Artists

Can you introduce yourself briefly? Andreas Nordheim, I play cornet, alto trombone, and piccolo trumpet.

What have you been busy with lately, and what are your projects for the near future?
Rehearsing with the EMR (Ensemble für Musik und Rhythmus).

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life?
No.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focuses in your work?
Ensemble playing, meaningful rules of play.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
Creaking door.

Introduce yourself briefly.
As burgund t brandt, I create installations, performances, sound compositions, and audio works that are presented in the context of visual arts, theater, sound art, and radio art. Using aspects of performative listening, I artistically explore and transform the relationships in the in-between. In my works, I often dissect everyday instabilities between humans and nature, as well as forms of communication through different media. The focus is primarily on auditory experiences of engagement, where the body becomes a space in which (political) events can be experienced as individual resonance. I am part of the Leipzig performance duo Nadelør, the Cologne ensemble “Elektrische Leiter,” the artist group PARA, and I am also involved in Habeatus e.V., which organizes and implements the annual Seanaps Festival in Leipzig’s western district.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
Recently, we premiered BEST OF: BAUM in Hamburg, a solo performance by Portuguese performer Juliana Oliveira, for which I worked on sound dramaturgy, sound design, and music. In the coming months, we will be working on our first release with Nadelør.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it?
/

What are your influences and inspirations, and what are your focuses in your work?
I am inspired by courageous living beings, from the smallest bacterium to the largest rock.

What makes Leipzig attractive to you as an artist?
I have only recently arrived in Leipzig, but predominantly artistically motivated decisions have brought me here… the rest will unfold.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
At this point in time, Leipzig is the hum of a refrigerator for me, something that goes unnoticed when you’re there but always provides a feeling of home when you return to the door after a short or long absence.

Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Chris Weinheimer, musician, composer, director.

Where is your musical center of life and why?
My musical center of life is constantly shifting. Sometimes it’s the ongoing exploration of the Shakuhachi, which is still relatively new to me. Other times it’s rehearsals or concerts with a specific ensemble. Occasionally, it’s the theories of Pierre Schaeffer and the unsettling question of what they mean for my musical center of life. Sometimes it’s the rediscovery of music I haven’t heard before, and sometimes it’s the rediscovery of music I’ve heard many times… Why? Because I’ve had the privilege for a long time to pursue my interests, not always, but fairly often.

How did the project start?
All these projects start with the ear, with sound… I constantly realize that sound is actually the most interesting thing for me. Intentionally produced sound as well as found sound, loud and soft, raw and refined…

What are your musical influences and inspirations?
Certainly, my biggest influence, my greatest inspiration, was and still is what is still derogatorily referred to as “jazz.” For me, the most important discovery in the tradition of 20th-century African-American music was that you can take what you want, what interests you, that you don’t need a university, a composition theory, or rules of harmony to invent, organize, and play sound.

What are the main focuses of your music?
Improvisation remains perhaps the only constant in all these projects.

Do you feel capitalist constraints in your musical life? What would it look like without them?
I have to elaborate on the first part of the question. Of course, in the traditional sense of capitalism critique, I find myself caught between two stools: on one hand, I own the means of production, but on the other hand, I have no control over market access. I can produce autonomously but not sell freely. However, in the current phase of deindustrialized digital platform capitalism, we are experiencing a revolution from above that permeates society down to every aspect of life. It is based on the model of triple freedom (freedom from permanent employment, market access, and real remuneration): consumers produce their own content in the form of user data, they are “produsers” or “prosumers.” Their communication, and thus their society, their life, becomes commodified, and digital platforms no longer have to produce; they are content with controlling the markets.
As for the second part of the question, let me dream: in a world without the mindlessness of industrial production of consumer and cultural goods, without the commercialization of communication, a local but not provincial, sustainable but not backward society would be conceivable. Cooking, making music, cleaning, painting, caring, organizing… all the things we do when we are active could become part of a culture produced together and non-hierarchically.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
We have been working intensively with the “ensemble modèle réduit.” I am still working on the translation of “Traité des objets musicaux.” More than before, I am interested in the attempt to capture and reproduce sound spatially.

