Elevate Festival News Feed

The Politics of Data in a Quantified Society

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:29:00 +0100

Tactical Tech, a presentation that lurches easily from the surreal to the terrifying, but ends with a full bodied embrace of evil. The central question Tactical Tech pose is: what does it mean to live in a data-ised society, for individual and for corporations? The luckless telemarketer on the end of the disembodied question refuses to confirm that she is not a robot. That's the point: when we've automated ourselves to the eyeballs with algorithms, how do we still know that we are not being controlled by robots? Balthasar Glattli, a Swiss national councillor, gave away his smartphone data so that everyone who had voted for him could see exactly what he was doing. From the data that leaked freely from the phone, analysts were easily able to track where he was, who he was talking to and what he was likely to be doing. Over time, it was simplicity itself to build up a network map of all his friends and colleagues. Marek makes the point again: This is not a hacked phone. This is information that you all have agreed to share with the network provider - and with anyone else who buys that data. “Data is not a carrot,” Marek helpfully points out. “You can't eat it and it's gone.” And if you're thinking that “vintage” phones are the answer, Marek will swiftly disabuse you of the notion. Non-smart phones still broadcast meta data – location, movement, times, connections – from which you can build up a very detailed profile of a user. Marek shows us a tool called Trackography, which shows tracking data for media websites all over the world. Every time you browse for your daily news, you are inadvertently sending data to third parties all over the world. Some of these companies you already know, like Google, Amazon or Facebook; but some are completely masked and anonymous. Marek shows us what happens when we browse through 7 local and national Austrian media sources: Trackography counts 95 unintended connections with institutions all over the world, curious about your clicking behaviour. Next, Stephanie Hankey introduces us to the marketing concepts of geo-targeting, geo-fencing and geo-conquesting. Geo-targeting is pushing people content based on their location. Geo-fencing is about marking out 100m² areas and targeting adverts at people who are in those areas right now, or who have been there within the last 30 days, say. Geo-conquesting takes it to a new level. This is when a company can see when you're on a competitor's territory and pushes you an advert to attempt to lure you away. Stephanie herself was a victim of geo-conquest just yesterday. As she arrived at Frankfurt airport, she was pushed an ad by Easyjet, innocently asking if she wanted to buy a flight. Easyjet don't operate from Frankfurt, but they knew she was there and they knew she hadn't flown with them. But, as Stephanie says, “Paranoid is okay, paranoid is good.” Furthermore, while older tech companies do have a slightly different business model – Apple and Microsoft also make money from selling soft and hardware – as data reaches further into our lives, more and more companies are joining the data model, including the car industry, to take one notorious recent example. But Stephanie and Marek aren't here only to terrify people with the reach of data into our lives. They are also here to encourage us to take control back from the algorithms. Life insurance companies have started giving customers a discount for wearing a device that tracks your physical activity. The discount is worth about €50 per year. These devices track your geo-location, of course, but also your exertion. Using those two data streams, it is easy to tell, just for example, who is having sex, with whom and how much they're both enjoying it. Is that worth €50? But why not take the €50 discount and subvert the business model: fix your device to a metronome, to the wheels of a taxi cab, on the end of a drill or to your dog's collar. These comedy subversions belie serious questions, like what constitutes political autonomy in the quantified society? Stephanie questions whether “Big Brother” is even the right metaphor. “Big Mama” might be better; these data-driven surveillance intrusions seem utterly banal, rather than sinister. Churchix, for example, is a surveillance tool that uses facial recognition software to track which of your flock regularly attends your mass. How do these things become normal, even for a church? Even if Churchix doesn't take off, how did it come to pass that someone thought this was a good idea? Corporations have been leading the way, of course. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, has spent $14m buying the 3 houses around his property so that he would have no neighbours. Contrast that personal decision with Facebook's real name policy and business model that encourages us to make the private public. And let's not forget that it's a business model that made a $3bn profit last year, paid UK staff bonuses of £35.4m, yet only £4,327 in UK tax. According to Stephanie, these huge data corporations are going around government. They see themselves are being “uber government” and it seems unlikely that they will be pulled into check now. Microsoft have developed a chip the size of Scrabble tile that can be implanted into women and control their fertility. Calico are in the business of “radical life extension”, curing death. Google are building a space rocket so they can mine the moon. These are not the things we think of when we think of our favourite Silicon Valley apps. Marek ends with a provocation to action: How can we counter the creativeness of these uncompanies? Tactical Tech have a number of projects to help people answer this question:

Me and My Shadow for understanding the digital environment.
Security in a Box for tools to protect yourself from data mining and surveillance.
Exposing the Invisible for understanding more about meta data.

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Interview: Christoph Mackinger

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:03:00 +0100

ELEVATE: Wir haben heuer Creative Response als übergreifendes Festivalthema gewählt. Welche Rolle spielt Kreativität bei deiner Arbeit und in den Kontexten, in denen du dich dabei bewegst?

Als Aktivist der Tierbefreiungs- und Öko-Bewegung spielt für mich der Einfallsreichtum in den Aktionsformen natürlich eine nicht unerhebliche Rolle – wobei ich selbst leider zugeben muss, dass es meist die anderen sind, die mit Einfallsreichtum glänzen.
Ich muss dazu sagen, dass ich Kreativität und Spaß an der Aktion sehr wichtig finde. Wir sollten aber nicht vergessen, dass wir gegen ein System von extremer Stabilität und Wandlungsfähigkeit ankämpfen, das milliardenschwere zerstörerische Industriezweige hervorgebracht hat, die nicht nur mit Spaß-Aktionen und Kommunikationsguerilla zu beseitigen sein werden. Da braucht es darüber hinaus noch einmal eine Menge Durchhaltevermögen und noch viel mehr harte Arbeit.

ELEVATE: Welche Strategien und Aktionsformen hältst du für sinnvoll und erfolgversprechend wenn es um den Widerstand gegen herrschende Missstände und die pro-aktive emanzipatorische Veränderung unserer Gesellschaften geht?

Ich würde mal sagen, da sind der Kreativität keine Grenzen gesetzt, solange weder Menschen noch Tiere dabei zu Schaden kommen! Aufklärungsarbeit ist sicher eine wichtige Sache, nur bedarf es oft mehr um ausbeuterische Unternehmen oder Politiken zu stoppen oder zumindest zu bremsen. In meinem Buch „Radikale Ökologie“ gibt es eine Vielzahl an Aktionsformen, die es wert sind, sie sich anzuschauen. Darunter sind aber auch manche, die zum Glück wieder verworfen wurden, weil sie sich einfach als zu gefährlich, repressionsanfällig und unvermittelbar herausgestellt haben.
Sinnvoll finde ich in jedem Fall Landbesetzungen, Tierbefreiungen, Adbusting etc. etc.

