Void Tactical Media

Once again we experience some lag between reality and this blog…  Things unfold here and Europe and it’s only later that we can find the time and focus to post a solid writeup on our adventures.  So here goes on a wrap up on the Datacide conference and party in Berlin on October 20th!  The event was wholly at an space in Berlin known as Subversiv, one of Berlin’s many ex-squat community resource projects.  A really great project, and ideal for this event.

The night started out with a series of talks upstairs.  First we heard from Cedric who spoke about his research on experimental music from areas normally left out of the formal discourse on the topic, for instance Africa and Asia ( http://syrphe.com/african&asian_database.htm ).  Then we heard from the OKK Team who spoke on their cultural interventions in Germany.  Split Horizon then rounded out the talks by presenting ‘Control and Freedom in Geographic Information Systems’ - both a primer and extension to his article for Datacide 12.  Slides from the talk can ben downloaded here: http://www.voidtacticalmedia.org/control-and-freedom-in-geographic-information-syst.html  The talk  went well, with many people finding a new interest in 21st century cartography and lively interactions with new faces continued throughout the night and indeed now for a few weeks since.  It was a pleasure to present these concepts to a new audience.  Additionally, as simultaneously a tongue in cheek action and serious invitation Key set up http://www.communitywalk.com/20_years_of_breakcore, a suggestion of mapping the international activities of the broken-beat-breakcore underground.

Of course, after the talks it was time for music!  As Nemeton had promised, the soundsystem left nothing to be desired.  Of course with Xanopticon playing the party as well, Heather in spirited form, and Liz driving the dance, this event was the Berlin meetup for our circle.   Key opened the party with ambience and industrial beats: http://soundcloud.com/ioekey/key-at-datacide-20-10-2012  ;  Dimentia mixed it up for a hard sound leading to some quick step deep intensity http://soundcloud.com/dimentia/dimentia-live-datacide ; This night as Split Horizon I took an experimental feedback techno approach through to a funky noise finale, for which I give this excerpt:  http://soundcloud.com/splithorizon/split-horizon-datacide-excerpt . By this hour it was time for Xanopticon to stake his claim, and the people were clearly ready for a long awaited return to Berlin from this splinterbeat sculpter, giving the party its peak intensity.   Without a doubt we also thank Amboss, LFO Demon, and H-Kon for sonic support on this excellent night with the Datacide crew.

http://vimeo.com/51092202

Our next event drops in a week and half, with the Void Tactical tour joining forces with Xanoption, LFO Demon, Amboss, and H-Kon to rock the release party for Datacide 12, the magazine for Noise and Politics!  The night begins at 6pm with a short round of talks about current issues in radical media, and then moves onto the dance party from there.  Check the amazing promo video above, created by Sansculotte, for details or read below for the full spread.  Split Horizon will be giving a talk about control and freedom in geospatial information systems, a supplement to his writing for this release of Datacide, at this event as well!

Talks start at 6 pm, party at 11 pm

at subversiv e.v. / Brunnenstrasse 7, Berlin-Mitte

Xanopticon - Live - Zhark / Peace Off – San Francisco - xanopticon.com
Split Horizon - Live – Void Tactical Media – Oakland - soundcloud.com/splithorizon
Dimentia - Live - Void Tactical Media – Oakland - soundcloud.com/dimentia
Key - Live – Void Tactical Media – Oakland - soundcloud.com/ioekey
LFO Demon - Sprengstoff - soundcloud.com/lfodemon
Amboss - Sub/Version - soundcloud.com/amboss
H-Kon - Clash of the Titans - soundcloud.com/h-kon

visuals: Sansculotte - vimeo.com/sansculotte - (upstairs)

Talks start at 6pm:

“Electronic and experimental music in Asia and Africa” by Cedrik Fermont
The official history of experimental and electronic music is mostly centered on developments in the “West” from the end of the 19th century through the 1960s, and yet, in 1944, the first known piece of African so-called “experimental music” was recorded by Halim El-Dabh in Cairo. This talk addresses the fact that electronic, experimental music, and by extension noise music, cannot been seen as a typically “Western” kind of music. The origins of the very notion of noise music do not entirely belong to “Western” culture, but most probably stem from technology, modernization, and often urbanism. What about non-Western composers of experimental, electronic and noise music, who have been written out of histories? Which culture(s) and which non-Western nations are they influenced by? Are they still maintained under a post-colonial cultural yoke?

