Dis|As|Sociation (English)

In a large part of contemporary experimental music production, regardless of their stylistic or aesthetic preconditions, a significant heterogeneity of the basic compositional materials seems to be prevalent, ranging from conventionally musical or extramusical elements to often not clearly classifiable actions or objects. The resulting phenomenal multifariousness of such approaches is therefore often described in intrinsically non-musical terms like intermediality or performativity.

However, the ways of interrelating and interpenetrating the, at times, extremely diverse layers of materiality can oftentimes also be traced back to remnants of the inherently musical techniques of traditional polyphony and counterpoint. Their underlying reference systems, in turn, are essentially based on the subtle interplay of associating and dissociating musical elements in order to establish simultaneous, perceivable orders of both discrete and global contexts.

Hence, the seemingly purely artistic and aesthetic issue of polyphonic organization can easily be tied in with a broader social and philosophical perspective on questions like the interrelation between the individual and the collective, between independence and interdependence, as well as its conscious modeling in artistic production and perception processes.

The event brought together participants who contributed their unique musical influences to the dialogue.

Austrian composer Peter Ablinger provided an initial thematic focus with his approach to fault lines in the topography of the audible. His approach questioned how reality is structured through the act of listening.

Spanish post-composer Óscar Escudero also contributed to the debate on polyphony with his critical view of the post-digital society by incorporating high technology into his music. Together with multidisciplinary artist Belenish Moreno-Gil, they adopted a polyphonic approach to create a collaborative post-composition.

Swiss composer Annette Schmucki, and German artist Florian Dombois also enriched the discussion of association and dissociation with their individual artistic and compositional perspectives.

The event featured a musical impulse by the artist duo Layla Zami and Oxana Chi.

Ariane Jeßulat, Professor of Music Theory at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK), and Berlin-based composer Tom Rojo Roller moderated the performances, discussions, analyses, and scientific-artistic workshops. The event was hosted at the Zentrum Tanz Berlin.