ELEVATE: Welche kreativen Aktionen von Bewegungen und Initiativen haben dich inspiriert und geben dir Mut und Hoffnung?

Es gibt unzählige tolle Aktionen, die es wert wären hier genannt zu werden: Spontan fällt mir ein Luftballonprotest im Zuge einer Kampagne gegen ein neues US-Tierversuchslabor ein. Hier wurde ein Schild mit Protestslogans an einen Haufen Luftballons gebunden und im Foyer des Bauunternehmens an die viele Meter hohe Decke steigen gelassen. Ein angebundener Personal Alarm macht das ganze noch etwas lauter (Video zur Aktion).

Und vielleicht etwas weniger kreativ, aber sehr inspirierend finde ich Massenaktionen des Zivilen Ungehorsams, wie bei Castor Schottern! oder unlängst beim Klimacamp im deutschen Rheinland, wo tausende Aktivist_innen antraten um die Polizeilinien zu durchfließen und den Braunkohle-Tagebau zumindest für einen Tag symbolisch zu stoppen.(Video zur Aktion)

ELEVATE: Was empfiehlst du Menschen, die selbst aktiv werden wollen? Wo und wie können sie mitwirken?

Es gibt unzählige niederschwellige Möglichkeiten, politisch aktiv zu werden. Sei es Adbusting, Straßenproteste oder was auch immer. Geht mit offenen Augen durchs Leben, die Notwendigkeit politisch zu intervenieren gibt es ständig.
Täglich versuchen Menschen unter Todesgefahr Krieg, Armut und Ausbeutung hinter sich zu lassen um ein klein wenig an unserem Wohlstand teilzuhaben; Tiere werden im Akkord gewaltsam geschlachtet und die Umweltzerstörung hat Dynamiken erreicht, die nicht mehr umkehrbar sind, und einzigartige Ökosysteme werden zerstört. Es gibt leider unvorstellbar viele Ansatzpunkte.

ELEVATE: Elevate setzt Themen und Schwerpunkte programmatisch miteinander in Verbindung, um Zusammenhänge und gemeinsame Herausforderungen hervorzustreichen. Wo siehst du Anknüpfungspunkte zwischen deiner Tätigkeit und jener anderer Festivalteilnehmer*innen? Welche Synergien könnten entstehen, wie könntet ihr zusammenarbeiten?

Anknüpfungspunkte gibt es nicht nur in den Theorien von Vandana Shiva, wie ich in meinem Buch dargestellt habe, sondern auch beim Thema Klimagerechtigkeit über das Tadzio Müller beim Elevate sprechen wird. Ich bin schon gespannt welche Querverbindungen sich in den Diskussionen ergeben und freue mich auf eine spannende Diskussion beim Elevate!

ELEVATE: In Welcher Gesellschaft möchtest du gerne leben? Welche Visionen geben dir Mut, weiterzumachen?

Eine gute Frage! Meines Erachtens sollen die Bedürfnisse von Menschen und Tieren im Vordergrund stehen – und nicht, wie das derzeit der Fall ist, Profitmaximierung und wirtschaftliches Wachstum. Ums kurz zu machen: Ich will in einer ausbeutungsfreien Welt, ohne Staat und Zwang leben; das würde heißen, Menschen achten das Leben von Tieren, organisieren sich selbst, nach Möglichkeit solidarisch und natürlich ökologisch. Da gäbe es nicht nur keine Schlachthöfe mehr, sondern auch keine Pestizid-verseuchten Flüsse und von Autos verparkte und von Wildtieren geleerte Städte. Das alles geht in Richtung eines Demokratischen Konförderalismus, wie ihn der US-Ökoanarchist Murray Bookchin vorgeschlagen hat, eine Idee übrigens, an der sich die kurdische Bevölkerung Nordsyriens unter schwierigsten, kriegerischen Bedingungen orientieren. In Rojava und den angrenzenden Kantonen versuchen kurdische Aktivist_innen seit 2012 eine selbstverwaltete solidarische Gesellschaft aufzubauen. Dass Menschen, selbst unter den widrigsten Umständen und unter den Angriffen des Islamischen Staates und des türkischen Militärs soviel Mut haben, gibt mir sehr viel Hoffnung!

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BASSCULTURE

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 10:21:00 +0100

Womens Liberation für’n Arsch? Dieser ritterliche Impuls, wahlweise zu befreien oder zu beschützen, ausgeführt von Wesen mit welchen Geschlechtsorganen auch immer und wie auch immer diese eingesetzt werden, hat (nicht nur) im Strobogewitter der durchtanzten Nächte einen blinden Fleck: Es wird von den Befreiern und Beschützern welcher Kategorie auch immer übersehen, dass Kreatur sich aus keinem anderen Grund als der Freude am eigenen Körper gebärdet und die Paarungs- und Begattungstänze (ob sie mit menschlichen oder nichtmenschlichen Aktanten durchgeführt werden, am Dancefloor oder anderswo) nichts anderes sind als autoerotische, dem Selfempowerment dienende Exzesse, jenseits des Regimes der Blicke der Anderen.

