-OUS

We're excited to announce that Argentinian cellist, improviser and composer Violeta García and Swiss composer and musician Hora Lunga are joining -OUS. Their first collaborative album «I'll Wait For You In The Car Park» will be released as Vinyl LP and in digital formats on April 25, 2025.

Violeta García is a cellist, improviser and composer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Based in Spain, she tours a lot with her band Blanco Teta. She is a performer in many art forms, including free improvisation, contemporary and trans-media experimental repertoire in violoncello and electronics and collaborations with dancers, film makers and visual artists. After years of studying classical and popular music on violoncello and, later, contemporary composition and improvisation, Violeta has developed her own musical voice needed to emerge beyond outside specific genres. Her most recent solo album «IN/OUT» was released by Bongo Joe Records.

Release Date: February 14, 2025 Format: digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

Following her recent album 'Does It Still Matter', Noémi Büchi returns to -OUS with 'Liquid Bones', a five-track EP that interlaces sound and poetry, inspired by a verse written by her mother:

«In the heat gesticulate elastically their bodies disappointing the desire to last» — Marie-Christine Büchi

With 'Liquid Bones', Noémi Büchi lays her focus on simplicity. 'Liquid Bones' marks a directional shift in Büchi's approach: while her previous albums put structure in the foreground and distinguished themselves through high density, the new material seems lighter and even playfully teases the listener with pop elements, albeit without loosing the conceptual depth that has carved out Büchi's singular position in today's musical landscape. The piano, an instrument Büchi has been embracing for the better part of the past two decades, serves as a recurring theme on the five-track EP. Serving as a form-giving and shape-shifting instrument, Büchi extracts a diverse range of sounds: a leading motif, a voice-like element, percussive patterns, atmospheric textures. These are combined with minimal electronics, orchestral sounds, crisp digital textures and Büchi's signature method of punctuating the compositions with noise accentuations, thus creating a highly dynamic listening experience. The closing track, finally, introduces Joséphine de Weck's poetic voice, adding an intimate layer to the EP. Actress and writer de Weck has been the 'face' of Büchi's current audiovisual live show, in which she grants a seemingly intimate view into the actress' mind. Their track 'Fair Enough' expands this collaboration to the next stage. As a whole, 'Liquid Bones' continues Noémi Büchi's study of matter, form and structure. By examining their impermanence and transience, Büchi emphasises the temporary nature of being.

Turin-based artist Sharon Ritossa is responsible for the cover design and explains: «Bones and the central leaf, the 'punctum' of the image, symbolize the transience of both the body and nature. The liquid, however, takes on the form of a crystallized memento mori, freezing mortality in time. These elements evoke impermanence while preserving a moment of reflection. The interplay between textures creates an eerie beauty. It's as if the scene unfolds through the filter of a screen, mediating our gaze.» Noémi Büchi is a Swiss/French sound and sound artist that creates and explores the potential of cross-genre musical structures. Her music is defined by a delicate synthesis of textural rhythms and electroacoustic-orchestral abstraction. She contrasts rhythmic physicality with disruption and playfully emphasizes irregularities, creating an expansive listening experience marked by detail and elevation.

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Written and produced by Noémi Büchi Vocals on track 5 by Joséphine de Weck Mastered by Manuel Oberholzer, Suoni Speziali Graphic design by Sharon Ritossa Poems by Marie-Christine Büchi [booklet] Kindly supported by PopKredit Stadt Zürich

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Release Date: February 7, 2025 Format: vinyl + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

«Groovin’ on the risk of falling apart is our common playground, like surfing on an underwater tightrope through waves of frequencies, riding on broken rhythms.» — Simon Grab & David Meier

Porœs is the first album emerging from the new collaboration between electronic musician and no-input-mixing polymath Simon Grab and multifaceted drummer and composer David Meier, who is also part of the internationally sought-after avant minimal rock band Schnellertollermeier.