“2012 IS THE SEASON FOR TREASON: An Assault on Establishment Culture in Germany” by the OKK Team Chus Martinez, Francisco José Avestruz & Otto Karl Kamal
Extending the assault on capitalist society through a radical take on Berlin Biennale 7, dOCUMENTA (13) and similar propaganda tools, the OKK Team will present their analysis of and strategies for countering these bourgeois gentrification festivals and their “activist” participants who are often sporting either extreme naivety or some “brown” (i.e. fascist) ideology. For more info go to:2012istheseasonfortreason.wordpress.com/

“On the Map – Control and Freedom in Geographic Information Systems” by Split Horizon
The merger of cartography, statistical analysis and database technology threatens our privacy and autonomy, while simultaneously pluralizing our consensus of what exists, or has existed, at a place. Digital map making is now a crucial form of communication, and a newly contested media that begs exploration. This talk addresses the most severe technological consequences of location tracking, while presenting creative directions, détournements, and strategies that free and open source GIS/GPS technologies now make available to the general public.

Our trip to Vienna was nothing short of fantastic.  A remarkable city, where centuries of high culture collides in a total commercial zone, we were honored to play the the EKH squat, a community space like no other.  The Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus is a giant autonomous space, a former school, in operation since 1990.  The building contains multiple show spaces and gathering rooms, a welding studio, and much more that we didn’t have time to explore.  What’s more, our new friend Dominic organized the party in true underground fashion, no mention on Facebook was ever made, with the main promotion being a network of friends and a swell of SMS on the day of the party.  And yes, this strategy delivered in true form.

The night kicked off with an epic dj set spanning many genres as we waited for the people to arrive and get the party going.  Things really got rolling as 1am approached; it would be a night of true improv for all three of us.  After a short harsh noise set was delivered, Split Horizon was up, warming things up for Dimentia this time around.  He responded with a noise filtered incarnation of the set he’s been flexing across the tour, bringing mixer feedback to bear to move the crowd [ http://soundcloud.com/splithorizon/split-horizon-live-in-vienna ].  Then Dimentia stepped up for maybe the only breakcore set we’ve ever heard from him.  As the crowd got frantic, they asked ‘faster, faster!’.  So he turned it up.. to 230bpm.  Tune in around 24:43 for total madness, and then skip to 49:01 for a real surprise [http://soundcloud.com/dimentia/dimentia-live-ekh-vienna].  The Hecate joined the fray, keeping the party pumping with a harsh breakcore dj delivery that still won’t let you down, and Key followed up with probably her farthest stretch out of the tour, cranking up the beats per minute herself as well to complete in a shimmering wall of synth.   After this point none of us can remember much more…

A few days of downtime to rest up, and it was time to get down to Bratislava for our show on September 29th.  None of use really knew what to expect.  We drove from Berlin, through the Czech Republic, into Slovakia where we found a city shaking of the imposed transformations of the communist era, making a start to rebuild it’s own identity.  This was not to disappoint.  The space for the party was solid - FUGA, it’s called.  A large, well kept underground show space with installed sound run by Hargi, our host, and others.  The scene in Bratislava is not large, but the hard work behind this space is memorable.  They bring a variety of acts from all over to share interesting underground sound with their city - a good deal of raging grindcore, but not daunted in the slightest by multipiece jazz groups or our own broken bass.   Hospitality was excellent and the other performers quite talented.  Aftershock 7 was our party.

