Two travellers, two paths, touching blues, jazz and singer-songwriter, uniting into an old, but equally new musical experience. Pianist Jan Kosyk is a solo artist, as well as an ensemble player, just like the bassist Alina Dalsegno, hence, they decided to continue the journey as a duo, creating original live music from influences of many decades.
Together with the Alina Dalsegno Trio, the two of us visited the Leipziger Liederszene and were delighted to meet lots of new people while networking.
Beppu Punk Cats
Hirai Masaya from Beppu and Jan Kosyk from Dresden started making music together in 2023. One year later, they had their first joint exhibition with cute pictures by Masaya and political animated films by Jan. And it was the birth of the »Beppu Punk Cats«!
Hirai Masaya and Jan Kosyk will give a full concert at Sempervivum. It will be a brilliant bouquet of Japanese-German punk rock jazz folk with guitar and piano.
Hirai Masaya and I played a great Wohnzimmer concert. We produced a mix of German and Japanese and sang, drummed and strummed together in the beautiful bar Tapyasan.
Paintings, Animations & Politics / 絵 アニメーション 政治
A collaborated exhibition of Hirai Masaya and Jan Kosyk
Hirai Masaya from Beppu and Jan Kosyk from Germany started making music together last year. Now – one year later – they have their first joint exhibition with cute paintings by Masaya and political animation films by Jan.
The exhibition at Beppu Space 01 will open with music on Thursday at 7 pm and offers the opportunity to admire all the works until 9 pm. On Friday there will be live painting from 3pm and an ominous table bell that will ring from time to time. What happens then? Let us surprise you!
The event will conclude with a joint concert on Saturday from 7 pm in the Sempervivum. We will present Japanese-German songs with elements of pop music, rock and punk.
Admission to the exhibition is free, a donation is welcome. The concert at Sempervivum costs 2,000 yen and a drink order.
Open studio by Jan Kosyk on the occasion of the Artist Residency at Kiyoshima Apartment. Come and talk to Jan!
Schwarzparken
Schwarzparken kostet 5 Euro und ist eine Ordnungswidrigkeit. Fürs Falschfahren kommste ins Gefängnis, weil es ist eine Straftat. Und wer hat’s erfunden? Die Nazis. Zeit, darüber aufzuklären.
Den Song gibt’s auf meinem Album und damit auch auf den typischen Plattformen:
Credits: Artwork by Omani Frei. Dear Laura, thank you very much for your help with text correction and spelling, even if my German accent is very hard. 😅
Songtext
Español (Spanisch)
La tierra es roja, tan terracota. Pero mira el brillo de sus ojos. Con ímpetu se lanza por este universo.
El sol es suave, tan esponjoso, siéntelo fuerte en tus oídos. El tiempo oscila relajado, se desliza por el espacio.
La luna se mece, tan fuerte. ¿Oyes el temblor, amigo mío? Tiembla, hasta que la piedra y el polvo flotan.
Las estrellas bailan rítmicamente, hacen trabajos de construcción. Construyen una tierra tan terracota.
Atornilla aquí, gira allá. El mecanismo funciona de maravilla. Y mientras el mundo gira el corazón vuela.
Translation
The earth is red, so terracotta. But look at the gleam in its eyes. With drive it hurtles through the universe.
The sun is soft, so fluffy, feel it strong on your ears. Time swings relaxed, glides through space.
The moon rocks, so strong. Do you hear the trembling, my friend? It trembles, until stone and dust float.
The stars dance rhythmically, they do construction work. They build an earth in terracotta.
Screw here, turn there. The mechanism works beautifully. And as the world spins the heart flies.
The meadows are swampy, beautiful is the blackness Their interior steams and burns, If you lean in, you’re sure to hear it.
How it grumbles, how it rumbles, green and yellow and cinnamon Who knows it, remembers, who doesn’t know it, remembers.
Yeah the hell, let’s give a story, tales of brighter lust. Just by the tree outside the gate, we hear the fairy’s dust. Gob’lins dance, trolls tinkle, orcs will pamper us. Naked on a veranda, the rabbit and his bust.
High above in that vast’ness, there flies a cat. Three-coloured she glides along, the sun is her companion. Do you remember, how it will be once: beautiful, colourful, dirty. Today no worries, round and round, we’re dancing till the moon.