Grab and Meier’s cross-genre sound is raw and volatile, morphing between razor-sharp, rolling, crumbling, erratic and fierce states. It balances between Meier’s vibrant organic drumming and Grab’s pulsating bleeps and noises, growling bass lines and dubbed out feedbacks that he extracts from his custom-plugged no-input-mixing setup. Always on the edge of musical tipping points, Grab gradually pushes his circuits into overdrive, only to recalibrate right before everything breaks apart. In defiance, Meier offers an abundance of bold, incisive, stumbling and lighthearted, earthly rhythms and textures that intertwine seamlessly and offer a world of its own to explore.

Throughout Porœs neither instrument is taking the lead. The two musicians step into a constant dialogue where it seems as if the sound waves are plunged into a perpetual maelstrom, welded into unbreakable bodies and melted into magma-like currents. Being fervently hazardous improvisers, Grab and Meier recorded this seven track album in several studio sessions, leading to a result that is confident and precise, but keeps the urgency of live improvisation. The constant sense of risk, of falling out of touch, combined with the intriguing thrill of witnessing an extended moment of equilibrium is what makes Simon Grab and David Meier’s Porœs so captivating.

Simon Grab understands the error as integral part of his method. In a matrix of electronic feedback circuits, he tames the raw noises to find a musical balance within the randomness. Existing systems are always dynamic and never stable. In order to thrive, any system relies on feedback to balance itself out and adapt to the environment. His no-input-mixing album «Posthuman Species» and EP «Extinction» were released on -OUS, as well as his collaboration «[No] Surrender» with drone guitar player Francesco Guidici. David Meier has been active between minimal music, modern composition, improvisation, jazz and rock music for nearly two decades. His band Schnellertollermeier tours internationally regularly and has played numerous festivals and tours all over the world. He initiated and collaborates with several duos, trios and ensembles, notably his septet Hunter-Gatherer that acts as a vehicle for his rhythmically complex and melodically idiosyncratic compositions. He appears on about 40 recordings to date. 

___CREDITS

Simon Grab, electronics David Meier, drums

Recorded, mixed and produced by Simon Grab & David Meier Mastered by Adi Flück at Centraldubs Photos courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Sleeve concept and design by Hammer

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We're excited to announce that drummer and percussionist David Meier is joining -OUS. Together with no-input-mixing polymath Simon Grab, he will be releasing the album «Porœs» on vinyl and in digital formats on February 7, 2025.

Grab and Meier’s cross-genre sound is raw and volatile, morphing between razor-sharp, rolling, crumbling, erratic and fierce states. It balances between Meier’s vibrant organic drumming and Grab’s pulsating bleeps and noises, growling bass lines and dubbed out feedbacks that he extracts from his custom-plugged no-input-mixing setup.

David Meier has been active between minimal music, modern composition, improvisation, jazz and rock music for nearly two decades. His band Schnellertollermeier tours internationally regularly and has played numerous festivals and tours all over the world.

Release Date: December 6, 2024 Format: vinyl + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

«Knowledge gets in the way. It is only the very ignorant person who can get past that problem because he is not fogged over by knowledge. When you're looking for new answers to new questions, it is knowledge itself that blocks progress. It is knowledge that creates rear currents just as wealth creates poverty. Knowledge creates ignorance.» — Marshall McLuhan

We are very happy to present the second installment in our collaboration with SMEM. Dorian Concept spent 10 days at the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments to record Music From A Room Full of Synths. Even though he doesn't consider himself a "gear-guy," his unique approach led to a record defined by its playful curiosity and free-form arrangements. The entire album was recorded live, with no sequencing or programming involved. Thus, capturing the rawness of the moment, while celebrating the quirks and imperfections of older electronic-music gear, became the core of this project.

Dorian Concept explains: «I appreciate the quirks that come when working with older music gear. While vintage synthesizers are often praised for their warm sound, it’s their unique characteristics that I find most interesting. Exploring the distinctiveness of each instrument and celebrating their differences is at the heart of this project.»

