Feminist, diverse and cross-genre: since 2014, the Heroines of Sound festival has been creating space for pioneering figures in electronic music—both early and present—who are exploring new musical territory and making significant contributions to contemporary aesthetic discourse.
A particular focus of the thirteenth edition of the festival is on the Asian, and in particular the Japanese, diaspora – featuring new works by FLINTA* musicians and producers such as Miako Klein, Kyoka, Radio Hito and Tomoko Sauvage, who, using her self-built instruments – a combination of water, ceramics and electronics – animates inanimate objects and makes barely perceptible sounds audible. Japanese composer and musician Midori Hirano presents OTONOMA, her latest solo work for piano and synthesizers, exploring the fragile spaces between silence and sound through a rich interplay of acoustic and electronic textures.
To mark her 70th birthday, a tribute will be paid to the outstanding composer Iris ter Schiphorst, who has been closely associated with the festival since its inception: ensemble mosaik, led by renowned conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire and featuring soprano Anna Clementi, will perform a portrait concert.
The festival will kick off with a performance by Anouk Kellner followed by live electronic set by Japanese sound artist Kyoka. The acclaimed Polish ensemble Spółdzielnia Muzyczna makes its festival debut presenting works by a young generation of composers. A powerful final highlight, the German premiere of Leah Muir’s Em-Body-Ment unfolds as an immersive interplay of voice, performance, video and live electronics with soprano and podcaster Irene Kurka. Complementing the concert programme, Anouk Kellner’s installation Airchoir No. 2: Dirges for (26) Coded Organ Voices invites audiences into a polyphonic, algorithmically generated sound organism, where organ pipes become breathing voices and the architectural space itself turns into a resonant body.
Beyond the concert programme, daily panels, video works, workshops and a hands-on sound archive invite audiences to engage, exchange ideas and explore collective listening practices — free entrance.
