Q&A by Artists

Mabe Fratti: What is your process of selection of artists and how do you investigate the music world to find them?

It’s a healthy interplay. It’s definitely an advantage that we as a duo are ourselves on the road to explore and make use of the crossovers between traditional and contemporary music. Above all, our own setup should be able to be played intuitively and in real time by hand or foot, so without computer sequences. Regardless of whether it’s acoustic instruments, bass module or rhythm box – we try to make sure that each element in its domain can optimally fulfil its assigned task. That requires a deep knowledge of each instrument and tool used, and its task in the set. This way of thinking probably comes from our work in the orchestra. It helps us to share the compositional ideas across our different instruments.

We look for similar approaches in our curation. This doesn’t mean that we’re not interested in artists who work purely electronically – especially in the modular field, really a lot of exciting stuff is happening at a very high level, which also requires knowledge about the function of each component.

First and foremost, we listen when the possibilities of the playing techniques and sounds of traditional string and key instruments are tested. For us, that’s top tier, when there’s a kind of communication beyond time, into the past, the present, and the future. We also still haven’t found the Holy Grail yet but maybe it’s much more about the exchange itself. At least that’s our driving force. And in the end, curation is primarily about “conservation and care”; both sides determine the selection process.