Zur allgemeinen Erheiterung zwei Anekdoten aus der wunderbaren Welt der Bass Culture, die mir höchstpersönlich widerfahren sind und die Beschützertum zerbröseln ließen wie Afterhour-Besucher*innen im Sonnenschein. Schauplatz eins, Wien Praterstern, Fluc, 1.5.2009: DJ Assault ist aus Detroit angereist, um uns mit seinem Ghetto-Biologismus zum Bouncen zu bringen. Assault ist Funktionalist durch und durch, kommt, spielt seine Tracks, schaut konzentriert bis grimmig und zieht wieder ab. Er ist ein Mann der schnellen Übergänge, nicht der großen Worte. An diesem denkwürdigen Abend fühlte sich ein anwesendes, sich selbst der Kategorie Frau oder vielleicht auch Bitch zurechnendes Wesen direkt von Assaults Musik angesprochen und beleidigt. Beherzt erklomm das Wesen die Bühne und leerte 500 ml Bier über Assault und seinen Laptop. Ich Opportunistin stand in meinem 80er-Jahre-2-Live-Crew-T-Shirt da und überlegte, wie schön es als Geste wäre, dem biertriefenden Assault mein „We Want Some Pussy“-T-Shirt zum Bieraufwischen zu geben, aber andererseits es ist schon so alt und filigran und was ist, wenn ich mich dann verkühl und so weiter und so fort ... als die Dame neben mir ihr T-Shirt auszog und es Assault hinwarf, der ihr ein gehauchtes „Thank you Baby!“ zurückwarf. Was aber den Abend zu einem wahrlich unvergesslichen und wunderschönen machte, ist Assaults Handeln nach seinem Set. Anstatt mit einem beleidigten „Ihr versteht mich alle hier nicht, ihr Banausen“ sofort ins Hotel abzurauschen, blieb er im Club und ging zu allen Anwesenden, bedankte sich fürs Kommen, machte Komplimente fürs Outfit und versicherte sich im kurzen Smalltalk, ob die Menschen wussten, wofür sie hier stehen und wofür er hier steht, und ob sich daraus eine Schnittmenge bilden lässt. Schauplatz zwei, Rio de Janeiro Niteroi Shopping, Bobs Burger, 15.4.2007: Ich war zu Gast am Planeten Baile Funk und saß mit drei MC-Helden der Vorstadt in einem Burgerladen im New Jersey von Rio. Die MC-Helden der Vorstadt konnten es nicht glauben, dass es in Europa tatsächlich verwirrte Seelen gibt, die das lieben, was sie tun, und ich konnte nicht glauben, dass sie nichts Besseres zu tun haben, als bei Bobs Burger rumzusitzen und stundenlang irgendeiner dahergelaufenen Touri die jugendfreie schöngefärbte Genesis ihrer Kultur zu erklären. (Wir sind das CNN der Favela, wir singen nur so explizit über Sex, damit wir die Kids aufklären und Teenagerschwangerschaften verhindern usw. usf.) Ich hatte es also mit drei Jugendschützern, Ehren- und Familienmännern zu tun, denen nichts ferner liegt, als mit ihren Texten zu Schweinereien zu motivieren und am Ende auch noch Verbrechen zu glorifizieren. Nein, das tun sie nicht, so wahr ihnen Gott helfe. Mit dementsprechend rügenden Blicken wurde auch der Kellner bedacht, als seine Aufmerksamkeit für alle Anwesenden bemerkbar kurz auf dem Rand meiner Jeans-Short ruhte, da man auf der Rückseite meines Körpers ein Ministück meiner schwarzen atmungsaktiven Sportunterhose hervorblitzen sah. Da die edukative Ehrenmensch-Stimmung schon auf mich abgefärbt hatte, wollte ich zur Beschwichtigung der Situation beitragen, wusste aber zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch nicht, dass es im brasilianischen Portugiesisch ein Spezialvokabel für Popo gibt. Culo, aus dem Spanischen bekannt als Arsch, bezeichnet in diesen Breiten nur das Arschloch. Statt eines lockeren „Lasst ihn doch, mein Arsch ist für dieses Land sowieso zu klein“, um Aufmerksamkeit zu kriegen, sagte ich etwas in der Art: „Mein Arschloch ist zu eng für dieses Land.“ Der darauf folgende Lachorkan überzeugte alle Anwesenden, dass es keinen Sinn hat, der vermutlich seriösen weißen Tante den Ehrenmann vorzuspielen, weil sie genauso wenig seriös wie man selbst ehrenhaft war. So habe ich durch mein zu enges Arschloch ein paar Zentimeter Eurozentrismus hinter mir gelassen, und ich hatte noch sehr viel Spaß mit unehrenhaften Menschen in den Hinterhöfen von Rio, ohne dass mich irgendein Aktant dieser angeblich so sexualisierten und gewalttätigen Kultur ficken oder ausrauben wollte. Twerk your way to freedom! Es macht einen Unterschied, ob sich Dancehall Queens in Tivoli Gardens, Kingston mit allem, was ihre Vagina an Stamina hergibt, in Choreografien bekriegen oder ob ein Beatkolonialistendouchebag wie Diplo unterbezahlte Damen schwarzer Hautfarbe vor grölenden Landbuben im VAZ St. Pölten im Käfig mit ihren Nippeln Kreise ziehen lässt. Die Musik von DJ Funk, einer der Originators von Chicago Ghetto House, genauso wie der darauf zurückgreifende Footwork von RP Boo, kommt aus einer Community, der wegen ihrer Hautfarbe oft Autonomie über ihren eigenen Körper verweigert wird. Bei diesem Teil körperfixierter Bass Culture und den damit verbundenen Tanzstilen geht es um Körperbeherrschung, Frauen genauso wie Männer gewinnen ihre Autonomie am Dancefloor zurück. Spielend-sexuelle Bewegungen haben dabei mit Beherrschung zu tun und unterliegen einer gekonnten und geübten Tradition. Am 23. Oktober gilt: Bitte niemanden in ihrem Namen wahlweise befreien oder beschützen wollen vor vermeintlichem Schmutz, Schund und repetitiven Juke-Aufforderungen wie „Huren werft eure Kleidung ab, Huren macht euch nackt!“.

Die Herkunft dieser Vocals und Bewegungen liegt im Empowerment und wird problematisch, wenn sich weiße Fantasien und Projektionen damit kreuzen. Im Fall von hypersexuellem Nachäffen oder Black-Acting von Weißen gilt: Man ist nach dem Verlassen des Dancefloors nicht derselben Art Profiling unterstellt. You Fake it to Make it Mike Q ist Gründer des Labels Qween Beat und einer der bekanntesten DJs der heutigen Vogue- und Ballroom-Szene, die ihre Wurzeln in einer schwulen afro- und lateinamerikanischen Tanzszene der 80er hat. Ein großer Teil der Szene dreht sich um Wettbewerbe, die zwischen verschiedenen Vereinigungen (Houses, Families, die oft nach Modehäusern benannt wurden) ausgetragen werden. Oft wird diese Kultur deshalb im Nachhinein als oberflächlich bewertet, tatsächlich wird sie aber wohl ihrer Aneignung durch Kulturindustrie-Tyrannosauruse wie Madonna gleichgesetzt oder es werdendie eigentliche Wurzeln dieser expressiven Ausdrucksweise vergessen:: Wenn man wegen seiner Sexualität, Hautfarbe oder seines Geschlechts der Gesellschaft nichts bedeutet, keine Arbeit und kein Geld hat, galt: Fake it to Make it, spiel die Bourdieu-Karte der feinen Unterschiede aus!

Better appropriate pop than copy subculture: Beispiele für den Missbrauch der ästhetischen Selbstinszenierung von Minderheiten durch die Kulturindustrie finden sich wie Erdnüsse in einem Snickers. Rihanna übernimmt GHE20G0TH1K, ohne auf die Kultur zu verweisen, entleert und verwüstet die Sprache des Stils und zieht wie ein Make-up-Tornado auf Meth weiter. Die von Venus X gegründete Partyreihe, die als Empowerment- und Austausch-Ort für Schwule, Braune, Gender Fluidity, queer Empowerment und viele andere Minderheiten begann, ist mittlerweile ein politisches Movement. Viele Ideen dahinter sind nicht direkt neu, der Unterschied zur blinden Aneignung einer Rihanna ist Respekt und Aufklärung gegenüber möglichen Vorreiter*innen. Das Thema des Elevate Festivals 2015 ist „Creative Response“ und steht dabei ebenso für Kollektivität. Man sucht und initiiert kreative Lösungen für Probleme unserer Zeit. Längst beschränkt sich dieser Aktivismus nicht mehr auf politische oder soziale Arbeit, sondern findet auch im und um das Musikprogramm statt. „Art is special because of its ability to influence feelings as well as knowledge“, sagt Angela Y Davis. Venus X wird am 23. Oktober am Elevate Festival unter anderem von RP Boo, DJ Funk, Mike Q, BokBok und DJ Ripley aka Larisa Mann vom Label Dutty Artz, die auch beim Elevate-Diskursprogramm als Vortragende mitwirkt, begleitet. Text: Ein Erlebnisaufsatz mit Beiträgen von Natalie Mathilde Brunner und Marlene Stefanie Engel.