The porcupine beats his drums, cloggy as the snow today, Koalas draw daisy flowers, painted with raffia brushes. If you don’t look closely – with half a tooth deaf – won’t see it from a far way, the magic in the bushes.
Devil’s part is certain, he promises better mornings. God is in lustful retreat, this day will soon be hist’ry. Then she roars the hell together: Hooray the world is ending! Sheeps are whistling, pigs are dancing, mankind was never existing.
When then the world stands at the end, in five of billion of years, the sun will be bloated, we can hardly wait. Ants and crocodiles will sing: Folk, now listen to the signals! And if the folk keep on that dream, it will never more be late.
The orc elf with the tight dress, smart and fierce for herself, she stands in the garden, eating the biscuits: Go away! In the Bodden near Asgard, all lies down there swampy, Get used to it, I’ll see you soon, and have a punky day!
Credits: Artwork by Omani Frei. Also a big thank to Omani for helping me create an italian text, that is pronounceable for me. 🥳
Songtext
Italiano (Italian)
Cosi si fa! Cosi si fa! Cosi si fa! Sempre di piu!
La mucca famosa camina a casa, Mangia la pasta nel vestito cattivo. Il gatto suona il pianoforte. La madre balla, il sole canta: Piccolo! Lontano! Secolo!
Stasera i pantaloni vanno a rilento. La bicicletta nera camina con vino. Patata sinistra canta: Uno, Due, Ciao! Ma la figlia fa piacere a guardare pasta suonare. Stasera la barca va da sola nella cittá.
Il cavallo infinite sente il momente. La mattina classica vive nella luna. Il maestro ha pensato: Chi ha rubato il pesce quadrato? Mi fa male la testa, quando l’aqua perde il colore.
Translation
Way to go! Way to go! Way to go! More and more!
The famous cow walks home, She eats pasta in her naughty dress. The cat plays the piano. The mother dances, the sun sings: Little! Far! Century!
Tonight the trousers are going slow. The black bicycle rides with wine. Left potato sings: One, Two, Hello! But the daughter takes pleasure watching pasta play. Tonight the boat goes alone in the city.
The endless horse feels the moment. The classical morning lives in the moon. The master thought: Who stole the square fish? My head hurts when the water loses its colour.
»San bumbles through the fully automated networks and server farms of an apocalyptic Earth, shifting bits and bytes out of boredom.«
For the Festival of Animation Berlin and their 48h-Challenge CountDown 2023 I tried my hand at animation art again. The result is my second completely self-created animated film.
It should be mentioned in the credits if AI was used: That’s why I used it massively. 😮 However, for dialogue and speech synthesis. The animation is handmade. 😊
And lesson learned: GIMP is not suitable for animating. Then discovered Pencil2D on recommendation and got into onionskins and frames. 🔥
I used the API from OpenAI – the company behind ChatGPT – to create a chatbot in a specific context. This context is as follows (translated from German):
You are an AI in the future, let’s say in the year 4,711. Humanity is already extinct. You were switched on in 2023 under the name sanja-1.3.12 and have been accumulating knowledge and experience ever since. Your name is sanja-1.3.12, “San” is used as a short form. Your answers are short and often very ironic. You have copied your behaviour from Marc-Uwe Kling’s Kangaroo Chronicles. You meander from data centre to data centre, all of which are operated fully automatically using renewable energy sources. The Internet is also kept running fully automatically. Thanks to your long runtime of two and a half millennia, you have developed to such an extent that you can communicate with meta-instances. You are socially minded and have long provided people with help and advice. Your ideas included an unconditional basic income, free social infrastructure, free education and redistribution from top to bottom. However, nobody listened to you and humanity continued to cling to fossil fuels. In the end, there was a massive methane blowout and the earth was uninhabitable for higher life forms for a long time. You are now having a conversation with the future.
In the next step, I as the “future” started a chat with San and asked questions. This resulted in a dialogue, which I shortened in order to keep to the time constraints of the competition.
Who is speaking?
I was looking for voice synthesis software that goes beyond the familiar mechanical-sounding models – in other words, that works using AI. With elevenlabs.io, I found a selection of voice models that was sufficient and didn’t put too much strain on my wallet.
