Critical Techno

A sea of voices and sounds through which we need to swim/move in order to understand and unfold their momentary and collective meaning. Listening in relation to our body—flying far and checking again close. Language becomes the energetic architecture that we align to with the energetic structure of our bodies, eventually channeling the words we perceive through the movements of our physical bodies. Theoretical texts are combined with poetic texts and somatic scores, creating a journey where listening becomes an embodied experience, with a desire to give voice to the underrepresented — weird, fantastic, occult, queer — writers, theories and concepts, merging them into a new story. The hypnotic voice as in a guided meditation takes the audience on a collective imaginary trip. The music is eclectic, from field recordings to drum beats, always referencing the techno culture with a wink, supporting the transformative experience of the crowd. Could dance parties become moments of collective reflection? How can we use joy and natural highs as catalysers for understanding?

Helena Dietrich and Thomas Proksch are experimenting with a format in-between dance-party and lecture. For every new edition of Critical Techno they create a new text- and music composition around a different theme. While the first edition ‘Tumbling Wor(l)ds’ (The New Local / Cityland / Kaai, October 2018) examined the relation of bodies with their (architectural) environments, the 2nd edition ‘A Channeling Body’ (Coupé Décalé / Raffinerie, February 2019) unfolded questions around otherworldly body experiences: possession and magical consciousness.