Dorian Concept is a highly respected electronic musician who has been releasing music for close to two decades. As a cross-genre "synthesizer virtuoso," he mixes experimental electronic sounds with jazz, ambient, and club music. Due to his unmistakable sound and singular live show, he has become a sought-after performer. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with musicians and producers such as Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and Kenny Beats.

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Written and produced by Oliver Johnson Mastered by VFBM Cover by Sarah Parsons Recorded at SMEM

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We are excited to announce the 2nd release within our collaboration with SMEM. Austrian musician Dorian Concept recorded nine tracks during his residency an the SMEM, which will be released on -OUS in December 2024.

Austrian musician Dorian Concept has been releasing music for close to two decades on influential labels like Ninja Tune and Brainfeeder, among others. As a cross- genre "synthesizer virtuoso," he mixes experimental electronic sounds with jazz, ambient, and club music. Due to his unmistakable sound and singular live show, he has become a sought-after performer.

Release Date: May 24, 2024 Format: vinyl LP + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

«The new avant-garde isn’t about creating something that doesn’t yet exist, it’s about abandoning and confusing rigid genres. I want to open up, in order to both abolish and reconstruct the musical past.» — Noémi Büchi

Noémi Büchi’s album ‘Does It Still Matter’ completes a series of releases whose titles - ‘Matière’, ‘Matter’, and ‘Does It Still Matter’ - place the physicality of music in the center of attention. Büchi’s specific sound structures and aesthetic choices question the state of materiality in a world that is becoming more and more fluid and intangible.

From ‘Matière’ to ‘Matter’, Büchi subtly transferred from a focus on substance to questioning the enigmatic core of being, passing from a noun to a verb, and from a single word to an inquiry. ‘Does It Still Matter’ weighs in on the importance of questioning. Her pieces juxtapose multi-layered analog synthesizer textures, crystal clear sounds and almost brutalistic noises, while they unfold in compositional structures akin to pop songs. Driven by an orchestra of myriad parts, her music creates transcendent intonations that resonate deeply with the listeners’ bodies. A daring blend of complexity and accessibility are molded into captivating sound sculptures that challenge and intrigue listeners alike.

Deviating from conventional time divisions, ’Does It Still Matter’ immerses listeners in a discordant succession of elements, and guides them towards an eternal present that erases the past with each new revelation, while maintaining it through recurring themes that serve as intimate memories. Büchi’s electronic maximalism questions our linear perception of time, offering a glimpse into a world where the past, present, and future converge into a singular moment. Her avant-garde approach rejects predictability, inviting listeners to immerse themselves fully in the present. Everything starts anew at any given instant. Each musical idea exists for one precise moment, rendering the future unpredictable.‘Does It Still Matter’ unfolds against a backdrop of collective disaster and biocidal urgency, challenging the very essence of time. Büchi explains: «The world appears to have gone mad. It’s all but impossible to reflect on the meaning of avant-garde in music, considering the future in this sepulchral kind of stability of the human condition.» Her compositions resonate like an infernal machine, questioning the instantaneous dissipation of everything. Finally, echoes and fragments of sounds remain, haunting memories like ghostly companions.

’Does It Still Matter’ is an immersive experience that invites listeners to contemplate the impermanence of our world and the enduring power of sound.

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Written and produced by Ludwig Berger Cover image by Paulin Rogues Track list poem by Daisy Lafarge Mastering by Manuel Oberholzer VFBM Graphic design by Rebecca Morganti-Pfaffhauser

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Release Date: May 17, 2024 Format: vinyl LP + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

««Music is a form of world building. I love to develop sonic characters and set them into fictional ecosystems with unique textures, acoustics and atmospheres. Each song forms a different landscape, through which a vocal character guides us and tries to tell us its stories.» — Ludwig Berger

