Pop music is a hybrid, ever-changing global phenomenon. For this reason it is important to constantly redefine the function and significance of a festival such as Worldtronics.
Once again in the third year of the festival, the work of the curatorial team centered around Detlef Diederichsen, follows no rigid concept. But there are a few constants for them to orientate themselves by.Worldtronics was never about the particularly unfamiliar. The presentation of bright folklore and serving western kitsch clichés are not the purpose of a festival for global pop music. Anyone hoping to see exotically dressed natives in front of a laptop on stage is suffering under a misunderstanding. For even supposedly original musical cultures feed on countless international sources. Accidents, plagiarism and mistakes too were factors in their development. Musically, there is no such thing as a direct descendant. Music has always been, where ever it was played, an uncontrollable seething mass of diverse influences. Therefore openness, curiosity and networking have been decisive factors in the curatorial job since the first Worldtronics. It’s about critical questioning and experiencing cultural identity – including our own. One distinctive feature of Worldtronics is the central role of guest curators. Experts from their fields of speciality are given the task of inviting artists who they deem to be outstanding. In this way, each thematic evening is also an expression of an individual stance towards and perception of music. And so Worldtronics 2009 again presents to a hopefully curios and critical audience, remarkable facets of the global happening that is pop music.
The opening evening is a world premiere of the multi-media laptop-opera „Fathers“ by the band with an international line-up, The Lappetites. In cooperation with the Kreuztanbul Festival and with Alexander Hacke as curator an evening of pure Istanbul will take place on the 26.11. Neon colors are in on Friday, 27.11., which is dedicated to the phenomenon of asian synth-pop. And lastly on the closing evening there will be a glimpse into the latest currents from the party-friendly Cumbia Digital scene from South-America.
