SOUND FOREST IN THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE

On May 18, after a few days long residency in Madona, an experimental music concert and exhibition will take place at the MABOCA Gallery Visuma Centrs 2, where the Taiwanese-German project "SABIWA" and the Korean-German project "bela" will perform. In both concerts, musicians will present new concert programs created in collaboration with Latvian musicians.

The media outlet "A Closer Listen" writes about "SABIWA" as follows: "Of all the musicians whose work we have reviewed on this website, 'SABIWA' is the most eclectic. Their musical diversity is incredible, ranging from ambient music to 'gabber' and folk music all in one album."

In this concert, "SABIWA" will collaborate with Latvian experimental musicians "Posverdad Trax" and Sarma Gabrēna.

"Posverdad Trax" is Andrejs Zālītis' cross-genre electronic music project. Zālītis has previously worked on noise music-oriented projects such as "PuseH PuseW," "Pro Statik/Andriksons," and "Streets of Sex," while in October 2020, the debut recording of the "Posverdad Trax" project, "The Neutral Sin," was released by the notable experimental electronic music label "Opal Tapes."

Cellist and electronic musician Sarma Gabrēna has been described as a "sound sorceress." She collaborates with sound artists, writers, and performance artists and is also part of the group "Grab." Nature, especially the forest, is a significant source of inspiration for Sarma, and she states that she tries to use sound to remind listeners of their connection with all living things.

"bela" is a Berlin-based Korean music and performance art project that combines elements of Korean traditional music and post-club music with vocals characteristic of black metal. "bela" has collaborated with avant-garde cellist Okkyung Lee and has performed jointly with noise musician Pharmakon and percussionist Eli Keszler. "bela" performances have taken place at festivals such as "CTM" in Berlin, "Unsound" in Krakow, and "Rewire" in The Hague. The debut album "Noise and Cries" by "bela" was jointly released on April 12 by the label "Subtext" and the "Unsound" festival. The Quietus writes about the album: "This is the first time 'bela' is heard on record. And what a voice! [...] This roar resembles the gradual awakening of a sleeping beast, which then surrounds and protects us in its thicket."

"bela" will collaborate with visual artist Līga Stibe and Estonian-Latvian experimental vocalist Eleonora Kampe. The private and public opposition will be explored, transformed into dissonant, imaginary stories, associating with Freud's defined concept of the "unheimlich," where the familiar becomes eerily frightening, blurring the boundary between fantasy and reality. Using voice and breath, performers will create noises embodying memories of found objects, bringing them back from oblivion. Through the interaction of visually sound objects with performers' voices and movements, spectators will be prompted to think about belonging, roots, and place memory.

Eleonora Kampe, also known as "eleOnora," practices non-traditional vocal techniques and has been developing her voice since 2010. She works both as a solo artist and as a member of free improvisation duets such as "Road To Saturn" and "Tencu/eleOnora." Her experimental blues project "Ringhold" is also noteworthy. This year, Kampe's debut solo album - the recording "tuuljamuud" - was released by the British label "Cruel Nature Records" in October.

Kampe is among those Baltic avant-garde musicians who have managed to maintain an international reputation - her music has been played on radio stations such as BBC3's programs "Late Junction" and "Freeness."

In the exhibition in Madona, which will be open from May 18 to June 28, in addition to the aforementioned artists, Viestarts Gailītis, the godfather of Sound Forest, and analog photography master Ieva Balode will also participate with newly created artworks.

The exhibition and concert will begin on 22:00

Free entrance

The concerts are organized by the non-conformist music association "Skaņu mežs," as well as the innovative music platform "SHAPE+," supported by the European Union. The events are part of the concert series "1-2 through!", supported by the State Cultural Capital Fund. The activities of the MABOCA gallery are supported by SIA Erica Synths.

Photo credit: Zigmunds Lapsa

Photos by Līga Stibe

Photos by Tv Maskava

Photos by Rolands Briedis