Festival for Sound Art and Performance
At and around Künstlerhof Frohnau. Free entrance, open air.
Saturday, July 6, 2024, 2pm-12am.
Free shuttle bus from S-Bhf Frohnau to Künstlerhof and back.

Curated by SHIN Hyo Jin, Otto Oscar Hernandez Ruiz, Katja Hock, and Kaya Behkalam

About the festival
Walden is a festival for contemporary music, sound, and performance art that will take place for the fourth time on July 6, 2024, at Künstlerhof Frohnau and the surrounding forest. Under this year’s title “Relay,” Walden once again invites local and international artists to use the forest as a resonating body and stage, engaging with the complex history of this place in the former border area through performances, concerts, and installations, and reimagining it for a day.

The term “Relay” refers to the transmission and amplification of signals through an intermediary point—a process of reception and transmission, connection and renewal, similar to the passing of a baton in a relay race. Through performative, musical, and participatory contributions, Walden creates associative connections between historical heritage and pressing contemporary issues, advocating for alternative forms of narration and perception that approach the other with openness, understanding the forest as a place, metaphor and relay for interconnection and permanence, rootedness and resilience.

Program:
02:00 pm: Otto Oscar Hernandez Ruiz
02:45 pm: Dance Platz: Mattdol Norae (Min Sookyung)
03:00 pm: Liaam Iman
03:30 pm: Birgit Wölke, Bardo Henning, Ray Kaczynski
04:00 pm: Roberta Busechian
04:45 pm: Ray Kaczynski & The Giant at a Distance (feat. Almut Flentje & Hendrik Krüger)
05:30 pm: Ute Waldhausen
06:00 pm: Dance Platz: Cheok: Cheok (PARK Minyoung, MIN Sookyung)
06:15 pm: Posaunenchor Hohen Neuendorf
06:30 pm: Access All Areas presents The Healing Freqs
08:00 pm: Lukatoyboy
08:15 pm: Ensemble ~su
09:00 pm: Nour Sokhon
09:45 pm: Saba Alizadeh
10:15 pm: Letkidbe

Workshops and installations by
Miranda Markgraf, Heryun Kim, Susanne Schill, Nour Sokhon, Roberta Busechian, Antonia Smialek

Detailed program
14:00 Otto Oscar Hernandez Ruiz
A sonic introduction to the world of Walden: Relay by artist and DJ Otto Oscar Hernandez Ruiz.

14:45 Liaam Iman
Liaam Iman‘s captivating vocals and polyrhythmic drumming take listeners on a profound journey. Their performances blend timeless, poetic ancestral landscapes with contemporary sounds. As a singer, composer, percussionist, educator and Reiki master of Algerian-Kabyle descent, Liaam embodies a multifaceted artistic vision that addresses migration, belonging and healing through art and social engagement.

15:15 Dance Platz, Cheok:Cheok
Duet, choreography and dance: PARK Minyoung, MIN Sookyung. The Korean word ‚cheok‘ means ‚to pretend‘ or ‚to feign an action or state‘, similar to the concept of a persona. The work Cheok:Cheok begins with a reflection and questioning of cheok, a characteristic of the socialized human being. – Dance Platz is a collaborative project by South Korean dancer and choreographer PARK Minyoung.

15:30 Birgit Wölke, Bardo Henning & Ray Kaczynski
Baba Yaga is primarily known as a child-eating witch in Slavic fairy tales. In the course of Christianization, she became increasingly associated with bad qualities and a pact with the devil. In ancient times, Baba Jaga presented herself both as a young, beautiful woman who symbolized giving and regenerating, as well as a sinister old woman who stood for death itself. We want to revive the memory of this mythical figure with dance and experimental sounds. With Birgit Wölke (Dance), Bardo Henning & Ray Kaczynski (Music).

15:45 Dance Platz, Mattdol Norae (a millstone song)
Solo. Choreography & dance: MIN Sookyung. Min Soo-kyung, an experienced performer modernizes and revives traditional work songs through contemporary dance, aiming to preserve their essence in tangible art forms. Her performance delves deep into the emotional essence of the labor songs and depicts the sorrow and responsibilities of working women through gestures and improvisation. Based on Jeju, the millstone song articulates the toil and familial duties of women. Min Sookyung seamlessly combines these moving melodies with contemporary dance to create a new kind of artistic expression. – Dance Platz is a collaborative project by South Korean dancer and choreographer PARK Minyoung.

