July 28 Sun 8 p.m. @mon ami
Arestantnlider
Hearing unheard voices
Admission: 20 € / 11 €
>> Tickets online

This new music project, created and performed by Josh “Socalled” Dolgin, was inspired by ethnographic recordings of Eastern European Jewish POWs (arestantn) in German camps during the First World War. Previously unknown and breathtakingly beautiful, these recordings are also problematic: they were made under coercion, then meticulously documented and catalogued. In addition to bringing the long-silent voices of the prisoners to life, the project also sheds light on the forgotten story of these recordings, which are also products of internment, war and racism. This story is complex: on the one hand, the recordings preserved songs and voices that would have otherwise been lost forever; on the other hand, they were made under duress and starkly unequal power relations. The project thus raises a series of ethical questions. How did these power relations shape the recording situation? What is the sound of prisoners playing and singing, in a sense, for their lives? What kind of artistic approach should one adopt when dealing with this material? How can we commemorate the individuals behind the recordings and – refuting the logic of power underlying their production – make their voices heard again? In this emotional evening, world-renowned rapper, music producer and singer Josh “Socalled” Dolgin approaches these questions in an unexpected and original way. Supported by an international team of musicians, he brings together old and new sounds, familiar and unheard voices, allowing them – in contrast to the system of colonial appropriation and control that produced them – to converse on an equal footing, lifting them out of the POW camps and into the present day.

Line up:

Josh “Socalled” Dolgin (CAN)
Thomas Fritze (D)
Craig Judelman (USA)
Marine Goldwasser (F)