Ceven’s Blog

Sometimes I wonder if people are really being aware of the arguments they make against things like taking care of other people or the environment. How does one become so uninvolved in the world to ridicule those who do? It’s too easy to say that it comes down to education or not being exposed enough.

In the last couple of months I’ve had a few exchanges with people that have surprised me. The most recent took place during commenting over an internet post with someone I’ve never met and don’t know anything about other than he shares a friend with me. In participating in any form of open public discussion one accepts that there will be those who have a different opinion. It was irritating that the person didn’t stop at having another opinion but felt it necessary to aggressively ridicule me. Instead of correcting or clarifying or even giving a counter-argument the discussion ended and everything veered off-topic into a sort of intellectual pissing contest splitting hairs. I thought to myself, “what for?”

The choice of words and execution used reminded me of another exchange I had last spring. If I discuss something like politics or social topics, I prefer not to speak with people who share exactly the same opinion as myself. It’s boring, one-sided and no one comes out any more enlightened. Still, speaking with people who break down into insults when they have no idea who you are or what your background is or even hold the slightest clue as what you may be about is perplexing and annoying.

I have friends who approach issues differently than me but can still have a discussion. I’ve been called out on some of my words and ideas before and have become a bit wiser for it. Of course there was a time when I took being called out on these things much more personally. It is with this understanding I try to keep my wits about me when dealing with the more aggressive personalities. All the same I wonder where the line should be.

I find that those who are unafraid to expose themselves to uncertain and new things without decaying into cynicism to be really courageous people. I like them most of all. They build bridges, test ideas and get to the heart of misunderstanding. Lately it is very difficult to not succumb to negative influences. A minute’s worth of news stories can ruin anyone’s good mood no matter which perspective they come from. Everyday we are closer to death, so in the end does anyone really want to look back on their life seeing it seething with judgement, indifference and intolerance? Is it worth it? Using angry words and ridicule like that are signs of a deeper self-deprecation and a socially inept waste of time.

Last Friday I had a very nice discussion with a coworker. It was about the differences on how we approach the world and people from before we started at the hostel and now years later. I would love to see the exact statistics of how many people from how many cultures I’ve met and dealt with over the last six years. I bet the numbers are quite impressive. Our working environment is a flowing tap of people. For being an artist with a day-job I have the best one in the world. It’s why I became interested in science fiction. They are all aliens who come from everywhere with every background and every disposition and it’s my job to understand the best way to communicate with them. I’ve found far and wide that most people really are nice. Despite religious, intellectual, political and economical differences, many possess the basic human component of compassion when you really one-on-one directly communicate with them. This is why it’s so difficult for me to process people who just want to be nasty when making a point.

Because we are in the process of moving to the new space the internet is due to be out for a while. The new apartment/studio is about half finished. It’s been a long grueling renovation lead by baumeister maurus who can stand tirelessly on a ladder for days. As soon as everything is where it belongs we will get into a nice gallery presentation of this process.

The next and last update for nevec red this spring/summer will be on June 5^th for the video Ever, with a pre-listen on May 30^th.

We are pleased to announce the release of nevec red’s first album:

null | available June 21, 2010

Tomorrow I meet with the apartment manager and the guy taking over after me to sign the final things and then on saturday we move my stuff to the new place. Everything is nearly packed and ready to go. I will spend the rest of tomorrow after our meeting finishing up.

I took down the cube lamp hanging in the living room. It was a housewarming gift which I really love. While coming down from the ladder I felt a sentimental pang. Another chapter closed as I looked at all my things in boxes and reflected on how happy I was to get this particular apartment. I never spent as much time at home as I’d have liked, but it always waited for me nevertheless. It was really nice to be there.

However, I’m only crying with one eye. The new place is much better. It has charm and taste and is exactly where I want to be on many levels.

I decided to walk home. It was raining out and the big trucks splashed me while driving by. Everything was in my way and wet, but I enjoyed it. Ever since going through a John Cage phase I’ve stopped listening to headphones while out and about. I heard the traffic and rain and thought about relief from dissonance.

Upon getting home I jumped into a ten minute freeform session.

As we come into the springtime my project NEVEC RED will be taking a much needed break. It’s been a hugely creative autumn/winter with so many things accomplished that it’s time to stop and breathe a bit before jumping into summer. There will be a couple more releases coming out of the next weeks to finish everything up. These songs are about creating textures from chance. They were previewed during the live show EQUINOX:

1.) NIRAT – This is a reimagining of my previous work UNTER UNS KOLLEGEN. It features maurus on vocals. He also is the camera man for all the videos coming out.
2.) EVER – an electronic piece layered on top of bird sounds.
3.) YOU WORK IT – An older song made during autumn. It was intended to have more instrumentation but with every try I always came back to this simple version. With the exception of the organ it is entirely vocal.
4.) ROTE – The next evolution from the Unschärferelation series.

The two missing pieces are RITE OF SPRING (Stravinksy in Hyperdrive remix) and INVOCATION. With the first I used a copyrighted piece of recorded material as a sample. The point was to take an already stressy composition to listen to and push it up several notches as far as it would go. The second piece is in response to that, sampling from two earlier works of mine (GERÄUSCHKULISSE SESSION 2 and DRACHE), layering them on more sounds and distortions in an attempt to fill up as much space as possible. These pieces were intended strictly for the performance and will not be released.