What can one expect from your concert in Leipzig?
Research instead of aestheticization.

What is your best concert memory and why?
It’s impossible to answer which one. Perhaps Hozan Yamamoto in Cologne in the 80s, Vincent Herring with Yoron Isral in Leverkusen in the late 80s, or Ravi Shankar, the ensemble of the Seoul Music College in Leipzig…? Why, on the other hand, is simple: because it changed me. Because through it, I understood something new and many old things no longer.

If your city were a sound, what would it be?
I still associate Leipzig with something dirty, complex, continuous… lacking silence, lacking consonance, rich in friction, cumbersome… a kind of “drone” with block-like insertions of more complex textures…

Can you briefly introduce yourself? 
I am a musician from Scotland with a particular attachment to piano-playing and composition. 
 
What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future ? 
I have been busy with my group Altered Forms Trio and our concerts with various guest musicians. My upcoming project is with my jazz-funk band, Sly Chameleons. 
 
Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it 
be without it ? 
I feel much less capitalist pressure in my artistic life since I took up an office day-job with a music publisher. Not needing to earn a living from my artistic life is, for the time being, liberating. 
 
What are your influences and inspirations, your focuses in your work ? 
The focuses of my creative output are myriad, but the textures of sensation, shifting ambiguous weirdness, dissolving and reforming, openness and care are some recurring concerns. Influences are too many to list, but jazz music in general, and the Miles Davis second quintet in particular, have been very important to me. Also the work of composer Antoine Beuger. Inspiration comes from the opening up of new possibilities, and from the creativity of pleasant and imaginative people with values I admire.

If Leipzig was a sound, what would it be ?
Leipsischsch

Can you introduce yourself briefly?
I am a musician and composer, playing drums, accordion, and various percussion instruments. I am most musically inclined towards experimental music, navigating between improvised and composed forms.

Where is your musical center of life and why?
Besides my studio/rehearsal space where I practice, record, and compose, my musical center of life has been the quartet “Die Hochstapler” with Pierre Borel, Antonio Borghini, and Louis Laurain for over ten years. There, I can contribute a large part of my ideas and receive a multiplied amount of creative energy in return. As we memorize and apply all our compositions, rules of play, etc., through improvisation, the boundaries between composition and improvisation blur. Additionally, we compose collectively, and everything within the band happens completely on an equal and eye-level basis, which I highly appreciate.

How did the project start?
It started with an exploration of the music, philosophies, and concepts of Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton (“The Braxtornette Project,” 2011-2013).

What are your musical influences and inspirations?
Border-crossing personalities like the ones mentioned above, leaderless collectives like the Art Ensemble of Chicago or Sonic Youth, as well as countless concerts, records, and individuals from all areas of music. I also enjoy drawing inspiration and influence from visual art, film, literature, philosophy, mathematics, and other fields.

What are the main focuses of your music?
I’m interested in the spaces in between, the ambiguity, the non- or only partially calculable. I find it in the realm of microtonal sounds, in improvisation and collective processes, at the border of tone and noise, in irregular rhythms, and by directing attention to the sounds of my environment. When it comes to composing, I’m less interested in fixing things than defining a framework, focusing on a specific problem or complex of problems. In dealing with this, music is created through the interaction of various creative processes of perception and decision-making.

Do you feel capitalist constraints in your musical life? How would it look without them?
I find these questions very interesting, and indeed, I believe that the influence of financial circumstances and (non-)financial success on artistic development is discussed far too little. Without capitalist constraints, I could naturally focus on my music without regard for its marketability. On the other hand, marketability is also related to appreciation, and thus, these questions are hardly separable. Unless we are talking about a system change or at least a (generous) unconditional basic income.

What have you been busy with lately, and what are your projects for the near future?
I have been working on a release for the Japanese label Meenna, which will be out in the fall. The CD will feature two realizations of my card game composition “PLAY” performed by various ensembles, accompanied by a text by Tom Soloveitzik. I have been working with sine tones and field recordings, developing a soundtrack for a video work by Michal Fuchs. I transcribe and orchestrate spoken texts by figures such as Angela Davis, John Cage, and Morton Feldman. In the fall, we have a major project with Die Hochstapler as part of the Donaueschingen Music Days. We will explore language and text, and we have invited the singer Cristina Vetrone, composer Antje Vowinckel, and vocal artist Mat Pogo.