16:00 Roberta Busechian, A to B 20 °C 343 m/s
At 20 °C, sound propagates at 343 m/s, at 0 °C the speed of sound is about 331 m/s. This is a sound performance created to react to the environment of Künstlerhof Frohnau, and is based on dangerous sounds, which means how we perceive psychological danger through listening. Danger has a negative connotation, but it could be also a relief to understand what triggers our mind, a kind of functional auditive informations which transfers knowledge of our fears and memories. – Roberta Busechian is an Italian sound artist, researcher and biosonologist based in Berlin.

16:45  Ray Kaczynski & The Giant at a Distance
With Hendrik Krüger (recorders), Almut Flentje (didgeridoo), Ray Kaczynski (composition, production, percussion and IT instruments). With contributions by: Stefan Deckner, Almut Flentje, Eckhard Möller, Gudrun Fischer-Bomert, Sylvia Rabenstein, Rosika Janko Glage.

17:30 Ute Waldhausen, Residuum: Der Schlummer
The residual is (according to Vilfredo Paretto) an emotional structure that cannot be further resolved analytically. It is an active residue that does not represent an instinct, a drive or a principle, but nevertheless inevitably guides people. Waldhausen tries to make this structure heard. With the help of physical movement, microphoned objects and spaces, she uses these as sensory instruments for Walden to track down slumber. – Ute Waldhausen works as aninstallation and performance artist, exploring articulations of the body.

18:15 Posaunenchor Hohen Neuendorf
The trombone choir under the direction of cantor Christian Ohly consists of twelve brass players: Trombones, trumpets, French horns and tuba. For Walden:Relay, the choir has teamed up with the Bergfelde parish brass choir to present meditative trombone sounds in tune with the evening atmosphere in the forest.

18:30 Access All Areas presents The Healing Freqs
AAA (Access All Areas) is an open collective consisting of the artist and DJ Vera, sound artist and yoga teacher Jorhito, and pianist and sound therapist Nigâr. Since 2022, they have been working together at the intersection of music, art, therapy and spiritual practices. AAA experiments with contemporary music, elemental frequencies and ancient sounds to create a hypnotic, deep listening experience and uses them as therapeutic tools to enhance self-awareness.

20:00 Luktoyboy, Hunting Music
Concert based on a workshop aiming to introduce a collection of animal calling instruments usually used for hunting as music instruments, co-creating a mutually notation system, compositions and ways to improvise. – Lukatoyboy is a sound artist, performer and publisher from Belgrade, currently based between Berlin and Austin. His practice is based on performances dealing with networks, sound and narrative, using animal calling instruments, walkie talkies and site specific topics. 

20:15 Ensemble ~su
SO Sol-i (Vocals & Percussion), Peter EHWALD (Saxophone), KIM Bo-Sung (Percussion & Vocals), SHIN Hyo Jin (Percussion & Vocals). Ensemble ~su creates a musical world that sits between Jazz, Korean shamanistic music, Samulnori and contemporary music. The four musicians play with the detachment from and approach to traditional, defined frameworks and pre-formed structures.

21:00 Nour Sokhon, Transmitting Echoes
“Transmitting Echoes” lures the audience into a realm where orchestral clusters intertwine with ghostly whispers; accompanied by live loops of vocals, drums, and everyday objects reminiscent of home. The listener is invited to swim in a dense forest haunted by symphonies amidst panoramic sounds that merge with the voices of the departed, blurring the boundaries between past and present. “Transmitting Echoes” is a sonic ode for those who have disappeared, those who have been silenced, and those who cannot grieve. – Nour Sokhon is a Lebanese artist based in Berlin, Germany. Her creative practice is centered around exploring different methods of working with artistic research including interview material, field recordings, and recorded material from an organized site-specific intervention. The research is then translated into sound/music compositions, performances, interactive installations, and moving image work.

21:45 Saba Alizadeh, Through Darkness I Sing
A piece composed and performed by Saba Alizadeh weaving the uprising chantings from different places and his instrument Kamancheh. Kamancheh has very unique and ancient sound routing in many cultures with different forms. Close to the range of the human voice, Kamancheh plays the role of a knight whom fights for the salvation of mankind from oppressive systems during these dark times. – Born and raised in Tehran, Saba Alizadeh is an unparalleled figure at the forefront of contemporary Iranian music. Saba is deeply rooted in Iranian classical music and a virtuoso on Kamancheh. 

