About

In the later part of 2022, Berlin-based initiatives Soydivision (an art collective with strong Indonesian roots), L_KW (a sonic activism label/collective) and Midnight Shift (a label and event producer originating from Singapore), made a special edition of Soy&Synth, a grassroots event series dedicated to emerging artists in the experimental music scene within Berlin. For 2022, they presented a 3-part series called “South by South Sonic Serenade”. The series teased out deeper dialogues and improvised performances with sound artists and musicians from South East Asian and South American diasporic backgrounds living in Berlin.

Beyond shared similarities along natural landscapes, flora, and fauna, South East Asia and South America also share sound and musical practices that deal, subtly or not, with the (often violent) devices, legacies, and cultural and political complexities of colonialism. Subcultures have emerged in both regions in terms of contemporary art and music, with many artists working at the intersection of these entanglements either ‘at home’ or ‘abroad’. While Berlin has become a melting pot and refuge for many artists and practices with ties to these regions, the representation of these discourses - curated and instigated by artists diasporised from these regions - is missing.

A final gathering and discourse program involving participants from the program was held in November in collaboration with Radical Sounds Latin America affectionately termed our South-to-South dialogue:)

These recordings were the results of warm invitations to artists from our diasporas to claim, disobey, resist, and serenade us and each other with our entangled sonic heritages.

Locations & Venues

Part 1:
AnaRosa @la_anarosa + Tanat Teeradakorn @pgm_991
Dea Karina @repost.institute + Connie Mandale @nicodaleman
Recorded live at Heizhaus @uferstudios_tanz_berlin at Uferstudios on 27, August 2022

Part 2:
Kei Watanabe @petal.sounds + qeei @qeeiqeei
Debbie Chia @debbchia + Verónica Mota @777antigona
Recorded live at Morphine Raum @morphine_records_raum on 24, September 2022

Part 3:
Carla Boregas @carlaboregas + ghaliz @emperorsslaves
Messyfingers @memeshift + Marcioz @itsmarcioz
Recorded live at Kantine am Berghain #kantineamberghain on 28, October 2022 

Credits

released May 4, 2023

Curation and coordination: Ariel William Orah, Pedro Oliveira, Morgan Sully, Kavan Spruyt
Production: Umi Maisaroh, Ghaliz Fikhair Haris
Sound, stage, lights: Ghaliz Fikhair Haris, Aldillah Dhiaz Pahlevi
Discourse Program: Ariel William Orah, Talía Vega León
Graphic design: Megawati Triadini
Abendkasse: Imam Wicaksono
Photography: Asarela Dewi
Venues: Heizhaus am Uferstudios, Morphine Raum, Kantine am Berghain, Ana Conda am Ufer
Partner: Radical Sounds Latin America

Artists

AnaRosa (Ana Rosa Ibanez Bulnes), Carla Boregas (Carla Boregas), Marcioz (Marcio Zygmunt de Oliveira Mieczkowscki), Connie Mandale (Nico Daleman), qeei (Tatiana Heumann), Verónica Mota (Verónica Mota), messyfingers (Morgan Sully), Dea Karina (Dea Karina), Debbie Chia (Debbie Chia), ghaliz (Ghaliz Filkhair Haris), Kei Watanabe (Kei Watanabe), Tanat Teeradakorn (Tanat Teeradakorn)

Recordists:
Ghaliz Fikhair Haris (Part 1)
Rabih Beaini (Part 2)
Aldillah Dhiaz Pahlevi (Part 3)

Mastering:
Aldillah Dhiaz Pahlevi

#soyandsynth 2022 is made possible by the generous support and funded by Musicboard Berlin ❤️ collectively organized by sōydivision, Midnight Shift, and L-KW

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