What can one expect from your concert in Leipzig?
I will perform the piece “D is for Drone” with a large ensemble, which we developed together. It focuses on microtonality and psychoacoustic effects, as well as dissolving individual contributions into the overall sound. Additionally, I am part of Ensemble Modèle Réduit, presenting results of our exploration of electronic music pioneers such as Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, and Maryanne Amacher.

What is your most beautiful concert memory and why?
There are many.

If your city were a sound, what would it be?
The clicking of pedestrian traffic lights on Sunday morning when nobody (neither on foot nor by car) passes by.

Can you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Izabela Kałduńska, I come from Gdańsk, and I have been playing the violin for 26 years.

What have you been busy with lately, and what are your projects for the near future?
Recently, I have been working on my second solo album, ‘The New Solarism – Hibernaculum’. Next, I want to release it on vinyl and book a solo tour for myself.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it?
I think if money fell from the sky for me, then I wouldn’t have to worry about fee negotiations, travel expenses, and overall costs for my artistic activities.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focuses in your work?
Contemporary classical music, such as that of Kaija Saariaho, ambient music projects like those of Aidan Baker, and other solo artists like Andrea Belfi.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
Today, it would be the sound of a helicopter monitoring protests 😉

Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Vinyl Dinosaur
We are a consortium, thus the we
With many fingers in many pies  
 
Where is your musical centre of life and why? 
We have branches in many global centres
looking to privatise cultural properties
and socialise cultural risks
this is the logic of capitalism 
 
How did the project start?
We are a start-up
therefore we can’t answer this question
since it’s in the past tense
  
What are your musical influences and inspirations? 
We are influenced by whatever the state subsidises 
We are inspired by where the money flows 
 
What are the main focuses of your music? 
Our focuses are diffuse
We do whatever is safe, subsidised and familiar
True innovation is the perfect average
The perfect average is highly uncommon
The true experiment 
 
Do you feel capitalist constraints in your musical life? What would it look like without them?
We both feel these constraints and are these constraints
Life without constraints would be uncreative
To be able to do anything would be to do nothing 
 
What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
We are occupied lobbying influential people
We will be branching out into new avenues of creacquisition 

What can you expect from your concert in Leipzig? 
familiar sounds
found in the past
from the street
from the archives
from the academies
monetised for your
convenience  
 
What is your best concert memory and why? 
counting the takings at the end of presentation
We focus on the bottom line 
 
If your city were a sound, which one would it be? 
Since we are global and urban
it’s a cacophony cancelled by
mirror glass windows

Can you introduce yourself briefly ?
Nime aka Jonas Petry (*1994)
I live and work mainly in Leipzig as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, artist manager and festival director. My repertoire includes prepared drums, piano, daf, tonbak and natural and artificial found objects.

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?
I find it interesting to be active in a city where the field of experimental music is growing. I would like to be involved in this process both artistically and organisationally, and to be part of the exchange taking place within it.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
I am currently moving into a new music studio, which I am very much looking forward to. There I would like to work on an installative live setup for prepared drums for Nime, among other things. Besides my solo project, I am part of Nadelør – an electroacoustic duo together with sound and media artist burgund t brandt dedicated to post-serial music, and Gutari – an electroacoustic noise duo together with sound artist Davide Luciani. I am also a member of the band Welten, which has just released its fourth album. I am also the chairman of the board of Habeatus e.V. and co-director of the project Seanaps Festival – Transdisciplinary Approaches in Experimental Music and Culture in Leipzig since its first edition in 2017. Since 2020, I have also been working as the manager of the Berlin-based musician and composer Mohammad Reza Mortazavi.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?
Yes. Trying to counteract this pressure feels absurd. On the one hand, I feel privileged to be able to live a life for art at all until now. On the other hand, there is a constant pressure to perform, which can trigger a lot of negative things. Art can be a free space from this. But it also involves  organising oneself individually and with others in order to create a situation that provides this freedom for everyone in the long term.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work?
I am interested in the possibilities of sound and rhythmic interweavings in the living world.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
The bell-like sound of industrial lampshades.

