raster. soundtrack europe 20—25
Electronic Music Selection
Europe has been a laboratory for and pioneer of avant-garde electronic music for over a century. The international label raster. media launched an open call for new, bold concepts and compositions. As part of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, selected projects from ‘raster. soundtrack europe 20-25’ will be presented for the first time on February 21, 2025 in HELLERAU on several different floors. The programme is rounded off with a selection of outstanding current music videos under the title ‘Moral Support’ – compiled by FILMFEST DRESDEN – which combine music with cinematic art in an extraordinary way.
The line-up includes some exciting artists from the open call such as Estonian singer and composer Maarja Nuut, Dresden electro artist Alwin Weber, audiovisual artist Camilla Pisani from Rome and Hungarian musician Gábor Lázár, who released his album ‘REFLEX’ on raster. media in 2024. The program is rounded off by the experimental sound researcher Amelie Duchow and the Italian sound artist Simone Sims Longo, who both create new sonic spaces with immersive, multimedia performances.
Maarja Nuut operates at the interface between experimental electronics and the Baltic folk tradition. Her compositions interweave hypnotic violin sounds, whispering voices and field recordings to create an atmospheric density that seems to dissolve the moment. Her music invites you to immerse yourself in a state of deep contemplation – a perpetual now, in which improvised sounds and ancient melodies stand side by side on an equal footing.
With his uncompromising sound, Alwin Weber brings a touch of punk to HELLERAU. Distorted sounds, crashing beats and wild improvisations characterize his performances, which is far removed from academic rigour. With palpable dedication, he creates a raw, energetic sound world – a homage to experimentation and the pure moment of sound development. He has prepared a special audiovisual performance for ‘raster. soundtrack europe 20-25’: Drones, Glitches and Grains. He combines electro-acoustic, analog and digital instruments to create a fascinating sound experience.
Gábor Lázár is known for his precisely distilled, kinetic sound structures. In his works, which are reminiscent of the mathematical clarity of his former collaborator Mark Fell, repetitive patterns condense into vibrating, almost physical bodies of sound. His latest album ‘REFLEX’ is a pulsating labyrinth of distorted frequencies and radical club aesthetics that will unfold its full effect in HELLERAU.
Camilla Pisani combines dark, almost ritualistic soundscapes with visual elements to create a synaesthetic overall experience. Between drone, dark ambient and industrial rhythms, she creates atmospherically dense compositions that put the listener in a trance-like state. Her track ‘Serotonin Tribe’ is a pulsating ritual – a cathartic, raw energy that opens up a journey into the unconscious through hypnotic rhythms.
Simone Sims Longo’s work explores the subtle nuances of digital sound production and the spatial effect of sound. His live performance Paesaggi integrati combines electro-acoustic textures with technoid rhythms and light projections that change the perception of space. Through the use of multi-channel sound and visual elements, he creates immersive soundscapes that put the listener in a state of auditory acuity.
Amelie Duchow presents her project ‘Logos Mater’ at HELLERAU, which is deeply rooted in the fields of experimental electronics and audiovisual performance. Her works combine organic and synthetic sounds to create dense, multi-layered soundscapes that merge with visual impulses. The result is atmospheric narratives that oscillate between dream and reality – a play with perception and emotion.
Duration: ca. 4 h
With: Gábor Lázár, Camilla Pisani, Alwin Weber, Maarja Nuut, Simone Sims Longo, Amelie Duchow
You can find more information about ‘raster. soundtrack europe 20-25’ here.
Soundtrack Europe 20-25 is a project within the framework of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament and by federal funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as well as by funds from the City of Chemnitz.
More about the accompanying program
Classic music television still leads a zombie-like existence at best, but the music video lives on in the big screen. FILMFEST DRESDEN brings the best short films from all over the world to Dresden over six festival days, attracting up to 20,000 visitors every year. The festival, which is one of the largest and most important short film festivals in Germany, celebrates short film in all its facets; the art form of the music video also finds its place time and again in special programmes and competitions.