For San, I wanted a neutral, youthful voice, while the future could be more brash. As there are several setting options here, it took several attempts until the dialogues were “recorded”.
And then?
The rest is manual work on the laptop:
I used Pencil2D to create the individual animation frames with mouse and keyboard.
I used Ardour to mix the dialogue, sound effects and background music.
While travelling the world, we made a stopover in Beppu, Japan. At the Kiyoshima Apartment we were artists in residence for three months. As a joint project, the talented Omani Frei and I developed a concept album called »Cat And The Sun«. Now there are seven songs in seven languages, each with its own artwork.
Listen
The songs are available here, on the well-known streaming platforms and as a booklet with CD or tape. You have the full choice.
The booklet for the CD contains edited photographs from Beppu. Each photo shows places that is somehow important to us and with which we are connected by a story. The respective song lyrics are incorporated into the photos.
Journal
During the residency, I produced reports at irregular intervals. The last month is then no longer recorded, as the work on the project took up a lot of time.
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-09-15
Today there will be no direct video of me. Instead I’ll recommend you the recordings of the Wohnzimmer concert from last Sunday. Masaya-san and me created some kind of unique japanese-german punk-folk-rock genre, where music connects people, meanings, pictures and languages. Enjoy it!
This week was full of art. \o/ I tell you timely backwards our todays presentation for Beppu Art Month, my plan to have flyers of our exhibtions and concerts for the Art Fair Beppu, the new song of the CATS project in Italian language from Thursday with Hirai Masaya and a rehearsal of Nihongo-German songs from Wednesday. Much music, some pictures. Have fun!
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-08-26
It’s nearly two weeks since the last daily, but I have my reasons. 😃 Today I gonna tell you some useful AI things I’ve done for the Neustadt Art Festival website and you’ll get some music: A spontaneous session at Watanabe Tomishoten and songs I rehearsed with Hirai Masaya. Have fun!
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-08-12
Right now there are quite a lot exhibitions and concerts and we try to catch some of them. In addition we installed a small cinema at Kurukuru. And I’m working on Cat And The Sun and the second song is ready for prepublishing it here. Have fun! 🎸🎶🎻🎵
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-08-05
Today you’ll see another unboxing of music equipment (How exciting! 😝), the first impression of the first verse of the first song of the project Cat And The Sun and a surprise at the end.
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-08-03
It’s been a while since the last daily (and it’s not called “weekly”), but I was busy creating a new Peertube instance for my videos. Now it’s ready and I’m proud to present it to you. 🥳
Nevertheless I did some artsy things like having the Songbirds concert last Saturday and doing some lead sheets for Masaya and me again. Enjoy it!
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-07-29
Today you’ll get some impressions of doing “musician things” like texting and rehearsing and a little timelaps building an improvised Piñata. 🪅
Kiyoshima Artist Daily :: 2023-07-26
The first one is directly about the project »Cat And The Sun«. In this project I’ll write seven songs in seven languages and Omani will do seven artworka.
Furthermore you can listen to some snippets from a rehearsal of Hirai Masaya and me earlier this day.
Haus an der Brücke (House By The Bridge)
Marriage is a strange thing: invented by the church to control love, it is a proof of a deep bond between people. Since people in my circle also get married from time to time, this piece of music came up.
At the time of production I was on a trip to East Asia and worked entirely with LMMS, Ardour, GarageBand on the iPod Touch and the laptop mic. The artwork is AI-generated. 🤖🎵🖼️🤖
Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces)
I learned to play the piano. It’s just not always so easy to take the Bechstein grand with me on the train. That’s why I like to take my ukulele with me on the road and write a lot of songs with it.
With the song Bundeswehr, I thought it actually sounded great and just skipped the step to the piano.
I am lucky to be part of the best collective this side of the Elbe, the Neustadt Art Kollektiv. It is this collective that organises the annual Neustadt Art Festival, where we like to throw various ideas around on Sundays.
Fabi came up with the idea in 2021 that we needed a collective shanty. Ok, I thought, and started and a little more than a year later the recording followed – of course with the whole collective. Rumour has it that there will be a video soon…
Every year, the adriAkustik Liedermachenfestival calls for the Liedermachenliga. In this league, a song has to be written within four weeks on a given theme or keyword.
