The Gothenburg String Theory / Kningdisk Records
Official webpage: tgst.org
About.
The idea of the musical String Theory was born in Berlin in 2007 and developed by the musician/artist couple Nackt and Chérie of the band Warren Suicide, composers Ben Lauber and Nils Tegen and Party Arty beat poet Yaneq among others. Based on an idea of experimental musical development and grassroots networking outside the existing business structures, The Berlin String Theory was founded, starting out as an impromptu basement event of close friends performing their songs with a string quartet instead of electric guitars and computers, yet in the course of a couple of months developing into a high-output recording workshop and a major multimedia project involving more than 100 musicians, artists, producers, journalists, designers, technicians, visual artists, a documentary film team, painters and poets, culminating in a sold-out show at Berlin’s famous Volksbühne theater on New Year’s Day 2008.
The musicians Sebastian Gäbel and Nathalie Barusta Gäbel, who participated in The Berlin String Theory, took the project a year and a half later to their hometown Gothenburg, Sweden and gathered an abundance of great artists at Kokokaka Filmstudio for the next leap. José González, Midaircondo, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Pacific!, Studio, Jaqee, Jaw Lesson aka Idiot Wind, Silverbullit, El Perro Del Mar, Fox Machine, Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack of Our Lives), Bow & Arrow and Jmy Haze were among those who made The Göteborg String Theory happen in June 2009. Their original songs were arranged by The Berlin String Theory composers Nackt, Ben Lauber and Nils Tegen for the string quartet Qvartiett and other classical and jazz musicians. Together with the artists the new renditions were rehearsed and documented during a five day workshop and then performed for the first time at Clandestino Festival. The recordings resulting from those intense days in June were subsequently released on the eclectic record label Kning Disk.
The next performance, coinciding with the album release, was at Göteborgs Konserthus the 17th of April 2010. Even more artists joined The Göteborg String Theory on this exceptional evening and premiered their songs in new arrangements: shooting star Anna von Hausswolff, Daniel “Hurricane” Gilbert and noise avantgardists The Skull Defekts featuring hardcore legend Daniel Higgs from Baltimore. Video artists also contribute by visually interpreting the sound pieces produced during the workshop, and these visuals were included in the performance. The concert was broadcast live on Swedish National Radio and gained high critical acclaim, prompting comparisons with Krzysztof Penderecki, Arnold Schönberg and Nico Muhly. The new take on a classical setting was a thunderous success. Some of the live recordings from the show at Göteborgs Konserthus were later released as a limited edition vinyl EP on Kning Disk. So, Berlin was the ignition spark and Göteborg was the explosion: a cross-artistic international Big Bang, involving even more people contributing to this unique project.
The Berlin/Göteborg String Theory orchestra collaborated with José González on yet another occasion – a sold-out European tour in March/April 2011. Nackt had written 11 new arrangements for González’ songs, transforming them into wild expressions of a new musical spirit, and conducted the 25 person orchestra. An outstanding songsmith and world-known artist in his own right, González became a part of the ensemble, performing to ecstatic audiences in 19 cities and garnering critical praise along the way.
The Göteborg String Theory is arranged by the artistic directors Sebastian Gäbel and Nathalie Barusta Gäbel of the non-profit organisation SIGNAL in cooperation with Chéz Chérie e.V., Kning Disk and Moondog Entertainment, with kind support from Västra Götalandsregionen, Goethe Institut, Göteborg & Co, Statens Kulturråd, Svenska Institutet, Clandestino Festival, Göteborgs Konserthus, Kokokaka and Konstnärsnämnden.
Official webpage: tgst.org
About.
The idea of the musical String Theory was born in Berlin in 2007 and developed by the musician/artist couple Nackt and Chérie of the band Warren Suicide, composers Ben Lauber and Nils Tegen and Party Arty beat poet Yaneq among others. Based on an idea of experimental musical development and grassroots networking outside the existing business structures, The Berlin String Theory was founded, starting out as an impromptu basement event of close friends performing their songs with a string quartet instead of electric guitars and computers, yet in the course of a couple of months developing into a high-output recording workshop and a major multimedia project involving more than 100 musicians, artists, producers, journalists, designers, technicians, visual artists, a documentary film team, painters and poets, culminating in a sold-out show at Berlin’s famous Volksbühne theater on New Year’s Day 2008.
The musicians Sebastian Gäbel and Nathalie Barusta Gäbel, who participated in The Berlin String Theory, took the project a year and a half later to their hometown Gothenburg, Sweden and gathered an abundance of great artists at Kokokaka Filmstudio for the next leap. José González, Midaircondo, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Pacific!, Studio, Jaqee, Jaw Lesson aka Idiot Wind, Silverbullit, El Perro Del Mar, Fox Machine, Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack of Our Lives), Bow & Arrow and Jmy Haze were among those who made The Göteborg String Theory happen in June 2009. Their original songs were arranged by The Berlin String Theory composers Nackt, Ben Lauber and Nils Tegen for the string quartet Qvartiett and other classical and jazz musicians. Together with the artists the new renditions were rehearsed and documented during a five day workshop and then performed for the first time at Clandestino Festival. The recordings resulting from those intense days in June were subsequently released on the eclectic record label Kning Disk.
The next performance, coinciding with the album release, was at Göteborgs Konserthus the 17th of April 2010. Even more artists joined The Göteborg String Theory on this exceptional evening and premiered their songs in new arrangements: shooting star Anna von Hausswolff, Daniel “Hurricane” Gilbert and noise avantgardists The Skull Defekts featuring hardcore legend Daniel Higgs from Baltimore. Video artists also contribute by visually interpreting the sound pieces produced during the workshop, and these visuals were included in the performance. The concert was broadcast live on Swedish National Radio and gained high critical acclaim, prompting comparisons with Krzysztof Penderecki, Arnold Schönberg and Nico Muhly. The new take on a classical setting was a thunderous success. Some of the live recordings from the show at Göteborgs Konserthus were later released as a limited edition vinyl EP on Kning Disk. So, Berlin was the ignition spark and Göteborg was the explosion: a cross-artistic international Big Bang, involving even more people contributing to this unique project.
The Berlin/Göteborg String Theory orchestra collaborated with José González on yet another occasion – a sold-out European tour in March/April 2011. Nackt had written 11 new arrangements for González’ songs, transforming them into wild expressions of a new musical spirit, and conducted the 25 person orchestra. An outstanding songsmith and world-known artist in his own right, González became a part of the ensemble, performing to ecstatic audiences in 19 cities and garnering critical praise along the way.
The Göteborg String Theory is arranged by the artistic directors Sebastian Gäbel and Nathalie Barusta Gäbel of the non-profit organisation SIGNAL in cooperation with Chéz Chérie e.V., Kning Disk and Moondog Entertainment, with kind support from Västra Götalandsregionen, Goethe Institut, Göteborg & Co, Statens Kulturråd, Svenska Institutet, Clandestino Festival, Göteborgs Konserthus, Kokokaka and Konstnärsnämnden.