tekhnē

This March, Skaņu Mežs announced an open call for sound artists, intended for residencies focusing on installations and performances as creative outcomes.

The open call led to the selection of three artists who will visit Riga for two weeks from late September to mid-October to create new works and perform at the Skaņu Mežs 2024 festival (4-5 October). They are German-Filipino sound and performance artist Tintin Patrone, harsh noise wall spearhead Vomir and Berlin-based sound artist and electronic musician Nick Klein. Furthermore, a third residency will take place in December 2024, featuring turntablist NikNak.

Tintin Patrone is a German-Filipino sound and performance artist who is captivated by the exploration of interconnections among music, art, sound, and experimental forms of expression. Her creative works revolve around the visual aspects of music and the ways in which personal and societal connections are established with it. By involving herself with robots and artificial intelligence in her artistic practice, Tintin Patrone challenges established notions of human subjectivity and physical presence. Using a trombone as her main instrument and modulation devices, she meticulously crafts soundscapes with sustained tones, inviting listeners into contemplative atmospheres.

Nick Klein is an artist working in sound and art and sometimes sound art with a lean towards the social potential in those modalities as they interact. Klein has recorded a large amount of music and also has shown work in visual art contexts. Klein is uninterested in the prohibitive ideological tropes and circumstances that both contexts offer, and focuses the intent of his work on trying to see what productive energy comes from the friction between the two. Klein likes loud volume, cooking, offline community building, records, bars, synthesizers, and comedy. Klein is currently located in Berlin.

Romain Perrot (born 1973), better known by his stage name Vomir (French for “vomiting” or “regurgitate”), is a French noise music artist based in Paris. Since beginning his career in 1996, Vomir has appeared in over 300 releases, including singles, albums and collaborations with other noise artists. The majority of his albums were produced by his own independent label, Decimation Sociale. Vomir positions his approach to music as an “anti-” approach, with a radical and nihilist stance. He spearheads the harsh noise wall movement, an extreme subgenre of noise music which he describes as “no ideas, no change, no development, no entertainment, no remorse”.

NikNak (aka Nicole Raymond), an artist well-known for her creative and boundary-breaking work, has gained worldwide recognition with her unusual albums, remixes, and engaging performances. In 2020, she made history as the first Black Turntablist to receive the prestigious Oram Award. Not limited to any one genre or role, NikNak excels in composing, sound design, DJing, and electronic arts. With multiple releases, collaborations, and live shows, NikNak stands out in the music industry for her unique style. Featured in various publications as a rising star, NikNak continues to advance the boundaries of sound innovation with her complex turntablism and spatial music production.