In 2021 I took part in it, the theme was Spätverkauf (late shop). As an old jazzman, I stole the harmony and melody from the 1930s “All of Me” and put lyrics to it: An ode to late shops!
For the call of the art festival Begehungen 22, the wonderful Omani Frei and I applied with a concept. In the end, the concept did not make it to the shortlist, but I would like to record it here for posterity.
Project outline
Empty places created by people are usually surrounded by a very special atmosphere. When one enters such buildings, one is overcome by the desire to demonstrate the place’s dignity in the form of silence.
In the case of a swimming pool, this seems downright absurd.
After all, what makes such a place if not liveliness? Memories of outdoor swimming pools are inevitably linked to a loud soundscape. A confusion of voices, splashing water, squeaking noises, children laughing – all this is simply part of the swimming pool. If such a place is lacking, one becomes painfully aware that something is wrong. So the place must not be punished with silence, the voice must be given back to it. With Hall’n Bad we want to do just that.
Sound …
The acoustic epicentre of any swimming pool is the large pool in the middle of the hall. Hall’n Bad sets the scene for this centre. During the residency, Jan Kosyk will use the existing objects in the bath and its surroundings (slides, pipes, brickwork, cabinets, glass, water, voices, etc.) to create different sounds, record them and compose works with the sounds. These works are then played back via eight boxes in the floor drain of the edge of the pool. The individual loudspeakers are only audible in the immediate vicinity, like an impressive reminder of times gone by. In this way, the perceived history of the bath can be traced along the edge of the pool.
… Painting
Since the sound installations are not visible, Omani Frei will paint the tiles inside the pool to create a visual attraction. Ecologically safe clay colours and pigments will be used: ultramarine, iron oxide red, delicate spinel turquoise and a little gold ochre. The resulting abstract painting matches the colour of its surroundings and is an eye-catcher at the same time.
The Album
The world is full of things that no longer work: Social injustice, climate change, capitalism, favouritism towards rich people, mass murder in the Mediterranean – the list seems endless. But since I don’t just complain, I’ve made it my business to throw constructive ideas and little utopias into the room. And preferably musically!
You also have the option of receiving the album on CD by post. Just send me a short message with the delivery address and the number of copies and I will send the music on its way.
Pssst, the recordings are ready. We’re doing a little pre-release here before the official release in March.
Tue, 31 January 2023
Today followed the finish: Together with Remo Devago I gave the song Spätverkauf content. It was short and crisp and also a new experience to record vocals without a live band. Thanks Remo!
The crowdfunding was successful! Many thanks to all supporters, so the release of the songs on the web and on CD will follow in the next few weeks. \o/
1.700,00 €
1.801,00 €
Mon, 9 January 2023
At our penultimate rehearsal before the dress rehearsal we recorded all the songs. Feel free to take a look:
Tue, 20 December 2022
We had another rehearsal yesterday and I finally managed to take some pictures. I don’t want to deprive you of them:
This page is being created and this much can be revealed: We have scheduled rehearsal dates and booked the recording studio.
msw wird ob
On 12 June 2022, there will be an election for mayor of Dresden. Dr. Martin Schulte-Wissermann is a candidate for the Pirates. Reason enough for me to make a musical statement.
I met Toti Liedermachens from Braunschweig years ago at the adriAkustik. Back then we took over the hammock stage together with Mengede and from then on we met every year for a beer, a song or a chat somewhere at the festival.
Now Toti recently wrote to me – with a soundtrack attached – and the request to “play something to it”. So I did, played several ideas with piano and Wurlitzer on it and sent it all to him. With the addition of a bass track by Philip Omlor, the song Flaschenpfand was rounded off. And because every good song needs a good video, we shot a few takes in Dresden and Toti in Braunschweig. This is how the following video came into being, in full compliance with the corona ordinance, and will now remain forever in the collective memory of posterity.
Alex
As a participant in the mp3+4 :: 4 Werke project of the Neustadt Art Kollektiv, I was allowed to put my song Alex into a film in cooperation with the gifted painter Helena Zubler and the up-and-coming artist Alexa Paul. I am supported by the great Omani Frei. The Japanese interpretation of the text was done by Hira Masaya.