For more than 20 years, the festival has also honoured the most interesting competition entry in terms of music and sound. In the past, the film prize, which is now called the ‘Goldener Reiter Filmton’, was also awarded in cooperation with HELLERAU. As in the previous year, the FILMFEST DRESDEN curators have put together a selection of outstanding current videos exclusively for HELLERAU. This programme of European music videos heralds the countdown to the 37th FILMFEST DRESDEN, which takes place between 8 and 13 April. The festival is focussing on solidarity. In view of the fears about the future that are spreading in the cultural scene due to the drastic budget cuts, solidarity is essential. What is needed is ‘moral support’ – the title of the programme – but also joint commitment, networking and mutual support.
This is the only way to preserve cultural diversity and independent art in these times of crisis. The sense of crisis, criticism of neoliberalism and populism, but also the renewing power of cohesion are themes that run through the programme. The videos are realised as animations, real films or found footage compilations. Again and again they cross the border into narrative feature film. We see Sandra Hüller as a tired superhero, young people facing an uncertain future and celebrating as if it were the first and last time. We are invited to dream. But the dream worlds are fragile, threatened and can burst at any time. We have to take care of ourselves.
– Sandra Stränsch, Sven Pötting (FILMFEST DRESDEN)
Find out more about the artists
Camilla Pisani is an audiovisual artist based in Rome. Fascinated by the Wagnerian concept, later taken up by Kandinsky, of “Total Art” and by the cognitive power of “synesthesia”, she looks for the interaction between space, sounds and abstract graphic signs. Her music is a hybrid, moving into a set of influences: dark ambient, drone, soundscape, soft noise, industrial and minimal electronic. She composes field recordings, suspended atmospheres, hypnotic textures marked by concrete rhythms. Her artwork focuses on sonic and emotional intensity.
Simone Sims Longo is a sonic artist whose work encompasses electronic fixed music composition, sound design, and multimedia. His creative work focuses on the digital realm of sound, with a strong emphasis on timbre and texture. Balancing sound synthesis with sampling, his compositions explore complex polyrhythms and phase shifts through the iterative layering of samples. Longo’s work also delves into spatial sound, employing multi-channel speaker diffusion to interact with architectural spaces and investigating natural reverberation and the acoustic qualities of various materials. In live performances, he integrates sound with visual elements such as light and video, creating immersive experiences that heighten the listener’s perception of audio-visual interplay.
Maarja Nuut is a singer, violinist, electronic artist, and composer who blends classical training with diverse musical influences. She studied Hindustani classical music in New Delhi, explored Estonian archives and dance traditions, and experiments with looping and electronic sounds. Driven by curiosity and instinct, she fuses different musical worlds into a unique, hypnotic sound. Her music draws from myths and the past to create connections to the present and societal change. Since her solo album Une Meeles (2016), she has received numerous awards and toured worldwide. Her third album Hinged (2021) cemented her reputation as one of Europe’s most innovative musicians.
Gábor Lázár is a Hungarian electronic music artist exploring the intersection of advanced club music, music technology, and computer music aesthetics. His work is based on self-developed software instruments and unique music-making systems. Over the past decade, he has released nine LPs, including collaborations with Mark Fell and Russell Haswell, defining his own musical language. He has worked with labels such as Raster-media, Planet Mu, and The Death of Rave. Lázár has performed worldwide at renowned festivals and venues, including Mutek, CTM Festival, Berlin Atonal, and Unsound. His critically acclaimed albums and performances continue to push the boundaries of electronic music.
Alwin Weber aka “StöRenFrieD” is a Dresden-based musician, multimedia artist and event organizer. For over 20 years, the graduate audio engineer has been creating unique soundscapes at the interface of noise, electronic music and sound experiments. His improvisational performances invite the audience to rediscover the boundaries of music and noise. He has collaborated with numerous artists in various projects and bands and played at festivals worldwide. He has been organizing the “CircuitControl – Lötspektakel” in Dresden since 2011 and has been giving international workshops on DIY electronics, circuit bending and sound design since 2009.
German audiovisual artist Amelie Duchow explores the interplay of sound, space, image and form. Her works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Design Museum London and at festivals such as Mutek and LEV. Since 2007 she has been working with Marco Monfardini as SCHNITT on audiovisual projects and innovative software. Together they founded the label Sync and the platform EXTRAsync. Their best-known works include TONSTICH, SCANAUDIENCE and WHITE BALANCE. In 2023, SCHNITT presented the installation SCANSCAPE with Gianluca Sibaldi at the ACT Festival in South Korea.