The evening warmed up with an eclectic set of great selections, and we met Hybrid Systems, a New Hampshire expat to Vienna who came out to Bratislava to perform.  Amazing, and unexpected, realtime constructed projections by Vitazek [http://vitazek.com/] accompanied all the sets, with facial recognition transforming the audience into dancing interactive abstractions during Dimentia’s set and fractured weather wirescapes during Split Horizon.   Dimentia once again served up the goods with the next round of new songs from the fountain of new material this tour has generated [ http://soundcloud.com/dimentia/dimentia-live-fuga-bratislava ].  Then Split Horizon took his set in a new direction - inspired by a shot of Borovička beforehand, he rode with some glitches and pumped some newer, more techno material through the system [http://soundcloud.com/splithorizon/split-horizon-live-in].  Key also found a spot the next night, throwing down alongside some local grindcore and Brasilian metal.  We also learned later that the sounds of Maraki, very similar to our own, were slotted to end the night but that the man behind the group had fallen fast asleep by the time his set time rolled around (well it was late)!  We rated his the best set that never happened…

In Berlin I randomly found myself around a table with 2 other performers traveling to Bratislava in coming months.  ‘Bratislava is a thing then’ we joked.  It’s because of the hard work of FUGA, I realized when I played there.  

Readers have probably noticed we’ve falled behind in updates - what can we say, touring Europe is a busy time!  Right now we are getting ready for our show tonight in Vienna, but we’ll take this moment to bring our reports up to date through our first round through Berlin (we head back there for round 2 in the next few.)

Right after Madrid we played  NoiseAngriff #15 at the Laushangriff bar, a scene handout night for breakcore and noise nights.  Split Horizon and Dimentia both pulled out some alternate tunes for this eve, taking the opportunity of the low key atmosphere to experiment a bit.  Both T3kamin, Electric Kettle, and CF all threw down some records to make for an enjoyable night and first meeting with some of the Berlin crowd.

A few days later it was time for our first real Berlin party.  Starting in true Berlin style with doors at 12:00am and sound starting at 1, we had a great time hearing Electric Kettle live,playing alongside both Darkam and GRR, who were responsible for the party, and Nemeton who’s been our main base in the city.   The venue is an underground location where like many such places in Berlin has several underground clubs next door.  When we arrive it took a while to figure out where to go, walking into other parties that were just getting started and wondering where ours was.  Dimentia’s set from this night (and also NoiseAngriff) are already posted at http://soundcloud.com/dimentia/tracks.  Split Horizon tweaked out his set so much to get real bass that he’s a bit sheepish to post the recording, but he will.

After meeting some new friends and getting the feel of Berlin, it was nice to have some time off to relax in the city.  Checking out the Botanical Gardens, numerous parks, cheap pastries, and chill cafes as the seasons change in Berlin was the priority for over a week as we recharged, got ready to travel to Slovakia and Austria, and also confirmed a leg of the tour heading to Prague and Krakow.  

Now we head out to the EKH in Vienna to play, and will update before long with further adventures, as well as a return to new releases on our digital sublabel, Form and Structure.  Can’t thank enough, with every post really, to all those that have helped make the tour happen and build Void Tactical over the last few years.  Getting out here and playing is both a culmination and an opening of new doors for the whole crew.

What can we say, Madrid was amazing.  The Spanish know a good way to live!  Our party was very well attended, the hospitality was excellent, and the weather was beautiful. Not even to mention that we got to play alongside Shorai and Dr Chi at a very special space in Vaiador34, which reminds us a bit of From the Gut and the Foundation back in Detroit.   It’s wonderful to see people making the party for the right reasons, and to greet so many new faces.  

We also had to the opportunity to learn a bit the history of Spain from our new friends, view the fantastic painting of Goya and Heronoismous Bosch, and of course enjoy the many open city squares and parks of Madrid.  With FTG old schoolers Hong and Michelle joining us in Madrid for the party, there was nothing more we could have asked.  For all of us it was our first visit to Spain, and we all must return for more one day…

Key, Dimentia, and Split Horizon all had excellent sets, and we have recordings of each to post to our soundclouds soon.  We cannot give enough thanks to Fuco, Chicha, Roamin (Roosta), ”’Hwen”’, and many others for all their excellent effort and good vibes.

