Hello friends,
How's it going?
For the April edition of the ESR Monthly we've invited Joana Krämer Horta, someone who we've teamed up countless times as she keeps imagining new things to do always with people and music at the core.

About the Editor

Joana is a creative producer and cultural programmer based in Lisbon and currently working on a 3 month music documentary production in Leipzig, Germany.

Through the last couple of years we've seen the several independent projects produced both in the city and in the countryside related to sound and how people enjoy it: listening sessions, live performances, concerts, parties and artistic residencies.

Recently she started to explore hybrid formats, taking on how people connect to sound and the role proximity plays in ecology, sound, deep listening and spoken word in projects like indiefrente, ponto d'orvalho, album listening.

We hope you enjoy the three musical pointers Joana curated for this issue of ESR Monthly.

Acoustic Ecology ~ Deep Listening

We've experienced a world full of activity, noise, and hustle which stands still for more than a year. Regular routines have been disrupted, places of gathering remain closed, and the safe uniformity of our daily lives is questioned. Sound pollution decreases and what remains is a comforting stillness. Throughout this year I had a special reencounter with nature, rebuilding my understanding of the social, cultural and ecological context of my (sonic) environment. Allowing myself to listen.

“I hear
I am
I receive what is
Listening
No argument
My body is sound
Listening guides my body
Sound is the fiber of my being and of all sentient beings without exception.

Pauline Oliveros in ‘Anthology of Text Scores’

Deep Listening. A practice developed by Pauline Oliveros, one of the most important and influential avant-garde composers in the 50s to the 90s. Oliveros explored the contrast between the involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary, selective nature of listening.

“A practice that includes bodywork, sonic meditations, interactive performance, listening to the sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, imagination and dreams, and listening to listening itself. It cultivates a heightened awareness of the sonic environment, both external and internal, and promotes experimentation, improvisation, collaboration, playfulness and other creative skills vital to personal and community growth.” Sylviana Anna Law in Sound Arts Journey

Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Panaoitis – Deep Listening

It became evident to me that the connection between sound and nature is of pure diversity. It also became clear that we all have the beautiful challenge to imagine a world with a much bigger, almost utopic sense of community and compassion. A collective listening of our surroundings and an open door for dialog.

Following these thoughts, I´ve prepared a mixtape. An experiment for what can turn into a possible podcast or radio show. In this work you´ll listen to an open conversation about personal experiences from the past year, artists that inspire me, some spoken words, contributions from Carolina Trigueiros – Editor at Umbigo Magazine – and Marc Leiber – Peace Farmer at Quinta das Abelhas, Freixo do Meio. Also revealing some news somewhere in the middle. Hope you enjoy this listening journey.

Cover Art:
Mycelium Touch @Stella Horta

Mixtape:
Field Variations by Joana Krämer Horta

Track List:
Beautiful Chorus - Faith Hymn
John Cage - In a Landscape
Yu Lin Humm & Tommaso Capelato - Humming Beings
Morita Vargas - Paitce
Morita Vargas - Ginseng
Nailah Hunter - Bassin Bleu
Faten Kanaan - Erewohn
Anne Roxanne - Venus
Holland Andrews - I LOVE YOU SO MUCH PLEASE LOVE YOURSELF BACK

Discoveries

Holland Andrews & Morita Vargas. Two vocalists and composers that explore new pathways, finding new languages and forms of intimacy through their performances.

In February I had the most graceful experience on the phone with Andrew´s micro-performance “THERE YOU ARE”, receiving a call with limitless compassion from a stranger and creating a truly personal and vulnerable connection. At first relaxing and setting an intention via text message and listening to Holland´s voice after, inviting me to a warm environment full of love and depth.

Morita has transformed my days with her polyphonic soundscapes, travelling between realms of ambient and experimental music. Her album 8 proposes renewal and I was happy to read that in Numerology the number 8 symbolizes our infinite capacity for metamorphoses.

Carincur & Mariana Dionísio
Artists in Residence

@Anna Leevia

When I invited Inês – Carincur - and Mariana to this residency project I was immediately amazed by their sensitive knowledge and how important it is to observe their work as more than an object or a show. It's more of a growing empathy that connects two different mindsets, creating a more diverse way of working together. This extended residency at mono and pro-dança gave Inês and Mariana more time to go deeper. Stepping out of their comfort zones by engaging outside of their bubbles and landing on a blank page to create freely throughout the second lockdown.
Can´t wait to announce the presentation day. Soon!

Residency Project in collaboration with indiefrente, mono & zabra records

And there you go - so many sound landscapes to get you energised to enjoy the spring and the summer ahead of us and give you the head space needed to do so.

You can read this and previous issues here. You can subscribe here if you haven't done so yet.
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Keep it up,
East Side Radio