Ludwig Berger’s ‘fictional’ debut album «Garden Ediacara» unfolds as a musical eco-fiction, guiding listeners through a speculative ecosystem with synthesized vocals. Infused with storytelling techniques from sci-fi and fantasy, the album intertwines melodic songwriting with electroacoustic sound design. Inspired by hydrofeminism and eco-fiction novels, such as «A Door Into Ocean» by Joan Slonczewski, the album delves into the geological period of Ediacara around 600 million years ago — an era so remote it resonates as a glimpse into a possible future. The Ediacaran period was characterised by a peaceful and thriving ecosystem inhabited by soft-bodied creatures without eyes and bones, which were completely wiped out through the appearance of a new species. «Garden of Ediacara» alludes to this period, celebrating both the pleasures of biodiversity as well as mourning its inevitable loss. The narrative unfolds as an exploration of growth and interconnection in the shadow of a coming extinction. The track titles, written by Daisy Lafarge, reveal themselves as a cohesive poem and contribute to the album’s narrative.

Informed by his practice of field recording that focusses on intimate encounters with plants, animals and geological phenomena, as well as his studies in electroacoustic composition, Berger expands his palette for his debut in ‘fictional’ music. The album prominently features a post-human, non-binary death metal voice synthesizer, physical modeling instruments, and microscopic field recordings of plants, insects, as well as aquatic and geological life. With impressionistic strokes, Ludwig Berger crafts vibrant worlds using glassy timbres and more-than-human voices, guiding listeners through emotionally ambiguous terrain, seamlessly oscillating between moments of intimacy and irritation, melancholy and playfulness.

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Written and produced by Ludwig Berger Cover image by Paulin Rogues Track list poem by Daisy Lafarge Mastering by Manuel Oberholzer VFBM Graphic design by Rebecca Morganti-Pfaffhauser

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We're super excited to announce that landscape sound artist, educator and musician Ludwig Berger is joining -OUS. We will be releasing his EP «Species Loneliness» on March 29th, and his debut 'fictional' album «Garden of Ediacara» on May 3rd.

In his compositions, installations and performances, Ludwig Berger enables intimate and playful sonic encounters with plants, animals, buildings and geological entities. In his musical work, he produces sonic eco-fictions with processed and synthetic sounds. He has composed sound and music for award-winning films and theatre pieces and curated the landscape sound festival Sonic Topologies in Zurich. He is also founder and curator of the label Vertical Music , which releases field recordings and experimental music.

Release Date: December 8, 2023 Format: vinyl LP + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Listen on Spotify + co

«This music unites our common love for the essence of music, which contains harmonic structures and emotionality without borders.» — Musique Infinie

Musique Infinie, the new duo consisting of Noémi Büchi and Feldermelder, is rooted in a shared desire to intertwine two composing veins, and to merge them into a new, massive core. While Büchi combined her background in classical and electro-acoustic music with a bold approach to composition on her highly acclaimed debut album ‘Matter’ (-OUS, 2022), multi-disciplinary musician and artist Feldermelder has been expanding his artistic practice into unexplored realms for over 20 years. Mutually, they’ve challenged themselves to fully engage on an artistic exploration aimed at making use of the elementary forces that unfold between them.

Their debut album, simply titled ‘I’, is a musical hybridization. The compositions make use of simple motives that are radically transformed by expanding them into intricate structures and fantastic layerings. The overcoming of genres with eclectic elements from classical music, jazz, film music and traditional music, combined with the vocabulary of experimental electronic music, complete the vertical plunge into this thickness. The emerging pieces lead into a paradoxical world, both disturbing and euphoric. Pieces that don’t give in to calculations and expectations, but progress through ruptures and repetitions. The richness of the compositions and their analog, acoustic and orchestral character reflect the density of the world with its violence, its decadence, its fragility, but also its power, its ingenuity and its beauty.

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Written and produced by Manuel Oberholzer & Noémi Büchi Mixed by Maurizio Borgna Mastered by Suoni Speziali Cover imgage by David Houncheringer Graphic design by Fichtre & Musique Infinie This is OUS044

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Bandcamp / Kudos / Boomkat / HHV Records / Juno / Bleep / Tidal / Spotify / Apple Music / Traxsource

Release Date: November 24, 2023 Format: vinyl LP + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Pre-save on Spotify + co Watch a video version of the piece.

