Portrait of the legendary Experimentalstudio of the SWR (2012)

On the occasion of the academy "Matrix 12 on tour" the Experimentalstudio of the SWR was invited to participate at the Atlas Festival Ensembles 2012 in Amsterdam and at the Warschauer Herbst. Most of the images for this film were shot here and in Amsterdam we worked together with the Dutch filmmaker Frank Scheffer. We also made recordings in the Studios of the SWR in Freiburg in June 2013 and watched Mark Andre on his quest for sounds for his Opera "Wunderzaichen", that will premiere in 2014 in Stuttgart.

Next to established composers, like Mark Andre and Chaya Czernowin, younger composers like Heather Frasch and Louis d'Heudières will be heard, and they all have the same passion: their love for miraculous, mysterious, unexpected, stupendous and seductive sounds that can be conjured up with the "instrument" Experimentalstudio of the SWR.

It is for that reason that the film closely observes the sound director of the SWR - and not just the musicians of the Ensemble Experimental or the Atlas Ensembles - and has the sound engineers talk about their experience with the different composers.

The technical equipment, used by electroacoustic music, is not the main focus in this film but rather the human interaction between sound directors, composers and instrumentalists.

The newest generation cameras were used throughout most of this film.

with
Chaya Czernowin, Luigi Nono, Mark Andre, Louis d'Heudières, James Tenney, Jamilla Jazylbekova, Heather Frasch

ENSEMBLE EXPERIMENTAL FREIBURG

Noa Frenkel, Alt
Susanne Otto, Alt
Roberto Fabbriciani, flute
Ernesto Molinari, clarinet
Klara Tomljanovic, guitar
Klaus Burger, tuba
Jessica Rona, viola
Michael Kasper, violoncello
Hsin Lee, percussion
Sven Kestel, contrabass

EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO des SWR
Michael Acker, Garry Berger, Reinhold Braig, Joachim Haas, Thomas Hummel, Simon Spillner
Sound direction

Detlef Heusinger
Art direction

ATLAS ENSEMBLE AMSTERDAM
Harrie Starreveld, Shakuhachi, Gevorg Dabaghian, Duduk
Raphaela Danksagmüller, Duduk
Anna voor de Wind, clarinet ?
Ernest Rombout, hobos
Wu Wei, Sheng
Naomi Sato, Sho
Elchin Nagijev, Tar
Charbel Rouhana, Ud
Lan Weiwei, Pipa
Kiya Wesseling, mandolin
Bassem Alkhouri, Qanun
Ding Xueer, Zheng
Makiko Goto, Koto
Kourosh Matin, Santur
Ernestine Stoop, harp
Druba Ghosh, Sarangi
Elshan Mansurov, Kamacha
Xang Xue, Erhu
Angel Gimeno, viola
Neva Özgen, Kemence
Max Knigge, viola alta
Antonia Pratsinakis, violoncello
?Dario Calderone, contrabass
Niti Ranjan Biswas, Tabla
Ryoko Imai, Mervyn Groot, percussion

Caio Amon, Zbyscek Kotarba, Withold Oklek, Sophie Schricker, Frank Scheffer, Lucas van Woerkum
camera

Menno Euwe, Konrad Fochman
sound

Jia Zhao, Gösta Courkamp
production managment

Uli Aumüller
editing & direction

Concert hall of the Polish Radio "Witold Lutoslawski"
Warschauer Herbst 2012

Amsterdam Conservatory
Atlas Festival 2012