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Lightful! Yes!

Sun, 25 Oct 2015 15:09:00 +0100

“Big campaigns are won by small numbers of people,” Mike says, pointing to the US Civil Rights movement. “It wasn't even the majority of the minority that was involved.” This is why being creative and making a big noise in the media is important: you can have a disproportionate influence on the political process. “The tendency of the media is to re-tell the same story the whole time,” Mike says. “Keep reminding them what the real story is.”

You can find a lot of Mike’s inspiration through these three resources for creative action: beautifultrouble.org; actipedia.org; and the book Small Acts of Resistance.

Ksenia Ermoshina brings a creative perspective from a very different part of the activist world: Russia. Ksenia describes the Russian activist environment, where the police have a tendency to over-react, arresting people who protest by dancing in cathedrals, for example. This has the pleasing effect of amplifying the activists' message. Equally, however, Russian civil society has no repertoire of action, as you find in Europe or the States. In France, where Ksenia currently works, the activists can immediately draw on a palette of actions, from die-ins to occupations, that everyone is familiar with. They don’t have to reinvent protest every time.

Ksenia describes her adventures in adbusting, creating speech bubbles for inanimate objects like bricks: “Only for throwing at cops.” Ksenia's inspiration is Hakim Bey, who declared that, even if only one or two people are awoken, the action is still a success. She also always insists on filming the whole process of preparing the action, whether it’s printing and posting photos of Syrian children or making a Vladimir Putin puppet, so that other people can see exactly how it was done and how they too can protest.

Ksenia's action has a very immediate and personal element, however. Her mother, a journalist, recently lost her job at one of the few remaining independent publications in Russia. Her question for the workshop: How can we talk to more people, reach more people, in countries where regimes are becoming more authoritarian?

Bruno Tozzini comes from the very different background of advertising, a $137bn industry in the US. And yet he shows us a series of creative responses to social problems, some created by advertising agencies and all using corporate platforms, including an intercultural language exchange over Skype, an online street art exhibition using Google Maps, and the sharing through Facebook of the “invisible” stories of homeless Brazilians.

Bruno then takes us through his “four steps of making” and, in the afternoon, we launch into a workshop focussed on generating creative responses to the refugee crisis in Graz. We brainstorm together and formulate half a dozen actions that could be implemented today, from wifi sharing, a refugee hackathon and SMS skillsharing, to the simplest imaginable creative response: “Just go and say hi”.

Christian Payne is a networked storyteller. It wasn't always thus, as he shows us through his journey from Alpine pastoralist to newspaper photographer and finally encrypted multimedia archivist. “All media is social,” he says. Christian himself promiscuously shares, not only text, but audio, video, geographic data and photos to tell the stories he encounters from Sudan to Iraq, from Twitter to Storify - from a man holding a smartphone to our ears, eyes and hearts.

Christian is a particularly big proponent of unobtrusive, lightweight, multitasking audio storytelling. He is usually to be found in some quiet corner of the Elevate festival, deep in conversation with some bright philosopher, hacker or DJ, seamlessly sharing their words and thoughts with an audience far away in time and space. He describes audio as an intelligent and intimate storytelling form, akin to reading a book, rather than watching a film.

Christian finishes with a warning about posting online. "You don't own your image, your image belongs to popular opinion,” he says. “You can attempt control your content, but not the way people react to it.” When it comes to protecting yourself online, his advice is simple: “Connect with kindness.”

The final input of the workshop came from Charles Kriel, founder of Lightful and former game designer and circus performer. Lightful is an app that attempts to solve a problem Charles has encountered when advising NGOs on how to share their stories and get access to funding.

Charles opens, however, by discussing the tragic death at a Turkish airport of journalist Jacky Sutton, a former colleague working in the Middle East. The Turkish authorities claim that she'd missed a connecting flight, been unable to afford a new ticket and had, as a consequence, gone into the ladies’ toilet and hung herself. Charles points out that such a course of action would be ridiculous for a seasoned journalist like Jacky, who'd been working in the region for a decade.

Besides the fact that Jacky had €2400 in cash on her person when she died, enough for a dozen new plane tickets, Charles himself has experience of that same fateful flight. “I've missed that connecting flight,” he says. “Everybody misses that connecting flight. It's a guarantee.”

That starting point shows how dangerous is the work of promoting a free press, particularly in the Middle East. “The region is in even more turmoil than is being reported at the moment,” Charles says. His dream is to create an app that will do some of the dangerous work that puts journalists, NGO workers and activists in such mortal danger. Lightful is that app.

Charles and his small team hope to launch Lightful in stages, starting with registered NGOs in a limited geographical space in the next three weeks. The start may be small, but his aim is quietly ambitious: “I'd like people to get into the habit of doing good work.”

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Interview: Sophie Magon

Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:51:00 +0100

ELEVATE: Creative Response is the main topic of the Elevate Festival in 2015. What role does creativity play in your line of work and the context you are active in?

I think creativity is very important because it is a source of pleasure! Pleasure comes from the thing you imagine, and then create, and when you do it in a group it is even better. Wouah we’ve done it! I think I am not happier than when I am doing something new, something original, something I never dared to make before. I can be organizing an event, a party, a new original dinner. It can be a new way of travelling. For example, this summer with my son, we imagined to make a tour in Brittany with our bicycles and we’ve done it, and it was a bit difficult but we were so proud! For me creativity is very linked to daring. Daring to do, and daring to share, to give. I think that at the end of our life, we will remember the things we have realized and particularly those in groups. On est ce que l’on fait. We are what we do.

ELEVATE: What strategies and activities are most effective for resisting the current failings of society and for facilitating pro-active emancipatory change?

Read books, listen to the radio, find some role models. Educate yourself and then contribute to educate others. Learn to transmit!

When you read an interesting book, try to make a resumé and post it on facebook to share it with your friends and relations. Dare to share points of views that seem to be different. I must say I never did that up to now, but I want to do it, e.g. for Naomi Klein’s book [This Changes Everything] that I recently bought, I would like to make a résumé in order to be able to use her arguments when I try to convince people about the necessity of acting.