«What you do is a fundamental question. But it’s how you do something that ultimately determines the effect.» — Julian Sartorius

With ‘RLLRLRLLRRLRLRLRLLRLRLR’, Swiss drummer and sound artist Julian Sartorius presents his third album in three years. Together with ‘Ensemble This | Ensemble That’ Sartorius has created a mesmerizing 39-minute percussion album that conclusively expands his artistic output. For the first time, an ensemble plays an idea conceived by Sartorius, while he assumes the role of an interactive conductor, manipulating the sounds made.

Sartorius is known for his fluid and versatile solo performances in which he continually modulates the sound of his instruments, adding objects and progressively unfolding his sound world. The idea of expanding this practice was already gestating when the ‘Ensemble This | Ensemble That’ invited him for a collaboration. Together with the drummers and percussionists Brian Archinal, Victor Barceló, Miguel Angel Garcia Martin and Bastian Pfefferli the concept was further explored, elaborated upon in detail, and finally realized.

‘RLLRLRLLRRLRLRLRLLRLRLR’ is both title and score for the ensemble’s four percussionists. The pattern, consisting of 23 individual beats, is played continuously by the ensemble while Sartorius gradually makes alterations to the instruments played. The result is a piece that has a sustained rhythmic flow yet is perpetually changing. Sartorius’ interventions and the precise musicality of the ensemble allows the listener to discover an expansive array of moods and intensities.

The album is structurally recursive but develops an almost mystical magnetism through an odyssey of diverse musical landscapes. Sartorius explains: «It amazes me deeply how much the sentiment can change based on a musical mood - this sense of curiosity is made audible with this album.» The album recording itself is designed as an endless loop: at the end of the recording, the ensemble’s sound has returned to its starting point, thereby completing an endless, self-contained cycle, with no beginning or end. In this way, Sartorius also echoes his 2021 album ‘Locked Grooves’.

Julian Sartorius’ precise and multi-layered rhythmical patterns are keen excursions into the hidden tones of found objects and prepared instruments, bridging the gap between organic timbres and the vocabulary of (experimental) electronic music. He has released numerous solo albums, creates audiovisual art works, collaborates with musicians, writers, and artists, and performs live in intimate venues and on festival stages.

Ensemble This | Ensemble That (ET|ET) have established themselves not only as interpreters of contemporary music, but also as collaborators to a wide range of artists including projects like Zimoun, Myriam Bleu, Strotter Inst., Lê Quan Ninh, Marko Ciciliani, Jürg Frey, and Michael Maierhof, amongst others.

___CREDITS Composed by Julian Sartorius in collaboration with Ensemble This | Ensemble That Recorded by Grégoire Pasquier at Studio de la Fonderie Edited by Julian Sartorius Mixed by Grégoire Pasquier and Julian Sartorius Mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk Mastering Cut by Adi Flück at Centraldubs Graphic design by Sarah Parsons

Julian Sartorius & Ensemble This | Ensemble That recorded a 39-minute version of the piece 'RLLRLRLLRRLRLRLRLLRLRLR'. It will be released on vinyl and in digital formats on November 24, 2023.

Watch a 7-minute video version here. Pre-order the vinyl LP on Bandcamp. Pre-save the release for your Spotify + co.