Can you briefly introduce yourself ? 

Hello, my name is Marietheres. I’m a soprano and I work with electronic effects/instruments to give my music even more expression! 🙂

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist ?

So much! Leipzig offers the mixture of big city and nature. It has a relatively small scene, but incredibly exciting and open artists, clubs and galleries with whom I like to exchange ideas! 🙂

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?

At the moment I am working a lot on my solo programme “What Tenderness sounds like” and how I can use interactive art as a mean of exchange 🙂

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?

Definitely. I could more easily engage in creative processes and not worry so much about “how far I can go with this project” and “if they are even worth it”. The best projects came about with grants where I didn’t have to worry about money for 3-4 months. COULD HAPPILY HAPPEN MORE OFTEN 🙂

What are your influences and inspirations, your focuses in your work ?

The human body on a psychological/chemiophysical and physical level, spatiality and interdisciplinarity.

If Leipzig was a sound, what would it be ?

Very light rustle of leaves/crackle

Can you introduce yourself briefly ?

I think it’s great to have ears and to spoil them with sounds. I indulge in this activity as a music and sound creator, as well as a sound technician, mixing at concerts or mastering produced music. I can also make a great cappuccino and many other things.

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?

That it is full of other musicians and cultural workers, and that there is a large audience.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?

I have been busy assembling solar panels and working on my resonant bodies. At the end of the month I’m taking part in a performance in Karlsruhe.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?

Not directly – but when I make art I can’t work for wages at the same time – so sometimes I have to make a choice. It would be much nicer without it.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work ?

Influences are the people around me and the sounds of my environment. In this work, my focus is the self-resonance of the objects I play on.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be ?

pink noise

Can you briefly introduce yourself ?

I play clarinet and electronics
I am interested in contemporary experimental music
I am interested in improvisation
I am interested in indeterminate scores

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist ?

Lively scene, away from the big focus, therefore freer in the sense of uncommercial freedom, allowing for experiments without pressure to produce results (which I would also describe as commercialisation)

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future ?

I am currently working on stage music for Dresden and Rostock, a museum installation in Sauerland and preparing my contributions for the ZiXP Festival.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?

Yes, and it has increased noticeably in the last 10 years. Without commercial pressure, that would be a dream!

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work ?

One focus is the reduction, the omission, the uncovering as a principle and the use of tools/software against the instruction manual.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be ?

Silence 🙂

Introduce yourself briefly.
My name is Paul Hauptmeier, and I am a composer and sound artist.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
Lately, I have been exploring perceptions of time and time spans that exceed human measure. In this context, together with Martin Recker, we have created two sound installations called “DECAY” and “Time Lines,” which are currently on display and can be heard in Tallinn. My next project will be a collaborative sound art project with artist friends in Indonesia.

What are your influences and inspirations, and what are your focuses in your work?
My thematic inspirations are constantly changing and complementing each other. Space often plays a central role in my music. Currently, I am primarily working in the field of installation and electroacoustic composition for music theater.

What makes Leipzig attractive to you as an artist?
The people and the lakes.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
Like most cities, it would be a murmuring, but a complex one that you enjoy listening to.

Can you introduce yourself briefly ? 

My instruments are singing bowls made of quartz. Their sounds are highly immersive and I have been working for over 10 years to make this industrial product, which is actually made to grow silicon, known as a concert instrument or a performative space_sound_installation in as many contexts as possible. 

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?

I love the huge diversity in Leipzig, which is still graspable and makes it possible to get to know all kinds of different things.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?

I’m working on a programme and a CD with the project “echo_von_nichts”. I am also working on spatial sound systems. At the moment I’m in a residency in Berlin and trying out new collaborations.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? What would it be like without it?

I think a basic income would be useful.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work ?

Ah. In my youth I was almost exclusively involved with classical music, my heroes were Schoenberg, Mahler, Bach, Shostakovich. I also remember Patti Smith, Peter Gabriel and Frank Zappa. Currently I try to absorb as few influences as possible in order to be open to my own ideas.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be ?