Try to look at the world with new eyes, child’s eyes or Martian’s eyes. How would a total stranger consider people in Paris, Graz, New-York, Berlin, driving alone in their car, each car behind each other, queuing for kilometers to go in the same direction, maybe at the very same place? They would probably think we are crazy or idiots! So be introspective when it comes to your own life, your own work, how could I change it to make it more sustainable?

Writing (if possible on a daily basis) is, according to me, a very good way of taking some distance with what we live, and understand who we are and be honest with oneself and try to progress. Psychonalysis is also a good exercise.

ELEVATE: Which creative actions, initiatives and movements have inspired you most and given you hope and courage?

Pierre Rabhi, with the Colibris, is still a very inspiring person. He has always been promoting frugality. He went back from the city to the land while everybody was going exactly the other way. He transmitted and continues to transmit about his knowledge in agriculture, he is not only talking, he is implementing real actions to improve things as well.

I think Dominique Loreau’s books also inspired me a lot to begin to change my life (l’art de la simplicité, l’art des listes). I have been a very good customer of the consumer society and with these books I discovered how differently I could act and that all the products I bought where more often a burden than a blessing.

The AMAP movement.

Artists who present us a reflexion on the world.

And people who suddenly decided that it was no longer possible to continue like that, like Rosa Parks who dared not to leave her place in the bus. I think this is the most significant example, how a single unknown person contributes to make things move with a courageous action. I think we are threatened by two dangers: thinking we cannot change a lot, and thinking we have no power!

ELEVATE: What do you recommend for people who want to get active themselves? Where and how can they participate in the process of change?

“Be the change that you want to see in the world.”, Gandhi said.

The first place where you can change things is your own life!

If you consider all aspects of your life with honesty, you will surely find ideas to improve it, make it more in accordance with your own ideas, sticking as much as possible to nature and to your own nature and make it lighter, brighter, easier, happier…

For example in the area of „FOOD“: you can decide to reduce junk food, dead food, and to begin to eat organic food, eat less meat, or no more meat. You can also compost your food waste in a shared garden (it is possible even in Paris!). It is known that the way you eat, i.e. the type of things you eat is one of the human actions that has the biggest impact on the environment.

Clothes: try to buy clothes from companies that respect human beings or buy 2nd hand clothes. You can write to your favorite brand, it is easy, they all have a customer service, and tell them how keen you are on their clothes, but that you want them to improve the working conditions and salaries of their employees. Maybe instead of buying three clothes, you will buy two… You can try to select clothes which are more natural, in cotton, linen and that tend to last longer and that are produced locally or at least in your country.

Day to day commute to work: you can decide to use a bicycle instead of a car, or public transport, it will be good for your budget, you will be fitter, and you will be happier, because cycling is a soft drug…You will discover your city from a different point of view, you will be happy to belong to this new elite community of cyclists!

Energy: try to use it with frugality. In winter add a pullover instead of increasing the heating.

Dare! Dare! Dare! Dare to speak, share, be different, say you disagree. I say as a mantra to me also of course, because I am not such a daring person! I am very dominated by fears!

Try to fight our human behaviour to have more and more, to consume more and more - often in comparison to someone, neighbour, father, colleague.

I think we can all improve and alleviate the very simple aspects of our lives.

If you begin to have this reflections and to actively make changes in your life, I think it is important to meet people who try to make the same changes.

You can find them in associations:
AMAP [called Gelawi or Solawi in Austria, CSA in the USA and the UK]: places where you can get organic vegetables and support a local farmer.

Association de quartier: I belong to la Commune Libre d’Aligre. It is what we call a café Associatif, a place where people come and cook for other people. There are also conferences, films, exhibitions, debates, all kinds of activities that develop the citizenship, awareness, feeling of belonging to a group with common values and ambitions. It is a very vivid place!

You can also try to travel by bicycle. In 2013 I discovered the association Altertour, which organizes tours in France and sometimes abroad. It is such an amazing thing, and it is really a clever way of travelling!

So look at your life as if you’ve discovered it for the first time, with new eyes, loving eyes but also habit changing eyes. What if I would do it differently? Life will just become even more exciting!

ELEVATE: Elevate juxtaposes diverse topics and tries to emphasize the connections and relations between them, so that the challenge of how to change the status quo becomes more clear. Where can you see relations between your work and the work of other guests of the festival? Are there any synergies, and what could future collaborations look like?

I think the urgency is to convince people, i.e. our friends, our family, our parents that they have to change some aspects of their lives. I don’t believe in the power of a state or cop 21 to change things. Changes have to come from the bottom, from the man in the street. I would like to find a very simple website where I can find arguments for changing habits.

The key question is how to communicate to a maximum of people and give them the desire to change.

Maybe a very simple way of connecting people who participate to this festival would be to publish the list of persons, with their names, mail contacts, and eventually skype contacts, and a very short sentence explaining their actions and what they are involved in and what they are willing to help for. What do you think?
If somebody is wishing to have information about how to create an Amap, I will be happy to give information.

ELEVATE: What kind of society would you like to live in? What visions of the future give you the courage to contunue your work?

Today I think lots of people admire people who are very rich, who own serveral houses, cars, clothes, have thousands of friends on Facebook…

I think there will be a time when the people we admire the most will be those who use the fewest resources of the planet, those who own very few things. Because the resources will decrease, are decreasing, and up to now the population is increasing, so we will have to do with less, and there may be a time when having thousands of things will be considered as vulgar and almost disgusting, selfish, irresponsible. If I was active in an environmental NGO I think I would try to pull this string! Less is more, too much is vulgar… It is probably difficult to accept this point of view for a very poor person/country but we people of rich countries, who have had access to this wealth, must now give an impulse towards using less at least in our countries, in order to allow poorer countries to have a bit more…

Actually it is all a question of love. Maybe it is a very idealistic point of view, but I think we have to give more room to love and spirituality in our life and less room to the material world. If our world is full of love and positive action, we will have less need for material things.

I also think that the property notion is going to evolve. Today we begin to share cars, bicycles. Maybe in the future, the property notion will evolve for something more common, less individualistic.

As far as work is concerned, I would be interested to work less, but to learn more. Ideally I would like to have my day life split in three parts: 1/3 for working, producing for society, 1/3 for learning, creative action, 1/3 for contributing to improving the world by actions with NGO and associations. That would be my ideal vision of how to use my time!]]>

Creative Response/Ability

Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:21:00 +0100

Creative response is the brain-child of film-maker and writer Antonino D'Ambrosio. He starts the session by trying to capture some of the main ideas behind the concept.

“It's how we've survived as human beings since the beginning of time,” Antonino says. “It's a rejection of the things that hold us back and advancing systems that bring people together. And you do that through creativity, not just film, music, art, photography, but economics, science, in every way we can break down these barriers socially, politically, culturally.”

For many on the panel, Antonino's definition of “creative response” was not one they had come across, but the ideas were, of course, already embedded in their personal creative philosophies.