Release Date: October 13, 2023 Format: vinyl LP + digital Order on: Bandcamp / Kudos Stream on Spotify / Apple Music / Tidal

«I feel a deep sense of loss listening to this music, but at the same time the possibility of going beyond it through sound. It doesn’t want to illustrate anything, but I would like it to be transformative, even of a feeling that sounds like death. It is an elegy.» - Furtherset

The Infinite Hour is a shattered elegy synthesized in electronics. Furtherset’s music does not explain, settle or justify, it rather simply manifests the grip of anguish. As a whole, the album’s six compositions resemble the labored breathing of one who mourns a disappearance and fears oblivion. A feeling like having one’s chest weightened by a stone, while still being attentive to one’s breath, and aware of what remains. From this dimension The Infinite Hour arises and transfigures loss into a space that is always extending: the hour is infinite, the melody is circular, and even stasis has its own measure that is exceeded into eternity. The Infinite Hour is one possible manifestation of an ever-changing musical landscape, a universe with unmis- takable sounds but always on the verge of disintegrating, collapsing, and opening up spaces, times, infinities.

___CREDITS Written and produced by Tommaso Pandolfi Mixed by Alberto Ricca (Bienoise) Illustrations by Tommaso Pandolfi Graphic Design by Jahn Koutrios Mastered by Manuel Oberholzer at vfbm Fribourg

Release Date: September 8, 2023 Format: digital album Buy via: Bandcamp / Kudos / Boomkat / Traxsource Stream on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube

«Just as we are entangled in this systematic chaos, by refining our perception and exploring the subtle gradations that make up the grey, we may begin to understand the intricate variations of reality.» - SPIME.IM

Turin-based audiovisual collective SPIME.IM is thrilled to announce their highly anticipated album ‘Grey Line’. The release explores the intricate nuances of the grey scale within the contemporary landscape, encapsulating the complexities of human experiences and the choices we encounter in an interconnected society. With ‘Grey Line’, SPIME.IM continue to carve out their distinct place among contemporary music innovators, balancing between - and deconstructing - various club genres. Each track is intimately connected to a specific gradation of grey, creating a unique musical journey through the nuances of existence. The album also features two exceptional guests: Stina Fors and Lorem. Stina Fors contributes her captivating vocals to the opening track ‘Crystal’, adding a concealed human element to the mix. It is a genuine human voice that assumes the role of an artificial one. Lorem, in ‘Pure’, performs the exact opposite. He utilises trained AI models to incorporate hip hop screamo vocals, bringing a sleek and intense touch to the album, and blurring the boundaries between human and artificial voices. This unique fusion enhances the album’s experimental essence and pushes the boundaries of musical collaboration. SPIME.IM explain: «In an era filled with contradictions and uncertainties, we delve into the emotional landscape we find ourselves in — an interval between the decline of the old and the construction of the new». ‘Grey Line’ offers a pathway to escape the monotony and embrace the richness and diversity hidden within the greyscale, promising to be a thought-provoking and immersive musical experience that allows listeners to explore the nuances of diverse gradations of reality.

___CREDITS Written and produced by SPIME.IM SPIME.IM are Davide Tomat, Gabriele Ottino, Matteo Marson and Marco Casolati. Mixed and mastered by Maurizio Borgna Cover design by Francesco Serasso

This is OUS049

Release: July 7, 2023 Format: vinyl LP + digital Buy on Bandcamp / Kudos Stream via Spotify / Apple Music

«We find ourselves venturing into the depths of a rugged terrain. In our hands, we hold stones and minerals, each possessing its own distinct texture, weight, and sonic potential. It is through artistic touch and through the musicality of these earthly treasures, once dormant, that life is awakened.» - Sara Oswald & Feldermelder

The third collaborative album by prolific cellist Sara Oswald and electronic musician Feldermelder evokes captivating sensations, oscillating between sentiments of impending doom and tentative hope. A cerebral, highly immersive work that transports the listener from one landscape to another. Metallic resonances and sustained orchestral tones weave an entrancing tapestry of futurism and organic sound, incorporating granular elements and panoramic expansiveness. Sara Oswald & Feldermelder convey light and tension, with orchestral harmonic structures lending a sense of grandeur and continuity. This is enigmatic music, gradually unveiling concealed aspects and hidden truths. 

