At Klang Moor Schopfe 2021, Philipp Rhensius created 12 experimental audio essays. Inspired by installations of Alva Noto or Rie Nakajima, they merge sound art, poetry, interviews, and club music.

In September 2021, I was invited to a residency at Klang Moor Schopfe festival to both perform and create 12 podcasts inspired by the many sound installations exhibited at the festival. Yet, instead of working within the usual definitions of the term, I used a method that would enable me to be more free not only with the material but also with the form. For lack of a better term, I called the pieces audio essays.

Trusting Your Intuition

Instead of plotting out a linear dramaturgy, I attempted to work in a process-based and intuitive way, with only each sound installation as a loose frame of reference. Rather than putting the installation at the core, floating above it in an aloof manner typical of critics, I took one single thought, feeling, or affect as a starting point. From there I would conduct a poem, make a field recording, compose a loop, or talk to an artist. In the course of the creation, I composed everything intuitively, trusting my playful self while trying to shut up its counterpart and keep the final form open until the very end. I hope you enjoy listening.