DJ Ripley finds the idea “very appealing”, but makes the point that not everyone is struggling for survival – under the current system, some people are doing very well, often through exploiting others. For her, therefore, “creative response is particularly rooted in people whose survival is and has been challenged right now.” As a DJ from New York, Ripley is aware of her great privilege and must herself consciously resist the temptation to exploit the musical resources of other cultures, which she describes as a “delightful buffet” - a short step from the cruel domination of colonialism.

Cultural researcher Elisabeth Mayerhofer picks up on Antonino's comments about creative response being a tool that brings people together. Tracing the history of the artist in the western world, she makes the point that eighteenth century emergence of The Artist was “very intertwined with the concept of capitalism”. It was only when capitalism emancipated the artist from feudalism, through the financial independence afforded by the market and intellectual property rights, that they were able to rise out of the community and into the position of cultural Genius.

Today, however, Elisabeth sees the slow erosion of the role and self-perception of the artist as genius. New forms of intellectual property, including the Creative Commons, are acknowledging that everything is created out of what has gone before. “The artist is moving back into society,” Elisabeth says. “In the end, the production and the consumption of art both have a very strong aspect of collectivity. You can't think of arts without community.”

Mike Bonanno from activist collective The Yes Men tells a story that illustrates what's possible when a little creativity is stirred into the pot. He was in Australia at a conference for accountants - “These are people who are not usually associated with creativity,” Mike notes - and announced the shutting down of the World Trade Organisation, to be replaced by the Trade Regulation Organisation. He wasn't expecting what came next, however.

“They were so thrilled with the idea that the framework had changed and they'd be able to do something good with all of their expertise that, without us asking them, they formed working groups at the luncheon that followed the speech and started to rebuild the World Trade Organisation themselves – and they started by redesigning the logo.”

When the laughter falls away, Mike tells how these high-powered accountants, who'd spent their lives off-shoring money for the super rich, discussed where they could site the headquarters of this new organisation so that the least developed nations could have full representation.

“The point is that lifting that weight gave them this moment where they suddenly felt incredibly creative and spontaneously became these incredibly creative accountants.”

For Elevate moderator Daniel Erlacher, this perfectly encapsulates creative response at its most powerful: activism combined with creativity to create a new world.

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Interview: DORN COX

Fri, 23 Oct 2015 17:27:00 +0200

ELEVATE: Creative Response is the main topic of the Elevate Festival in 2015. What role does creativity play in your line of work and the context you are active in?

Agriculture represents the most basic form of how we, as people, understand and interact with our environment to support ourselves. I believe that creativity is an essential part of managing the complex biological, mechanical, social and economic systems that create infinite possibilities for expression, exploration and collaboration. Farm Hack community has been created to foster the the joy of creation and sharing, and to give every farmer the benefit of sharing their creative response anywhere on earth.

ELEVATE: What strategies and activities are most effective for resisting the current failings of society and for facilitating pro-active emancipatory change?

The most important strategy is to illustrate that the current models of extraction of human and environmental resources are only one possible expression, and that humans and agriculture also have the potential to regenerate, diversify and recarbonate our soils, and create a system based on regenerative abundance rather than scarcity. The abundant building blocks of atmospheric carbon, nitrogen and water can be assembled using the tools of global genetic diversity. The complexity of the task is not trivial, but it is the project of the unfinished enlightenment.

The first land based economists and natural philosophers, the Physiocrates (meaning Govenernace of Nature), believed that increasing the productivity of soil was the basis of increasing wealth, and that all other activity is a form of extraction or transformation of that original wealth. They also believed in the free exchange of all agricultural knowledge.

We make progress towards this goal by publicly placing our ideas into the creative commons, and inviting others to join in that action. This act is critical for illuminating alternative possibilities for a just, regenerative and resilient agricultural system. The dialog and process of collaborative development and free exchange of ideas resulting in democratic tools is a byproduct of the individual act of sharing ideas, and building on others accomplishments and creating positive deviance from the status quo of protection and extraction.

ELEVATE: Which creative actions, initiatives and movements have inspired you most and given you hope and courage?

The Public Laboratory, The Quiviara Coalition, The Soil Renaissance, Holistic International, Rodale Institute and the Photosynq project have provided organizational inspiration. The writings of Donnella Meadows, CS Holling, Herman Daly, Kevin Kelly, EF Schumacher, BM Fuller, David Graber, David Salt, Brian Walker, Jo Guli, David Bollier, Bill Coperthwaite, Denis Diderot, Marquis de Mirabeau and Francis Quesnay and poet Kate Tempest have also provided inspiration and courage.

ELEVATE: What do you recommend for people who want to get active themselves? Where and how can they participate in the process of change?

The first step is to participate directly in some form of agriculture, at any scale, and personally witness the improvement of natural resources at their hands. Agrarianism, and human’s power to improve diversity and productivity is the most inspiring and crucial building block of a society built on regeneration rather than extraction. The most basic economic equation is that two blades of grass can grow where one grew before, and that each of us has the means to exercise that basic economic process of wealth creation. Each person can prove that this is possible in their own window box, backyard, or field. The second step is to share ideas, observations, seeds, and inspiration directly with others. Farm Hack was founded to foster this exchange. The rest is just follow through.

ELEVATE: Elevate juxtaposes diverse topics and tries to emphasize the connections and relations between them, so that the challenge of how to change the status quo becomes more clear. Where can you see relations between your work and the work of other guests of the festival? Are there any synergies, and what could future collaborations look like?

Marquis de Mirabeau, the 18th century natural philosopher, proposed that civilization is like a tree, with agriculture as the roots, the population as the trunk and arts and commerce as the branches and leaves. The health of and resilience of the branches (commerce) and leaves and fruit (arts) is an indication of the health of the roots and the soil. The fruiting of the tree is an expression of a healthy system that we are all part of and in which we participate in all levels, but if the root system is weak the entire tree will wither and die. If we share our values and understanding of healthy soil and roots, we will be able to grow a flourishing, nourishing, and fruitful tree together. Arts in all its forms is not just an expression of whole systems health, but provides feedback necessary to build a resilient root system that will weather storms and droughts. Farm Hack, as a social platform, aims to be a commons where those shared values and interdisciplinary action can be expressed.

ELEVATE: What kind of society would you like to live in? What visions of the future give you the courage to continue your work?

I believe that through open knowledge exchange we can shift the balance from those who derive their power from protection and extraction of scarce resources to those who mix their labor with nature to create abundance. Freedom and liberty are possible through a process of mutually dependent independence. I believe in the promise of the enlightenment that we can provide every citizen on earth with access to the knowledge to understand their environment and the scientific tools and curiosity to explore and improve the systems that support us all, and transform carbon, nitrogen, water and sunlight into a deep topsoil future. A society of global knowledge, but local production. Farm Hack builds on the tradition of the Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (Encyclopaedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts).

