New Berlin event series celebrates South East Asian and South American diasporic artists
Soydivision, L_KW and Midnight Shift come together to highlight emerging experimental artists through a series of improvisational performance and discourse events, plus a live compilation
A new event series in Berlin aims to celebrate emerging experimental artists from the South American and South East Asian diasporas.
South by South Sonic Serenade is a collaborative effort from the Soydivision art collective, which has Indonesian roots, sonic activism label and collective L_KW and Singaporean label and promoter Midnight Shift. The project is an expansion of Soy&Synth, a monthly music and culinary event by soydivision and L-KW.
"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," their website reads. "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."
The three-part 2022 project includes three shows, a discussion series and a compilation of live recordings from the three concerts.
Each monthly musical event will showcase two improvised collaborations between pairings of South East Asian and South American artists. The first show takes place this Saturday, 27th August, at Uferstudios' Heizhaus, with Ana Rosa and Tanat Teeradakorn performing together, as well as a collaboration from Dea Karina and Connie Mandale.
The September and October editions, at Morphine Raum and Kantine am Berghain respectively, will feature: Kei Watanabe and qeei; Debbie Chia and Verónica Mota; Carla Boregas and ghaliz; and messyfingers and Marcioz.
The discourse programme will take place on 16th November at Uferstudios' Ana Conda am Ufar. Discussions will span the "political complexities of colonial scars (even in the music and media industry today), similarities of violence, and of course, sound and music practices between the two cultures".
Find more information on upcoming events and artists on Soy&Synth's website, and read about their code of conduct for events here.