The Equinox performance was a lot of fun and now that it’s behind us I’m already thinking about Summer Solstice. As always, expect a change in direction.

I have some further plans which will be discussed later. In the meantime go take a look outside – it’s the biggest thing you’ve ever seen!

At the end of last month there was a chance on the NPR website to preview the entire 2 disc album for The Knife’s newest work: Tomorrow in a Year. I played it over and over during those days. It made me incredibly happy on many levels.

I was instantly reminded of the second Geräuschkulisse session that I made with Miriam Siebenstädt in April 2009. We attempted (and I believe rather successfully) to imitate the sounds of a natural forest with musical instruments.

It was a wonderful experiment and became the first Geräuschkulisse Session video.

Miriam and I began working together at the beginning of that month. As I’ve found with many special relationships, the fact that we started with no expectations paved an artistic combination that I’ve never before experienced. It was for fun and each session could have failed or been the last, but that wasn’t the case. After a few months something interesting developed.

In the beginning no one was interested in our noises. People found our work stressy to listen to, but the sounds excited us. I learned a great deal about improvisation, freeform jazz and analogue forms of experimental music making. It propelled me into studying different theories and different approaches to just about all forms of creativity. Eventually these sessions influenced the way I deal with NEVEC RED and video making.

I find this new Knife album extraordinary and highly exciting. I can identify much of its construction. Olaf and Karin continue to validate my feelings about taking creative risks. Between the Geräuschkulisse Sessions and this new album, I am very inspired to follow a more organic path with NEVEC RED.

In the last month I’ve also come to learning about MIDI interfacing a bit deeper. My music is becoming more hands-on than ever before. I’ve spent many years programming and relatively little time getting dirty from the music, but that’s changing.

I’ve included the full selection of Geräuschkulisse music in the USF music player. It may be possible in the coming months that we decide to release it all plus a couple new tracks for sale in an album download. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done and believe that when people hear it all together in context they will realize it’s not all just accidental noise but a spiritual conversation.

The Knife album comes out in March, you may pre-order it from the website. I highly recommend taking a listen and securing a copy. It’s beautiful art!

2006 was a life-changing year on many fronts. I had spent the entire summer in anxiety over what to do next with my life. I felt directionless. An old friend, Richard Bluestein visited Berlin at the beginning of August. He worked professionally as a podcaster for his show, Yeast Radio and showed me how to get started, thus was the birth of Anderecast.

I began writing music again. Anderecast was the perfect platform to share this on. Helga was adopted into the show, as was Pier Paolo and we made videos. We spent many evenings in my bedroom making shows. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Helga and I lived in a giant apartment that transformed into whatever setting we wanted. We created characters and let ourselves free to explore creatively.

As the show progressed and became more fixated on video, my productions skills sharpened. A great portion of my life was spent in front of the computer writing and editing for which I am truly grateful. Anderecast gave birth to Unbekanntes Sektorformat and turned me into an artist.

Over the course of 110 shows we saw Pier Paolo leave, Sockie came to life, Helga made her own productions, Han van Acoleyen became a series regular, and maurus became an important ingredient to Season 4. We had countless guests and outside help through the entire cycle and our show’s audience grew exponentially in numbers.

I’m very proud of our little project. What we lacked in technical quality was more than compensated for by the learning experiences. We all came out of it a little different in a positive way.

I would like to thank Helga Jäckel for being a superb help the entire time from start to finish. The show would not have lasted 110 episodes without her. Her creations for Sockie, Nönnebär, voice work for Celery Girl, and even being a MTF transsexual are timeless.

A special thank you goes out to Han van Acoleyen who has become more than a show regular but a mainstay in all my video work. I know very few people who can have so much energy while play-acting.

I would also like to thank maurus who unexpectedly came to us in May 2007 and stuck around. He made a strong impression on the last season and I continue to enjoy our experience with unbekanntes sektorformat.

I would also like to thank Pier Paolo Paradiso for his overwhelming support in the beginning. He knew that I needed to do this and helped every time with great humour. I wish him well.

| k o k o p e l l i h e l p e d t o o |

Anderecast was a second childhood and art school for me. It wasn’t about anything but having fun experimenting and making media with people. It’s appropriate to hand over the rights to public domain now.

Also featured today:

Radio Unbekannt features a track from Season 1, Show #20 – Overnight Express

Video Unbekannt features one of the first video episodes from Season 1, Show #23

One music video is complete and now on to the next. The finished one was like giving birth to a sideways baby. I was unsure if it was ever going to leave me. The result is however quite satisfactory.

I took a couple days off over the weekend to clear my head of the video and prepare for the next. I also went to a demonstration against the government imposing a ridiculous amount of control over the internet. I got on the internet for the first time in 1994. I also recall the old online message boards of the 1980’s. It’s amazing that we’ve been able to embrace the technology as we have. I believe that any attempt to impose government controls is Orwellian and destructive. We need to find news ways to adapt to progress instead of looking on how to retract from it. It’s the responsibility of every individual worth their freedom of opinion to take a stand against laws that inhibit our abilities to choose how we inform ourselves.

So now moving on…