22:15 Letkidbe
As a passionate collector of cassettes, Letkidbe has been putting together lo-fi music journeys for selected places and moments since 2016. Across genres, sensations of inner and outer perceptions are formed into atmospheric ensembles.

Workshops
14:30-16:00 and 17:00-18:30 Miranda Markgraf, Discrimination-conscious change through somatics, for people 18+
This course by Miranda Markgraf is dedicated to a trauma-sensitive, physical-mental-spiritual approach to dealing with one‘s own discriminatory and racist parts, but also with being affected by discrimination and racism. We will explore what helps us individually to create more coherence between our values and thoughts, feelings and emotions and our physical existence and actions. And we will try out what strengthens us personally, what we need to stand up for ourselves and others. With the help of case studies and simple exercises, we will reflect on our reactions, thoughts, feelings and our choice of words in encounters with other people and ourselves.  Register for the workshop by writing to vorstand@khf-berlin.org.

15:00-17:00 Antonia Smialek, Mitmachzirkus
Hands-on circus workshop for children aged 5+.

15:00-17:00 Lukatoyboy, Hunting Music
A workshop aiming to introduce a collection of animal calling instruments usually used for hunting as music instruments, co-creating a mutually notation system, compositions and ways to improvise. We will work on different formations in order to create a concert. Some previous music experience is welcome, but not necessary. – Lukatoyboy is a sound artist, performer and publisher from Belgrade, currently based between Berlin and Austin. His practice is based on performances dealing with networks, sound and narrative, using animal calling instruments, walkie talkies and site specific topics. Register for the workshop by writing to vorstand@khf-berlin.org.

Installations
Roberta Busechian, f1 = v / 2L
This sound installation is a site-specific and real-time research, which takes frequency created by the architecture of the backyard of the Neubau Building. Taking the frequency of the rainwater tube, the aim is to create a “voice”, a modulated signal which speaks and shakes the nearby structures, to become a choir relating the energy of the space to the solid metallic structure which constricts it. – Roberta Busechian is an Italian sound artist, researcher and biosonologist based in Berlin.

Heryun Kim, Mother Mobile
In „Mother Mobile“, three generations of the artist‘s family come together. She uses her mother‘s hanbok (traditional Korean clothing), her children‘s baby clothes and her own clothes. These textile figures „dance“ in her studio at the Künstlerhof Frohnau, near the former Berlin Wall Trail, and symbolically express Kim‘s hope of overcoming the division of the Korean peninsula. – Heryun Kim is a Korean artist who lives and works at Künstlerhof Frohnau.

Susanne Schill, Himmelstücher
„Since 2017, I have been working with transparent cloths in nature and the effect that light and wind have on them, the change in visibility and mixture of the colors hung one behind the other in the course of the changing light conditions throughout the day, the effect of their colorfulness on their surroundings. New spaces and vistas are created. Surfaces onto which nature projects itself, wind and light constantly reshape them.“ Susanne Schill is an artist and ceramicist who lives and works at Künstlerhof Frohnau.

Nour Sokhon, Louder than words
A multilayered soundscape that weaves together anonymous stories from around the globe, shared through WhatsApp voice messages. Excerpts of their stories are carefully knitted together, into a sonic womb devoid of place, space, or time. An incident from five years ago can feel as immediate as yesterday, or as distant as twenty years ago. Trauma can fog a victim‘s memory and affect their speech when recounting their story. Thus, the soundscape plays with repetition and sonic manipulation of words to reflect these experiences. “Louder than words”, aims to portray this sense of universality through a diverse collection of stories from people across continents.– Nour Sokhon is a Lebanese artist based in Berlin, Germany. Her creative practice is centered around exploring different methods of working with artistic research including interview material, field recordings, and recorded material from an organized site-specific intervention. The research is then translated into sound/music compositions, performances, interactive installations, and moving image work.

Support
Walden receives partial funding from the Ingrid-Bischoff-Stiftung and Initiative Draussenstadt. Künstlerhof Frohnau is partially funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe as part of the Basisförderung for independent project spaces and initiatives.