I am inspired by the evidence I see in our own improved soil health that has built on the strength of nature, and the cross pollination, adaptation, and hybrid vigor of ideas resulting in dramatic and measurable improvements. I am encouraged and humbled by the networked power of open source technology and complex reciprocity. In spite of the obfuscation to knowledge exchange built by the hegemonic forces of the status quo, our ability to build on the accomplishments of those who have come before us has accelerated in our lifetime and this gives me hope for the future.]]>

Elevate Creative Response: Opening Speech (Antonino D'Ambrosio)

Fri, 23 Oct 2015 14:10:00 +0200

“My speech was going to be very simple,” Antonino D'Ambrosio says with leather jacket Italian-American charm. “The Elevate festival is creative response, thank you.” He takes a step back off stage and smiles.

Antonino steps back, more serious. “I'd like to acknowledge the refugees who were on stage,” he adds. “Please give them a round of applause.” The applause rises again for migrants who are fighting for compassionate and humane treatment in Austria and around the EU.

The Elevate organisers used their opening show to give a louder voice to migrant protesters who have set up a permanent camp near the police station in Graz. That voice is broadcast live on Austrian television and videostream online around the world. They'd been welcomed to the stage with the biggest round of applause of the Elevate opening night.

The refugees gave a simple speech also: “We are not from Iraq or Syria, we are just humans like you,” a young man called Hussain says. “Many of us want to serve this country as a thank you for putting us in a safe place. We can do something for this country, but we are unable under the current conditions. Please help us. We are humans, just like you.”

Back to Antonino: “This is a point that makes me fucking very angry, being an immigrant kid from the United States and seeing what's happening.” He echoes Hussain's words. “There are only one people. When you're creating situations through wars of aggression in pursuit of expanding a dying economic system and watching countries like Greece collapse, you're affecting your own people.”

For Antonino, this idea is deeply embedded in the concept of creative response, and the Elevate Festival embodies the concept perfectly: “Ideas that turn into action, actions that bring people together, [helping] people to think differently about the world around them, to remember that we are indeed one people.”

“Creative response is about reminding people that we share the human condition,” Antonino says. “And that requires storytelling.”

Antonino developed his concept of creative response as a counter to the Reagan and Thatcher ideology that was dominant when he was growing up – and that has been successful to a great degree in fostering today's political and social cynicism, the idea that “society” does not exist, that compassion is a form of weakness and that self-centred consumerism is selfless.

But Reagan and Thatcher were wrong. Compassion is not weakness; compassion is central to the human condition, central to the cooperation, coexistence and communication of families, which are the founding blocks of a society that does exist.

“Don't fight back, fight forward,” Antonino urges us. Creative response stakes out what we are for, not what are we against. Antonino uses storytelling to look back at the past, understand the present and, in the words of punk demigods The Clash, “grab the future by the face”. This leads us to the overwhelming question: “What kind of a world do you want to live in?”

That question raises a discussion over “the possible”. Slavoj Zizek, the Slovenian philosopher, notes that, in the United States, flying to or even colonising the moon is talked about as being “possible”, but decent healthcare for all or eliminating poverty is not “possible”. Here, creative response has the power to change our definitions or ideas of what is possible.

“Before I step off the stage, I want to ask you a question that Ai Weiwei had asked me: Imagine one day that the hateful world around you collapses and it is your attitude, your words and your actions that put an end to it – would you be excited?”

“This is our challenge, our creative response, our big vision of the world. Not I, not you, not them, but we. A dream that we dream together is reality. We are creative response. We own the future.”

We stand, raise our hands above our heads, join them with our neighbours. We are creative response. We own the future.

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Red Bull Music Academy Stage

Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:55:00 +0200

Aber Schwamm drüber, an Wankelmütigen und Opportunist*innen hat es in der Clubszene noch nie gemangelt. Das Problem mit diesen Opportunist*innen ist aber, dass sie das Deep-House-Fach seit Jahren mit Lawinen belangloser Releases verwässern. Sie sampeln alte Jazz-Platten, die Vokal-Schnipsel nehmen sie von Soul-Klassikern und packen einfach eine dicke Bass-Drum drunter. Was cultural appropriation bedeutet, wissen sie nicht. Und es interessiert sie auch nicht, weil sie einfach nur geile, deepe Tracks machen wollen – ohne zu viel darüber nachdenken zu müssen.

Dass guter House aber weit mehr als Clubmusik ist, könnten sie bei The Black Madonna lernen. Seit 2012 ist sie neben Ikonen wie Derrick Carter und Frankie Knuckles Resident-DJ im legendären Chicagoer House-Club Smart Bar, ihre leichtfüßigen House-Tracks wie „Exodus“ werden in der Berliner Panorama Bar als Hymnen gefeiert. The Black Madonna aber fordert in ihrer Musik wie in der Clubwelt generell politisches Bewusstsein ein. In ihrem lesenswerten Pamphlet proklamiert sie: „Tanzmusik muss sich stets hinterfragen, sie braucht das Salz in ihren Wunden. Tanzmusik braucht Riot Grrrls und Frauen über 40.“ Amen!

Der andere Hauptact der Red Bull Music Academy Nacht ist Osunlade. 1999 gründete der Priester der westafrikanischen Ifá-Religion sein Label Yoruba, mit seinen organischen House-Tracks wurde der US-Musiker schnell zur Lichtgestalt afrozentristischer Tanzmusik. Seine DJ-Sets sind Messen, bei denen Osunlade das Publikum auf spirituelle Reisen mitnimmt. Als Transportmittel dienen dabei: Latin-Jazz, Afrobeat, Soul und deeper House, der das Attribut verdient.

Ähnlich verhält es sich mit Suzanne Kraft, zumindest was die Mannigfaltigkeit des kalifornischen Produzenten angeht. Seit er 2011 unter seinem bürgerlichen Namen Diego Herrera erstmals ins Rampenlicht trat, veröffentlichte er verhuschte House-Tracks, eiernde Disco-Platten, Lo-Fi-Funk und verrauschte Ambient-Tracks auf honorigen Labels wie 100% Silk und Running Back. Sein aktuelles Album „Talk From Home“ ist ein kleines Meisterwerk voller abgespeckter Sonnenuntergangshymnen zwischen Balearic-House und Heimwerker-Elektronik.

Neben dem deutsch-venezolanischen Wahlwiener Moony Me, dessen schwereloses Disco-Epos „Magergarten“ auf der neuen Werkschau des Dresdner Labels Uncanny Valley als Track-des-Jahres-Anwärter gilt, tritt auch Etienne Jaumet auf. Mit einem Live-Konzert. Das heißt in seinem Fall allerdings nicht bequemes Auf-blinkende-MIDI-Controller-Tasten-Drücken, der Franzose reist mit seinem Analog-Fuhrpark an, der oft auch koffergroße Modular-Synthesizer beinhaltet. Bedingt durch die altehrwürdigen Produktionsmittel klingt Jaumets Musik, die beim französischen Feinspitz-Label Versatile erscheint, wie Todd-Terje-Edits einer bislang verschollenen John-Carpenter-Filmmusik.

