Berghain has reopened its doors – but it’s far from business as usual for the Berlin techno mecca. Through August 2nd, 2020, the club will host a sound art experience called “eleven songs – halle am berghain.”
Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl – known professionally as tamtam – conceived the installation in partnership with sound art collective Singhur. Tasked with developing soundscapes to complement the concrete expanse of the club’s Kessel Hall, they positioned speakers throughout the space that meld simple rhythms with ambient noises.
In compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, only 50 are allowed in the venue at a time. Without the discerning eye of doorman Sven Marquardt, however, the installation is available to the public at large.
“’eleven songs – halle am berghain’ reminds us that the ability of the perceiving body to hear is not a given in itself, but is instead subject to the spatio-social contexts of complex, dynamic and constantly changing acoustic environments,” said tamtam in a joint statement. “The physically defined situation one encounters, i.e. the acoustics of the space, is activated by sounds and sonic structures produced onsite and tuned for and within the space.”
As clubs across the globe cautiously reopen in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Berghain’s unconventional attraction reflects the lasting effects of the crisis on nightlife.
As tastemakers like Dave Clarke and DVS1 have discussed at length, the economic climate will almost certainly reduce the demand for globetrotting superstar DJs. With social distancing guidelines delaying the return of the dance floor as music fans know it, sound art installations like “eleven songs” may prove to be a solution for creative spaces keen to adapt to the “new normal.”
Find more information about “eleven songs – halle am berghain” on the Singhur website.
Image credit: Roman März
