, sound-art installations, and various writings.
Ulrich Schnauss | A Ritual In Time And Death
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=zNdu2Vs-_yk
At once uplifting and otherworldly, the music of Ulrich Schnauss combines multilayered synthesizers with beats and ethereal vocals, serving as an aural escape route from the trappings of reality.
Stripping back the orgiastic excess of multilayered instrumentation, Schnauss is currently working on an album which intends to celebrate the synthesizer – the long-time cornerstone of Schnauss’s sound – as a musical instrument in its own right.
Nat Urazmetova | Showreel
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=71b0XoD6DEk
Nat Urazmetova is a London-based visual artist and communicator, media creator and entrepreneur, born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, former USSR.
Nat experiments with fusing the digital and analog, and creating multi-projection audio-visual installations, which are rooted in the practice of the Expanded Cinema movement. Her academic work includes research of the topics and themes lying at the intersection of philosophy, science, technology and art, remediation, ‘becoming’, expanded perception, and analysis of immersive environments and performance.
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Denovali Swingfest 2013
w/ Field Rotation, The Alvaret Ensemble, Thomas Köner, Poppy Ackroyd, Tim Hecker, Ulrich Schnauss and Nat Urazmetova LIVE
presented by Denovali, Digital in Berlin, taz, De:bug, Byte FM
Saturday, 06 April 2013 | 15:00 CET
Passionskirche | Marheinekeplatz 1 | 10961 Berlin/Kreuzberg
denovali.com | akanthus.de
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