A low bass drone: I really like to hear the big old planes taking off in the north.

Introduce yourself briefly.
I am πxl (without pronouns).

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?
Lately, I have been primarily engaged in political and activist work, as well as nurturing my social relationships. I have been contemplating the relevance of my artistic work and the form in which I want to continue working artistically. Additionally, I have been working on the development of the software and hardware of my instrument and have had a few concerts with this setup. Furthermore, I have acquired a series of new tattoos and changed my name. This will be the ongoing path for now – only the name will remain.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life?
Not at all. I have rarely been as relaxed as I am currently.

What are your influences and inspirations, and what are your focuses in your work?
Currently, my biggest influences and inspirations are my friends, my housemates, and engaging with current societal discourses. My focus is on observing and interpreting what is happening, unlearning musical structures, and creating sounds using software and controllers.

What makes Leipzig attractive to you as an artist?
In Leipzig, I have everything I need just around the corner, and I can be with people I like.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?
No idea.

Can you introduce yourself briefly ?

I’m Sébastien, I’m from Paris and I live in Leipzig since 2015. I play saxophones, mainly tenor, in different projects, from solo to orchestra. In solo, I extend the saxophone with the laptop and Supercollider, a sound programming language with which I generate artificial sounds or distribute and move the saxophone sounds in 3D.

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?

The subculture! I have found a very dynamic city here, where people are often interested in many different things. You often see the same face at very different events: a vernissage of an installation, a punk concert, a party or our LeipziXP concerts. I find that very refreshing compared to Paris or Berlin, where the scenes for experimental music are very specialised. I also have to say that so far it has been easy for me to network, to find a cheap studio and to get support for cultural projects.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future ?

I have been working a lot with the EMR. We had a residency and delved into the work of female pioneers of electroacoustic music. I also recently went on tour in Spain, where I presented my two solo projects. For the near future, I am trying to promote my solo for sax and ambisonics and go on tour with it.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?

Lately I have felt very privileged as I have received several grants one after the other which have relieved me of this pressure during the pandemic. Hopefully in the future I can make a good enough living from my activities as a musician, Shiatsu practitioner and LeipziXP organiser that I don’t have to feel that pressure so much. But I see the pressure more strongly from the organiser’s perspective. If venues for experimental music around the world were better supported, we as musicians would have less pressure: it would mean more concert opportunities, fairer wages, easier organisation of tours.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work?

In my work I focus on the subtleties of sound. I work with sound as matter that I can slowly process and manipulate in order to feel every detail, every overtone. I am very inspired by the French scene where there is a very strong tradition for experimental saxophone there. But my biggest influences are the people I work with. In that case, Artur Vidal from my Sax Duet is very important for me, as well as the IMO Orchestra, with whom both I developed my musical language. And lately, the initiatives WISP and ZiMMT here in Leipzig, with whom I discovered the Ambisonics technique and without whom I would not have developed my new solo.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be ?

If I have to answer that literal, it would probably be the tram noises echoing off the facades of the houses in Eisenbahstraße. If I look at it metaphorically, it would be the buzzing of a beehive from which specific recognizable sounds would regularly emerge.

Can you introduce yourself briefly ?

I am involved in all kinds of artistic expression. I studied sculpture and media art, make music, practice circuit bending and creative experimental electronics udn nud dun. When I go on stage, I often do so under the name “der Warst”.

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?

Leipzig has a diverse cultural landscape, but it’s still relatively graspable. There’s enough going on, but not so much that it sucks my soul dry with FOMO.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future ?

I recently had an exhibition called Gl0tchbl0K for which I built a floor platform that you could play and glitch a Playstation2 with.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it ?

Yes. You need to sell something all the time. It’s a pain in the ass.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work ?

I take the world apart and put it back together again.

If Leipzig was a sound, what would it be ?

Zwrrriiieplöink!

Can you briefly introduce yourself ?

