Thoughts on Music #18 (Stockhausen + IKK Festival)

"..m]any listeners have projected that strange new music which they experienced – especially in the realm of electronic music – into extraterrestrial space. Even though they are not familiar with it through human experience, they identify it with the fantastic dream world. Several have commented that my electronic music sounds ’like on a different star,’ or ’like in outer space.’ Many have said that when hearing this music, they have sensations as if flying at an infinitely high speed, and then again, as if immobile in an immense space."
-Karlheinz Stockhausen speaking after the premiere of Hymnen (1967). Quoted in Thom Holmes:  Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition, Routledge 2002, p. 145.
The Department for Arts and Cultural Studies (Institut for Kunst og Kultur or IKK) at Copenhagen University is having its annual IKK Festival on march 6-7. That's the poster above. I'm in there and in some good company at that. This year's theme is "sci-fi".
The festival concludes friday evening on march 7 with a party at IKK where I'm going to be DJ'ing. The musical selection will of course reflect the theme of the festival. I would ideally like to combine the projections and sensations mentioned by Stockhausen with the beat of the dance floor! Whether that is a realistic goal remains to be seen. Anyway, here's my English translation of what the festival program says about my performance:
"Knút H. Eysturstein is also known as a DJ under the name übernörd. At the festival highlight - the big sci-fi party - übernörd will play a potpourri of the timbral dimension of sci-fi. Without fully disclosing what you can look expect from his set you can look forward to synthesizer soundtracks, sci-fi pop and space disco. The starting point of the music will be some of the late 70s and early 80s bands and artists that mix the tones of the dance floor with futuristic themes."
Lecture and workshop overview is available here. See you there!

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