And yes, in getting the blog in sync with our travels we must admit that tonight is our party in Madrid!  From our arrival on Monday to now, Spain has been very nice to us - with excellent hospitality, a laid back attitude, and just about the most pleasant evening air temperature that you can imagine.  We’ve taken a long walk in the Prado, enjoying Goya and Bosch to an unparalleled level, and enjoyed much food and wine.  Our host, Fuco, currently lives in a nice house where we have room to work on music, repair gear, relax, and talk.

For tonights party we play alongside Shorai, which is very exciting as we have heard his music years and has had some influence on our path.  Also we met Dr. Chi a few days ago, who makes a breakcore from chicken noises which should be very silly, along with koreoke, which as you can imagine is a way to sing popular songs through a destruction of effects.   Fuco himself has excellent taste in selections, as we have been listing to many records at his house, so it’s looking to be a true and various breakcore broken beat underground event this evening.  

Escucha el latido subterráneo!!!

Well it’s impossible to keep up completely with play by play on this blog as we travel around, have adventures, and meet new friends.  Already another week has passed, which included our sets at IllFM and Darkfloor Live.  After, literally, years of listening to IllFM over the big lake it was fantastic to show up at their loft space in Stoke Newington and broadcast some experimental sets on Pitchless Radio.  Big thanks to Mark Pitchless, Adam, and everyone else for getting us on the air and spending some time sharing like mind.  The sets will show up in the IllFM archives after a time, and we’ll update with the links then.  Dimentia already has his up at http://soundcloud.com/dimentia/dimentia-live-illfm-void  

Then after a crazy middle of the night bus ride and grabbing some much needed rest, we teamed up with Mike Darkfloor’s crew for Darkfloor Live on Mantis Radio.  Truly a night of sick music, exactly what we want to hear out at a club and on crystal clear sound to boot.  It kicked off with a set of excellent selections from Laica, who has his own Mantis broadcast which airs right after Darkfloor.  Then Darkfloor came on with, of course, a hard pushing set of perfect beats arming up for Dimentia, and then Split Horizon.   We’ll let you review the archives to understand what happened when Dimentia and Split Horizon took the stage!! (Mike will be posting both Audio and Video on Darkfloor soon) Wrapping up Ursa came on with a fantastic and surprising DJ set, thrown together seemingly out of nowhere and taking the party to the final level.   We had a blast..

 At both IllFM and Darkfloor, we also had a remarkable support from our friends back home and other international listeners, tuning in and chatting us up in the online chat rooms.  It was a pleasure to be able to share our UK experience in this way, in fact in much the same way as we have shared in the UK scene from back in the States for many years now - a party in the UK is a nice midday music show back home.  

So thanks again to new UK friends and hopefully we’ll be talking and seeing each other more!

We’ve just hit London last night and things are starting to get busy after a relaxing beginning in Ireland.  We play IllFM tomorrow night (Sept 6th) and then Darkfloor follows the next day!   We don’t have all the details yet (will update), but most likely you can listen live here http://www.illfm.net/listen/ Show starts at 10:00PM London time!  Both Dimentia and Split Horizon will be performing live sets.    Next up on Friday round 10:00pm GMT+1 as well tune in over at http://darkfloor.co.uk for our live performances streaming from The Miller in London.  Full writeup on that one is http://darkfloor.co.uk/live-004/ 

Of course a lot of other activity in the meantime… Got a quick show booked in Dublin last weekend which went off pretty nicely, and got to jump in the Irish Sea.  And not to be missed, Split Horizon has his new EP out on Form and Structure, some tracks that have been waiting for the proper release for several months: http://soundcloud.com/voidtacticalmedia/sets/fs009-split-horizon-activator/ check!