I am a singer and vocal coach. The voice as an unfathomable phenomenon and vocal improvisation in different contexts and artistic constellations have been kept me engaged for years. The unknown, the not directly tangible in a performance – which surprises and fascinates me as well as the fact that improvisation transforms the space and the experience of those present, whether listening or playing. It is a space of its own, which also arises in my work with vocal improvisation in choirs and workshops.

What makes Leipzig attractive for you as an artist?

Leipzig is a multicultural, young city with enough space and potential for artistic creation, as seen and realised by many artists and creative people. Personally, I also appreciate a special feature of the city: Leipzig’s extensive “green belt”, nature and the Auwald forest as a source of inspiration and resplenishment for myself and my work.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future ?

Lately I have been busy with the arrangement of Sorbian poems and songs – working on voice sounds, loops and compositions for a documentary film which is currently in the making. This programme will soon be recorded as a duo with violonist Izabela Kaldunska.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? What would it be like without it ?

I get my income mainly from my teaching. That’s why I don’t feel the pressure so strongly. On the other hand, when I hear colleagues from other European countries speak, I often think that in Germany we have helpful support and more financial possibilities as musicians/artists – this is what struck me most during the Corona crisis.

What are your influences and inspirations, your focus in your work ?

I focus on the listening experience and the body. I have often worked with dancers and engaged myself with dance and bodywork,  which makes me perceive conscious body awareness as a connection to the voice and a source of inspiration for improvisation. Impressions of any (artistic) kind are inspirations for musical expression. I often work with poetry and lyrics.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be ?

A somewhat low-frequency breeze that constantly brushes / blows along the auricle.

Can you introduce yourself briefly?

I am an author for public radio and independent radios, a sound artist, and a curator of audio events. I enjoy listening attentively and helping others get closer to listening (through soundwalks and workshops). In my radio features, I bring together personal stories with societal questions. In my sound installations, I explore the interplay of sounds and voices in space. In my audio plays, I merge parallel narrative threads with three-dimensional recordings. In audiowalks, I investigate the interaction between the local environment and produced audio.

I am the founder and co-curator of the audio event series GERÄUSCHKULISSE, where authors of sound art engage in dialogue with their works and the audience.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?

Lately, I have been working mainly on documentary projects related to democracy work in Saxony, as well as curating and organizing audio events for GERÄUSCHKULISSE e.V.

This year, I would like to continue working on my sound installations and preferably develop an 8-channel version. Additionally, I plan to start a new research project for a long audio piece and finally create a throwing show. With GERÄUSCHKULISSE e.V., we are also working on creating a website that is as accessible as possible and organizing audio events for the blind and visually impaired.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it?

I work a lot for small NGOs (audio documentation, workshops, audio plays), where the atmosphere is pleasant. However, when it comes to artistic work for public broadcasters or independent projects, I often feel the pressure. In those cases, there is often a lack of space for experimentation. Without the pressure to earn money, I would take more time to explore and undertake fewer commissioned works.

What are your influences, inspirations, and focuses in your work?

I come from the field of sound anthropology and I am interested in how people have been socialized through sounds. Through my work in radio, I have delved into the impact of voices. Thematically, I have long been engaged with bodily perceptions.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?

The sound of rubble sliding down a debris chute.

Can you introduce yourself briefly?

Hello, my name is Snow Paik. My Korean name is Seung Lok Paik. I graduated from Gachon University in South Korea with a major in Sculpture and Diplomacy.
Currently, I am studying Spatial Art and Installations in the Media Art department at HGB in Leipzig, Germany, in Professor Joachim Blank’s class.
I do conceptual art through sculpture and installation.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?

My work is divided into two themes.
One focuses on the interaction between people, cities, and individuals through interactive artworks.
The other explores the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the role of humans within the natural environment.
At present, I am participating in an art residency called “Safety Net” at iDiv (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research) in Leipzig.
Here, I have collaborated with scientists to create artworks. The scientists are studying the species diversity of fish in German rivers and actively involved in conservation efforts.
On the upcoming Friday, June 23rd, the “Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2023” event will take place in Leipzig.
That day, there will be a final exhibition event for the “Safety Net art residency,” in which I am participating, at iDiv.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? What would it be like without it?

