Stephen O'Malley & Kali Malone MODULAR ORGAN SYSTEM / CTM 2022 / Silent Green, Berlin / 29 Jan 2022

Kali Malone & Stephen O'Malley MODULAR ORGAN SYSTEM Performative Installation / Day 9 / CTM 2022 – CONTACT, 23rd Edition / Presented by singuhr-projekte in collaboration with CTM Festival / Silent Green, Betonhalle / Berlin / 29 January 2022

Phillip Sollmann and Konrad Sprenger collaborate on an extensive sound installation that oscillates between sculpture, performance, and active listening in space. Existing in the liminal space between installation, environment, performance and concert, »Modular Organ System« is a multi-part instrument built from numerous sound generating objects that can be controlled by computer. Using established and novel construction methods as well as traditional and unconventional materials such as ceramic, wood, and plastic, the system was created through collaborations between visual artists, organ builders, technologists and artisans. As much a sculptural installation as it is an instrument, the heterogeneous structure’s openly visible components reveal the intricacy and adaptability of its design – pipes, wind chests, air hoses, electromechanical components are laid bare in their striking physicality. Playing on the concept of the organ as a proto-synthesizer, the platform interweaves contemporary electronic and instrumental music with organ traditions in hopes of expanding acoustic ranges and discovering new musical idioms. Musicians and composers of diverse practices have been invited to interact with the imposing instrument using various approaches. For six hours each day, the audience is invited to observe the processes of artists exploring its possibilities, sometimes with the intervention of other instruments. During this time, the presentation will alternate between various modes, ranging from sound installation to precomposed pieces to improvisational dialogues between the performing artists and the system.

Kali Malone – The Stockholm-based American composer and musician has been the source of some of the most quietly revelatory music of the past several years. Her compositions implement specific tuning systems in minimalist structure for pipe organ, choir, chamber music ensembles, and electroacoustic formats. Malone’s music is rich with harmonic texture through synthetic and acoustic instrumentation in repetitive motions and extended durations. The music emits distinct emotive, dynamic, and affective hues which bring forth a stunning depth of focus. In 2016, Malone co-founded the record label and concert series XKatedral, together with Maria W Horn, in Stockholm. Her 2019 critically-acclaimed album The Sacrificial Code is a major work featuring almost two hours of concentrated pipe organ pieces with profound emotional resonance. She has performed extensively in Europe and North America at events and institutions such as Musica Festival, Berlin Atonal, Moogfest, Kanal Pompidou, Elbphilharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, and Radio France. Her commission projects and residencies include the Ina GRM, Berlin Monom, The Richard Thomas Foundation, MACBA, Macadam Ensemble, Orgelpark, Elektronmusikstudion and Tempo Reale. She collaborates and performs with artists including Stephen O’Malley, Lucy Railton, Frederikke Hoffmeier, Leila Bordreuil, Drew McDowall, Caterina Barbieri, and Ellen Arkbro.

Stephen O'Malley – The American composer and musician, though best known for his role as guitarist and founder of Sunn O))), has earned admiration as a wizard of fiercely innovative collaborations and as a promulgator of the musical and artistic avant-garde at large. O’Malley was born in New Hampshire, USA and raised in Seattle. After forming Sunn O))) with Greg Anderson in 1998, he also founded the groups Khanate (2000), KTL (2005), Nazoranai (2011), and ÄÄNIPÄÄ (2011). He left Seattle for New York, where he spent ten years, and is now based in Paris. He collaborates frequently with outsider musicians, artists, and composers in various formations and in both live and studio settings. He helped create the record labels Southern Lord (in 1998) and Ajna Offensive (in 1995) and worked as the art director for Misanthropy Records from 1997 to 2000. In 2011 he created Ideologic Organ, an Editions Mego sublabel, together with Peter Rehberg. O’Malley’s work is defined by its remarkable breadth and variety and has been marked by joint efforts with a wide range of experimental musicians, including Scott Walker, Merzbow, Jim O’Rourke, Keiji Haino, Mats Gustaffson, Peter Rehberg, and Oren Ambarchi; French choreographer and theater director Gisèle Vienne; author Dennis Cooper; Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov; American sculptor Banks Violette; Italian performance artist Nico Vascellari; American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch; Fashion designer Rick Owens; Belgian filmmaker Alexis Destoop; and contemporary composers Roger Tessier, Eyvind Kang and Alvin Lucier, and Iancu Dumitrescu.