biegungen im ausland features musicians exploring improvised and experimental music. Outlandish sounds for outspoken ears! biegungen im ausland features musicians exploring improvised and experimental music. The long going series has a particular, but not exclusive, focus on Berlin’s Echzeitmusik community. It is reflecting different styles of contemporary music and is keen on artists who have developed a unique vocabulary by sharing music, ideas and approaches to sound through ongoing international exchanges and collaborations. In the spirit of Echzeitmusik, biegungen im ausland is not interested in further categorization and branding, but would like to promote a lively dialogue, which enables to inspire, reflect and take position. 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 like e. g. Anorak in the Dunckerstraße and Vollrads Tonsaal in the Schönhauserallee, where artists from various educational backgrounds 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. The concerts are listed and promoted through the website: A little history The concert series biegungen im ausland was initiated, curated and organized by Gregor Hotz, parallel to the opening of the venue in December 2002. Between May 2005 and 2006, Andrea Ermke was guest curator in his absence. In 2008, biegungen im ausland became a partner in the Berlin-based network ohrenstrand.net. In the first year with regular funding, seven musicians were invited to curate a night of music, thus presenting a musical framework that reflected many aspects of contemporary music: Andrea Neumann, Alessandro Bosetti, Kai Fagaschinski, Nicholas Bussman, Werner Dafeldecker, Ignaz Schick and Tony Buck. In 2009, biegungen were presented in pairs: The first night in anticipation of the second, and the second reflecting the first. Guest curators and active improvisers Magda Mayas and Clare Cooper placed the onus on the invited artists to arrange the format for the two nights, focusing on exchange and influence, exploring not only each other’s sounds but also elements that brought them to what they achieved with their own instruments. After two further concerts organized by Gregor Hotz a new team took over in March 2010 to care for the series. Part of the new team were Dr. Marta Blažanović-Drefers and Mathias Maschat who have been running the series as a curator duo from 2012 till 2018. Since 2018 only Mathias Maschat is responsible for the series. 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 and 2009. In 2010 the funding was used for a festival in November 2010 featuring Echtzeitmusik: bend/break. bend/break presented the 24 musicians of the newly formed Splitter Orchester in various small formations, culminating in the first performance of the full-size orchestra at the Radialsystem V. 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 2019 we received further funding through the Kulturverwaltung des Berliner Senats, now: Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa. biegungen im ausland was elected as “Veranstaltungsreihe des Jahres 2015” and ausland was elected as “Spielstätte des Jahres 2015” (category III) by the APPLAUS jury of Initiative Musik. Also in 2017 and 2021 we were awarded by the APPLAUS jury: biegungen would like to thank - Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa - initiative neue musik berlin e. V. and field notes - Musikfonds / Die Bundesbauftragte für Kultur und Medien - APPLAUS / Initiative Musik e. V. - Konzert des Deutschen Musikrates - Digital in Berlin - 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 - and of course everybody who’s in for helping out at the moment to keep the series going