Festival Alternativa: Day 2.
Burkhard Stangl and Andrzej Karałow are separated by one generation and two countries, yet their artistic practices are shaped by similar foundations. Stangl is a guitarist, improviser, and composer with a doctorate from the University of Vienna who enjoys working at the intersection of fixed and free forms, as well as acoustic and electronic instrumentation. As a staple of the Austrian scene, he has collaborated with Christof Kurzmann, Franz Hautzinger, and Christian Fennesz, and has released music on the Touch and Erstwhile labels.
The acclaimed pianist Karałow also devotes himself to composition and improvisation; he earned his doctorate in Warsaw, and his collaborators include Jérôme Noetinger, among others. Karałow consciously draws on various approaches, bridging the academic context with alternative experimental traditions, and as a performer he frequently supplements the sound of the piano with electronics.
Their joint performance will undoubtedly reflect both artists’ interest in sound as a space, as well as their tendency to play delicately yet complexly. Stangl’s pointillistic playing comes across as almost purist; more important than the deconstruction and manipulation of sound is the detailed rendering of structures that are never quite straightforward. Karałow is characterized by a Feldman-like interest in timbre, the incorporation of silence as a compositional element, and a non-trivial, dreamlike atmosphere. And attentive listening is, once again, something that unites both musicians.
Ursula Sereghy + Sorbitol Drops + Oï les Ox + Isabella Forciniti
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Ursula Sereghy already made a name for herself with her solo debut, *OK Box*, and her subsequent recordings and projects only confirm her extraordinary talent. Sereghy navigates a world of irregular structures and surprising melodies and stands out for her meticulous approach to composition. Something similar could be said about the Sorbitol Drops project. We are still waiting for a follow-up to his debut on Remízek Music, where Antonín Závodný creates collages from distorted natural samples; however, he continues to perform consistently and engage in special collaborations.
Oï les Ox, a project by French artist Aude Van Wyller, borders on pop. When Van Wyller sings, she uses literal translations, automatic writing, and the deconstruction of dialogues; the instrumental component is similarly deconstructive. Manipulated synths and a collage-like approach create an amorphous backdrop for storytelling without a punchline, but with a generous dose of imagination and charisma. Isabella Forciniti’s approach is more precise: while Oï les Ox makes use of planes and fields, the Italian sound artist works with points and networks. Melodies and beats emerge in neurotic fragments that form suggestive structures. The ephemeral nature of the music is further emphasized by her use of spatial sound and psychoacoustics.
TOE
It is no exaggeration to describe TOE as an all-star band on the Austrian audiovisual scene. Project founder Billy Roisz is joined by Dieter Kovačič (aka dieb13), Martin Brandlmayr and Karolina Preuschl – artists with impressive portfolios who have never lost their appetite for experimentation. As TOE – or Tripping on Electrons – the quartet processes Roisz’s extensive archive of audio and visual material. Their approach is as much about archiving as it is about (de)construction: fragments of works, including previously unreleased ones, dissolve into a fluid, multi-layered field to form something new.
Both the visual and sonic aesthetics of the whole naturally resonate primarily with Roisz’s focus on distortion, feedback and glitch. Further subversion of stable forms stems from the turntables, always manned by the rebellious dieb13. Brandlmayr’s drums largely refuse to bring order to this chaos, preferring instead to generate further sonic debris. Preuschl’s role, however, deserves special attention; her modular synthesiser, and above all her voice, shift the sound in completely unexpected directions. Alongside classic spoken word, ceremonial melodies can be heard, or the jagged clatter transforms into a ghostly radio broadcast from the fourth world.
TOC & Sakina Abdou
One of the special line-ups at this year’s festival will be the freerock ensemble TOC, joined by saxophonist Sakina Abdou. Jérémie Ternoy (Fender Rhodes), Peter Orins (drums) and Ivann Cruz (electric guitar) draw a trance-like effect from conventional rock forms, one that does not rely on endless repetition. The trio, whose creative method is based exclusively on improvisation, glides gracefully between delicate post-rock, jazz-core outbursts and fragments of psychedelia and pop. The distinctive sound of the Fender Rhodes keyboard evokes the 1970s from an alternative reality, whilst the guitar thoughtfully sketches subtle lines and erupts with noise. What is remarkable, however, is how often both instruments reject familiar patterns and stick to outbursts that are more primitive and elemental than a rock riff. The drums, meanwhile, are a chapter unto themselves – at times gracefully jazzy, at others bluntly percussive, syncopated.
Throughout their nearly 20-year history, TOC have consistently been open to collaborations with exceptional saxophonists, and at Alternativa, Sakina Abdou will join the ranks alongside Jean-Luc Guionnet, Paulina Owczarek and Dave Rempis. A representative of the younger generation on the French scene, she made her solo debut as recently as 2022, straight away on the renowned Relative Pitch label; since then, she has collaborated with Mariam Rezaei and Bill Nace, amongst others. The album *Goodbye Ground* presents her as an outstanding instrumentalist and focused composer. Abdou recorded the album at home, without fellow musicians or effects. Even in the crystalline, lyrical passages, there is a certain tenacity; the musician simply demands attention. And when she turns up the intensity, her unpretentious emphasis takes on a touch of grandeur. During this performance, the title of one of TOC’s albums – about songs that will never be played again – will ring truer than ever.
Hervé Birolini
Hervé Birolini’s work encompasses a wide variety of sound-related fields, including interdisciplinary crossovers. The French artist is involved in live performance, installations and stage music, and whilst his primary focus is on electronics – which includes creating his own virtual instruments – he also occasionally utilises found sounds, classical instrumentation and various objects. At Alternativa, he will present the project *Des éclats* (glows, fragments, turmoil), in which he constructs an ‘orchestra’ of sixteen Tesla transformers and uses electricity as a sound source – the phenomenon that powers both our world and our bodies. The mesmerising pulse of violet flashes in a square grid is accompanied by an unmistakable crackling sound, which forms shifting patterns and stark beats. Thanks to the spatial arrangement of the speakers, the performance offers an experience akin to being inside a Faraday cage, with a storm sweeping across its surface.