tekhnē

First-generation" German sound artist Christina Kubisch, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Riga, invites you to the "Electrical Walks", which return to Riga after 20 years. Kubisch invites the public to walk through the city with specially constructed headphones that allow them to hear the various electromagnetic waves generated by the urban environment — waves that are often surprisingly musical.

The walks will be available free of charge on working days, 12:00-18:00, from September 28 to October 9, as well as on Saturday, October 10, during the second day of the festival, 10:00–15:00. The starting point for the walks and the place where headphones are issued is the Goethe-Institut Riga (Marijas Street 13 k-1). A valid ID is required. The walk is not suitable for children under 12 years of age.

For both weeks, from Wednesday to Friday, 15:00-18:00, "The Mixer Project" – developed by Christina Kubisch and Tom Thiel – will be available as a mixing station at the Goethe-Institut Riga, inviting every visitor to become a composer. Using an intuitive four-channel controller, anyone – even beginners – can mix the acoustic and electromagnetic sounds recorded during the Riga walks and create their own personalised "urban music" compositions.

Kubisch first visited Riga in 2006, when she created one of her first "Electrical Walks" at the invitation of Skaņu mežs. Now, after twenty years, she returns to discover how much the city's electromagnetic soundscape has changed.

The Electrical Walks program in Riga will be complemented with two public events:

On September 29 at 16:00, there will be a guided city exploration with headphones together with Christina Kubisch. The walk will conclude with a conversation that will allow participants not only to discuss their experience but also to understand Kubisch's aesthetic and technical aims. The number of participants is limited (10), so prior registration is required: https://ej.uz/electricalwalk. The language of the event is English.

On September 30 at 18:30, the Goethe-Institut will host a meeting with the artist — a talk in which she will introduce the audience to her creative practice and the experience she has gained working in the field of electronic and experimental music at its early stages. She will share the beginnings of her career and the challenges she faced, as well as her observations on how the role and visibility of women in electronic music have changed over the course of her career. The language of the talk is German with translation into Latvian.

Christina Kubisch, born 1948 in Bremen, belongs to the first generation of sound artists. Since the early eighties, after having finished her studies in flute, composition and electronic music in Hamburg, Graz, Zürich and Milan, she has researched and developed multiple techniques for her audio-visual works such as electromagnetic induction, solar energy and special light systems.

Tom Thiel (born 1956) began his career as a recording engineer in Bavaria, working for mostly British bands and producers. He assists Christina Kubisch in the creation of Riga's "Electrical Walks". Together with Kubisch, Thiel developed "The Mixer Project" – a participatory sound workshop that will also be available in Riga

Christina Kubisch and Tom Thiel was preparing Electrical Walks (Walk no. 99) and Mixer station at Goethe Institute in Riga as part of their residency from 5 to 8 September and from 27 September to 10 October.