Outlandish sounds for outspoken ears !

biegungen im ausland, one of the oldest existing series for experimental and improvising music in Berlin, has a special, but not exclusive, focus on Berlin’s Echzeitmusik community.

Dedicated to musical experiments, biegungen im ausland presents artists who dedicate themselves to improvised and experimental music, who develop their own sound vocabularies and styles, repeatedly pushing them to boundaries, reformulating and expanding them permanently in new constellations and with new co-musicians. Within the general stylistic framework, the program of the series covers a broad spectrum, from free improvised music and Echtzeitmusik/real-time-composition to new music, sound art, free jazz and electronic music to pop-influenced innovative musical concepts. In the spirit of Echtzeitmusk, biegungen im ausland is not interested in further categorization and branding, but rather aims to promote a lively dialogue that makes it possible to inspire, reflect and take a stand.Therefore, it has the motto: outlandish sounds for outspoken ears !

Background

The root of this music described here as Echtzeitmusik, and the spirit of biegungen im ausland, lies in the lineage of European free improvised music, North American free jazz of the 60's and contemporary New Music, all of which have contributed to redefine music and the listening experience since the beginning of the 20th century. This music blossomed in Berlin in the 90's, thanks to grass root venues or off-locations like e. g. Anorak in Dunckerstraße and Vollrads Tonsaal in Schönhauser Allee, where artists from various educational backgrounds and autodidacts got the chance to exchange their aesthetic concepts, which didn't fit the existing schools and approaches they came from anymore. Since then it has branched out strongly and diversified without losing its autonomous and exploring nature. The massive output of the Echtzeitmusik performing community takes place in mostly non-subsidized venues throughout Berlin. This community of Berliners and foreign musicians plays a major part in Berlin's outstanding international reputation as a central laboratory of experimental art. 

A little history

The biegungen im ausland series was launched parallel to the opening of the club/venue ausland in December 2002 and has hosted more than 350 concerts since then. From its inception, biegungen im ausland has been an integral part of the ausland music program and over the course of its more than two decades of existence it has developed into one of the most important meeting points for Berlin’s Echtzeitmusik scene as well as for international guests from the vibrant and constantly growing improvisation and experimental music community. The series contributed significantly to ausland's reputation as a living room or anchor institution for Berlin's improv and real-time music scene. In November 2010, one of the first project grants acquired for the series was used to organize the bend/break festival. The bend/break festival presented the 24 musicians of the newly formed Splitter Orchester in various small formations and culminated in the premiere of the complete orchestra at Radialsystem V. A list of almost all previous concerts in the biegungen im ausland series can be found at ausland.berlin/program/series/biegungen-im-ausland↗.

Expressions of gratitude

Between 2008 and 2011 biegungen im ausland was partner in the Berlin based new music network ohrenstrand.net, which was set up for the performance and popularisation of contemporary music. The network was funded by the Netzwerk Neue Musik [New Music Network] of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes [Federal Cultural Foundation] and by the Kulturverwaltung des Landes Berlin [Senate of Berlin]. Due to the financial support provided by ohrenstrand.net and the Kulturamt Pankow, the series was funded in 2008 'till 2010. Since 2013 many concerts of the series have been funded by the initiative neue musik berlin e.V. In 2014 until 2016 some concerts were additionally funded by Konzert des Deutschen Musikrates. From 2015 till 2024 beigungen im ausland received further funding through the Kulturverwaltung des Berliner Senats, now: Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt. ausland was elected as “Spielstätte des Jahres 2015” (category II) and biegungen im ausland was elected as “Veranstaltungsreihe des Jahres 2016” (category III) by the APPLAUS jury of Initiative Musik. Also in 2017 (biegungen im ausland, category III), 2019 (ausland, category III), 2021 (biegungen im ausland, category III), 2023 (ausland, "Beste Livemusikprogramme", main prize)  and 2023 (ausland, "Beste Livemusikspielstätten") our concerts were awarded by the APPLAUS jury.

biegungen would like to thank - Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt - initiative neue musik berlin e. V. and field notes - Musikfonds / Der Bundesbauftragte für Kultur und Medien - APPLAUS / Initiative Musik e. V. - Konzert des Deutschen Musikrates - ohrenstrand.net - Netzwerk Neue Musik (a project initiated and funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes) - Kulturamt Pankow - all the participating musicians - all former curators, technicians and all other people who helped out to keep the series going.