Almost everyone, including myself, feels the pressures of capitalist exploitation.
Capitalism has permeated almost every aspect of reality, so it’s hard to escape its influence.
However, I try to use it to the extent possible or exclude it from my artistic endeavors whenever I can.
The capitalist pressures in my life can sometimes be challenging, but when it comes to my artwork, capitalism is rarely an issue (but sometimes, yes! hahaha). When I look around, I see many materials that can be used without spending a lot of money or even for free, especially in the streets.
If there were no pressures from capitalism? Well, that would mean I have no financial limits, right? In that case, I would want to bring my dream projects to life.
Projects like creating a massive metal sphere as monumental as a building or organizing works that allow participation from all people in the city.
Some of my projects are going to be huge, but I like small and simple work 🙂

What are your influences and inspirations, and what are your focuses in your work?

One aspect that has been a significant inspiration for my work is my experience of living in the tropical rainforest of the Republic of Congo in 2015 and 2016. During that period, I volunteered for the “Bayaka” project at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. I lived in the rainforest alongside the indigenous Bayaka people and assisted scientists in their research for six months.
The way the indigenous Bayaka people lived in harmony with nature in their natural environment provided me with valuable teachings.
Their attitude of respecting and cherishing nature, their lifestyle of taking only what is necessary and giving back, and their spiritual connection with nature allowed me to reflect deeply and experience a profound sense of connection.

What makes Leipzig attractive to you as an artist?

Some people may perceive Leipzig as a small and boring city, but for me, Leipzig is a place where people, culture, art, and the urban environment are harmoniously integrated. I believe that if I make an effort and actively seek out new experiences, events, and art, I can enjoy something new every week. Moreover, when I need to relax, this city, which is well-connected with nature, offers me a sense of tranquility and freshness.
Leipzig is just the right size—not too big, not too small—and it beautifully combines culture, nature, and people. Moreover, the city’s diverse range of small and large project spaces always welcomes young artists.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be?

The sound of a single drop of water falling into a glass and the gentle ripple it creates.
The sound of a clear, vibrant blue with a touch of green.

Can you introduce yourself briefly?  
I am Robert, working in the field of electroacoustic music and sound art. In recent years, I have mainly created electroacoustic music and sound design for theater and dance theater companies, as well as for audiobooks and a documentary film. However, I am currently focusing more on independent artistic works, installations, acousmatic pieces, collages, as well as music for instruments and live electronics.

What makes Leipzig attractive to you as an artist?   
There is still a sense of pioneering spirit, the feeling that you can contribute to shaping the city. On one hand, there is a certain familiarity within the scene, but at the same time, there is also a strong regional to international network.

What have you been busy with lately and what are your projects for the near future?  
Recently, I started a small series of sound collage artworks dedicated to the sounds in theater that are often located in the background, but I felt I hadn’t spent enough time with them. During the pandemic, I also composed the soundtrack for Oliver Matthes’ and Volker Klotzsch’s film “Und ruhig fließt der Rhein” (And Quietly Flows the Rhine). Currently, I have started working on two compositions: one purely acousmatic and one for instruments and live electronics. Both works will be completed in the coming year for sure.

Do you feel any capitalist pressure in your artistic life? How would it be without it?  
Certainly. Often, there is a lack of time to deeply engage with ideas. Sometimes it feels like artists are more seen as a role in society rather than a profession. Just imagine visual artists or theater playwrights being permanently employed. But even that would raise many questions and under real conditions would likely lead to an unjust system of different classes, as can be observed nowadays with music school educators, for example. The question, therefore, is how should a society look like that enables free but truly valued artistic and creative work.

What are your influences and inspirations, the focal points in your work? 
I find it increasingly difficult to answer this question. For a long time, my focus was on working with very minimal source material. I was and still am interested in sensitizing the audience to their everyday acoustic environment. However, there is a whole cosmos of artists with the same goal. I am happy if I can contribute a little to this world and at the same time, hopefully, have enough time to explore this cosmos myself.

If Leipzig were a sound, what would it be? 
Perhaps it would be more of a place: I like to spend time at a specific, less frequented spot in the southern Auwald (floodplain forest). The soundscape there often feels like a rural-urban in-between world.