A Finger to the Establishment

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A Finger to the Establishment

«Nowadays no song is independent», says journalist Manal Faheem Khan from Karachi and explains how the Pakistani music business works. The music video «#Kholo BC» by Ali Gul Pir and Adil Omar might be a rare exception here.

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Design: Ali Kazmi
Sound: Ali Kazmi

Decomposing the Past

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Decomposing the Past

The legendary «Donaueschinger Musiktage» offer in its 2018 edition a different perspective on how we perceive synthesizers. In the commissioned pieces, the composers Marcus Schmickler and Florian Hecker take the sounds from the past to the now.

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Photo: SWR/Donaueschinger Musiktage

Sampling Stories Vol. 19: Kritzkom

Norient Snap by Uno
Sampling Stories Vol. 19: Kritzkom

Berlin-based producer Kritzkom rarely works with samples and, accordingly, on her 2016 techno track «Inner March for Utopia» synth basses and melodies dominate. But if one digs deeper one can find the traces of a sample of the Kurdish national anthem.

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Quote: Marie Drouan (kritzkom)
Design: Uno Design
Sound: Kritzkom
Remix: Annafruit

Czech and Slovak Anti-Music

Norient Snap by Csenge Csato
Czech and Slovak Anti-Music

Grown on the Czech music platform bandzone, anti-music is a trashy music wave that is about music that nobody wants to listen to: amateurish lo-fi recordings made by funny and nerdy «musicians» who play old and broken music instruments.

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Photo: Bandzone
Sound: Zle

On Native Aliens

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
On Native Aliens

Sandeep Bhagwati works in various musical traditions and has roots in Asia, Europe and North America. He self-identifies as a Native Alien and claims: to feel unquestioned ties to one’s own place.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Ali Sayah

The Stars of Musiqa Sha’biyya

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The Stars of Musiqa Sha’biyya

For centuries dabke was a local tradition in Syria, but in the late 1990s, it has become urban. Thereby, the popular dance music was reimaginated and globalized. Under the name «new wave dabke» special stylistic idoms have become noticeable.

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Sound: Aam Taateel

From Democratic to Corporate

Norient Snap by Carla Sophie Tapparo
From Democratic to Corporate

The ways in which music videos generate money have changed since the days of MTV. The rise of YouTube came along with the hope for democratization, but this as been diluted due to corporatization. Is this a threat to cultural diversity?

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Design: Carla Sophie Tapparo
Photo: YouTube
Sound: Carla Sophie Tapparo

Sehnsucht nach der Einsamkeit

Norient Snap by Carla Sophie Tapparo
Sehnsucht nach der Einsamkeit

Im Zeitalter der universellen Verfügbarkeit sind einzelne Menschen obsolet geworden. Dafür jedoch, sagt das Hamburger Künstlerkollektiv Kommando Himmelfahrt, sind sie weniger einsam, oder nicht? 

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Design: Carla Sophie Tapparo
Photo: Kommando Himmelfahrt
Sound: Carla Sophie Tapparo

A Protest Song Without a Slogan

Norient Snap by Imtiaz Nasir
A Protest Song Without a Slogan

Often, the politics of a song are carried in its lyrics. However, can instrumental electronic music also create concrete criticism? An investigation of D. Glare's song «Gentrification Death Certificate».

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Design: Imtiaz Nasir, Akaliko Collective
Photo: Silke Bauer
Sound: D. Glare
Remix: The B Regiment

Registros de Audición

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Registros de Audición

For the Norient exhibition «Seismographic Sounds – Visions of a New World» the Mexican hybrid artist and label owner Julian Bonequi compiled a mixtape taken from live performances, radio shows, and studio recordings from his label Audition Records.

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Quote: Julian Bonequí, Julian Bonequi
Sound: Aam Taateel

Risking Your Life for YouTube

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Risking Your Life for YouTube

Karachi-based rapper and YouTube star Ali Gul Pir wants to be a man who matters. He attacks powerful warlords with satire and opposes the YouTube ban in Pakistan. For this he received death threats.

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Sound: Aam Taateel