Text: Florian Obkirchner

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Editions Mego 20 Showcase

Thu, 22 Oct 2015 16:58:00 +0200

Als vor über zwanzig Jahren das Phänomen Techno weltweit um sich zu greifen begann, war die Euphorie groß. MusikerInnen tauschten reihenweise ihre Gitarren gegen Samplers und Synthesizer ein, um auf die Suche nach neuen Ausdrucksformen zu gehen. Mitten in dieser Aufbruchsstimmung wurde Mego geboren. Ursprünglich aus dem Label Mainframe hervorgegangen, hatten die Gründer Andreas Pieper, Ramon Bauer und Peter Rehberg damals den Plan gefasst, nicht nur Techno, sondern auch sperrigere, unkonventionelle Spielarten elektronischer Musik der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Bester Beweis ist der dieses Jahr wieder neu aufgelegte erste Release des Labels: «Fridge Trax« ist eine schräge Kompilation diversen Kühlschranksurrens, die genüsslich zu einer Ambientscheibe arrangiert und damals sogar live aufgeführt wurde. Es folgte ein Auftritt der gesamten Crew – denn die drei Labelbetreiber waren auch als Musiker aktiv – auf dem phonotaktik Festival 1995 und plötzlich war das Label in aller Munde. Viele MusikerInnen, die sich damals aufgrund der zunehmenden Verbreitung von Computer und Laptop auf digitale Musikproduktion eingeschworen hatten, fanden hier eine Plattform. Mego nahm in dieser Hinsicht eine Vorreiterrolle ein, weshalb es auch heute noch oft mit dem schwammigen Begriff 'Laptopmusik' assoziiert wird.

Fälschlicherweise, wie Peter Rehberg nicht müde wir zu betonen. Schließlich ist die ungebrochene Neugier an progressivem, musikalischem Vokabular und das Übertreten von Konventionen weder an bestimmte Tools, noch Genres gebunden. Mit dem Ausstieg von Bauer und Pieper vor gut zehn Jahren, übernahm der Brite allein das Ruder. Seitdem heißt das Label Editions Mego. Dem exzentrischen Musikallrounder Rehberg gelingt es schließlich so unterschiedliche Sparten wie Techno, Ambient, Noise, Improv, Soundexperiment und Folk unter einen Hut zu bringen. Was zählt ist der je individuelle, idiosynkratische Ausdruck der MusikerInnen. Im Backkatalog tummeln sich folglich nicht nur illustre Namen wie Christian Fennesz oder Jim O’Rourke, sondern auch Japanoise-Berzerker Keiji Haino und Merzbow, die digitalen Superfrickler Florian Hecker und Marcus Schmickler, oder Größen der jüngeren Elektronikszene wie Oneohtrix Point Never und Emeralds. Seit einigen Jahren hat das Mutterlabel auch einige Sublabels um sich geschart. So betreibt Sunn O)))‘s Metal-Drone-Kultfigur Stephen O’Malley, mit dem Rehberg auch im Duo KTL aktiv ist, das Label Ideologic Organ. Das ehemalige Emeralds-Mitglied John Elliott wurde mit Spectrum Spools betraut, einem Label, das seinen Fokus auf die junge US-Synth-Szene lenkt, während das in Frankreich ansässige Label RE-GRM mit seinen Neuauflagen der im GRM-Studio entstandenen Aufnahmen von Musique Concrète Pionieren dafür sorgt, dass nun auch Namen wie Iannis Xenakis oder Bernard Parmegiani im Editions Mego-Katalog vertreten sind.

Der Editions Mego Showcase des Elevate Festivals ist bunt zusammengepflückt und bringt die verschiedenen Facetten des Labels zum Ausdruck. Nicht nur neuere Acts werden zu hören sein, sondern auch MusikerInnen, die von Anfang an mit dabei waren. Eine davon ist Christina Nemec aka Chra. Die Wiener comfortzone-Labelbetreiberin, die im Übrigen auch mit Rehberg und Christian Schachinger in der Band Shampoo Boy performt, ist bekannt für ihre immersiven, tief-wummernenden Drone-Scapes. Nemec fügt Bassgitarre, Effekte und Field Recording-Samples zu dystopische Klanglandschaften zusammen, die zwischen existentieller Trance und industriellem Wasteland oszillieren. Der zweite lokale Act im Line-Up ist Keyboard-Impro-Berzerker Philipp Quehenberger. In seinen Solo-Sets unterfüttert er windschiefe Melodiestränge mit geradeaus stampfenden Bassdrums – psychedelisch-verschroebener Techno, der schon seit einem guten Jahrzehnt den musikalischen Underground der Hauptstadt aufwühlt. Die zwei internationalen Acts stammen aus dem Roster von Spectrum Spools: Der Name Steve Hauschildt dürfte einigen schon aus der Formation Emeralds bekannt sein. Seine sanften Synthmodulationen gleichen einem eklektischen Mix aus trance-induzierendem Krautrock, mäanderndem Kosmische und neonfarbene Reveries, die 80er Jahre Soundtracks in Erinnerung rufen. Ziemlich konträr ist der Ansatz seines Kollegen James Donadio, der mit Verve und harschem Daumen an seinen Synthmodulen schraubt. In seinem ranzig krachigen Projekt Prostitutes fusioniert er Detroit Techno und schroffen Noise, hält sich dabei schnörkellos reduziert und entwickelt eine ästhetische Radikalität, die auch schon Labels wie Diagonal oder Opal Tape begeistern konnte.

Auch die Dj-Line dürfte konfrontativ ausfallen. Der in Berlin ansässige Peter Votava aka Pure ist auch schon seit den 90ern im Mego Umfeld unterwegs. So veröffentlichte er gemeinsam mit Christopher Just als Ilsa Gold auf dem Vorgängerlabel Mainframe, danach als Bolder auf Editions Mego. Für sein Dj-Set wird er aus seinen über 20 Jahren Produktions- und Bühnenerfahrung mit elektronischer Musik unterschiedlichster Richtungen schöpfen und – ganz im Stil seiner letzten Veröffentlichung auf Editions Mego (Bolder – Hostile Environment) – Experimentelles mit Tanzbarem verbinden. Zwischen den einzelnen Auftritten dürfen wir auch auf DJ Pita aka Peter Rehberg himself gespannt sein, der mit Neuerscheinungen des Labels und sonstigen akustischen Kompromisslosigkeiten überraschen wird.

Text: Shilla Strelka

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