An inspiring component, Sara Oswald’s pure and melodic cello playing draws out emotive lustre, fluidly transitioning between colossal peaks, vibrant hues, cascading notes, and hushed echoes. Feldermelder invokes similarly elemental attributes in electronics which swirl and storm across the sound field; sculpted textures, fragmentary glitches and boundless atmospherics that warp the fabric of reality. The two musicians merge harmoniously, uniting transcendent acoustic sound and striking electronic forms. This contrasting fusion makes for unique and intriguing music, the cello’s warmth coalescing with electronic pulsation, creating a symphony of juxtaposition and upheaval. Their powerful, intricately woven electroacoustic architecture balances chaos and control, a labyrinthine proposition that holds both monumental soundscapes and remote sonorities within its grasp, as if envisaging the totality of a natural topography, from the vast scale of a mountain to the smallest grains of sand.

Trained in baroque cello and advocating improvised music, Sara Oswald is the perfect match for sound artist and electronic musician Feldermelder. She plays solo, composes for film and theatre and collaborates with musicians like The Young Gods, Pascal Auberson, Sophie Hunger and Julian Sartorius. Feldermelder is a polymathic creative whose artistry spans composition, sound design, installation, and coding. He is co-founder of -OUS and part of Encor.studio, a collective of artists who specialise in creating immersive audio-visual installations. Through his work, he explores the idea of secrecy and its impact on our lives, using music and sound to create a thought-provoking and absorbing listening experience.

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Written by Feldermelder & Sara Oswald Produced by Manuel Oberholzer Mastered by VFBM Cover Design by Isaak Rickenbacher

This is OUS038

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Release: May 12, 2023 Format: cassette + digital Buy on Bandcamp / Kudos Stream via Spotify / Apple Music

«The nearly infinite improvisational potential in my performances is a result of tweaking the technology, using it in unpredictable ways, musically exploiting it, and maybe even misusing it.» - Svetlana Maraš

Composer, sound artist & musician Svetlana Maraš has spent years developing her unique setup for live performances. She builds her live sets as frameworks for exploration by emphasising the sculptural and improvisational potential, rather than reproducibility. The core of Maraš’ performative practice lies in the accessibility of all layers of what a ‘musical image’ at any given point consists of, and the gestural manipulation of these layers.

Using micro samples as a basis of her musical vocabulary, Maraš treats her live setup like an acoustic instrument. Using tablet controllers running a self-built Touch OSC interface, pedals and different pressure based interfaces, she manipulates and morphs the material with the mindset of a sculptor, while exposing herself to the audience and the room. Her focus lies with the musical form and the structure, while the shape of the sounds projected into the performance space define which turn she might take next.

Maraš explains: «I am interested in how sounds fill up the room, how they spread, how near or far they are, how ‘big’ or ‘small’ they seem, how they morph and move». With the set she played from 2019 to 2020, Maraš reached the apotheosis of her practice, regarding the handling and manipulation of micro samples and micro-collaging. -OUS is releasing a live recording of this set as a deep dive into the vast possibilities of live sound manipulation.

Svetlana Maraš is composer and artist active in the field of experimental music. Her work, which she presents internationally, encompasses variety of formats such as live performance, electro-acoustic composition, sound installations and works for the radio. She is the winner of the most prestigious Serbian composition prize «Mokranjac», awarded by the Serbian Composers’ Association. From 2016-2021, she was composer in residence and artistic director at Radio Belgrade’s Electronic studio, where she established numerous programs such as artistic residencies, educational courses and most notably, restoration of EMS Synthi 100. Currently, Maraš is Professor of Creative Music Technology and Co-head of Electronic Studio at Hochschule für Musik FHNW, Basel. 

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Music by Svetlana Maraš Recorded at Il Circolo del Frattempo, Zurich, 2019 Mastered by Manuel Oberholzer Artwork by Marko Vuleta-Djukanov Graphic design by Rebecca Morganti-Pfaffhauser

This live set was recorded at Il Circolo del Frattempo, Zurich, a co-production between -OUS and MADAM.

The set was additionally performed at: HEK, Basel CAN, Neuchâtel Galerie Weisser Elefant, Berlin

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