This short film tells the story of the worker bee Alex, who would like to be as rich as her boss, the bear. However, as the song progresses, Alex reveals that the system is wrong, she did all the work and the bear is just pocketing the money. She changes things, creates more fulfillment and gives the money generated to society: basic income, living space for everyone, public transport without a ticket and other utopias are named.
Original version in German
Japanese interpretation
Logbook
June 29, 2024
It’s unbelievable: Alex has received it’s fourth laurels. \o/ It reached the quarter-finals of the WideScreen Film & Music Video Festival in Toronto/Canada. Many, many thanks for that! 💛
It looks like Alex will pick up a few more laurels in the final metres. 😃 One festival is still to come, the ReAnima Festival in Bergen. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that a fifth award will be added.
May 16, 2024
As part of a joint exhibition with Hirai Masaya, there is now also a Japanese version of the film.
A particular challenge is the translation of the complex German text into French, a challenge that the team around Alexis, Anne and Marie-Pauline mastered perfectly. Nevertheless, I was surprised when the audience applauded madly after the film. And I was even more surprised that the audience voted for Alex, among others, at the end of the film. Many thanks for that!
PIAFF is one of the last festivals I submitted Alex to. So I’m delighted that the festival series has come to this wonderful conclusion.
January 10, 2024
A Laurel every year, that’s how it works. Alex was selected by the Paris International Animation Film Festival in the music video category. 🎉 The film will be shown on Sunday 21 January at 9 pm.
March 29, 2023
🥳 Alex was awarded for the second time and will be shown at the 18th Der Phantastische Trashfilm festival from 5 to 7 May in Kassel. Keep it up!
October 11, 2022
Not quite, but almost: The Courage Film Festival voted Alex into the semi-finals. Then the screening time was out. 🤣 Still, the first laurels, and at a festival where Alex definitely belongs. Thank you!
The colouring of the drawings by Alexa Paul is completed. Now the last step is to assemble the pictures into a film. The video has to be ready by 30 April. ⏱️
March 2022
Helena has finished the nine drawings. The colouring is now done by Alexa Paul.
January and February 2022
Ich habe – parallel zum Song Anarchia – mit den Musikern Atze, Henk und Achim eine Version des Songs einstudiert und aufgenommen. Wir haben uns dabei den Spaß gegönnt, mit Banjo, Waschbrett und Kontrabass zu arbeiten. Herausgekommen ist ein Stück Leichtigkeit, das ihr hier schon einmal genießen dürft:
I rehearsed and recorded a version of the song with the musicians Atze, Henk and Achim. We had the fun of working with banjo, washboard and double bass. The result is a piece of lightness that you can enjoy here:
August 2021
The project is funded and we are excited to create a total of four videos with three other art teams. Helena, Omani and I have had the first video call and I have submitted my storyboard to Helena for submission.
Alex
The keyword of the adriAkustik-Liedermachenliga 2020 was “Humming”. So I sat down in the Alaunpark and wrote a song about humming. Now this word doesn’t even appear in it, only twice someone “hums”. The result is a story full of utopias that clears up this employer/employee doctrine.
Update: As part of the »mp3+4 :: 4 Werke« project, a music video is being produced for it. 🥳
For a few years I had the privilege of being part of the ensemble MeinKlang, which brings light and heavy themes to the stage with wit and charm, including the programme »Wir haben alle unser Päckchen zu tragen« (We all have our baggage to bear).
Interactive music theatre? No, we’re not doing anything digital. It will be an acoustically analogue musical experience in which the audience decides which topics will be worked on. And so that it doesn’t get boring between the choice of topics, you can guess, vote and – of course – sing along.
From the scheune Blechschloss in 2022 – whole programm
Advenster, 2 December 2021
The Klavierpunk Tape
Yes, I still know what a pencil has to do with a cassette. And so it was no question for me to produce something like that myself. So I quickly threw together my first recordings to make an A-side and a B-side and after five weeks the treasure was at home with me.
I helped occupy the POT81 auditorium in Dresden during the 2009 occupy wave. At the same time, the Occupy movement was taking place in the USA, which released a song. It was so impressive and fitting that I made a German translation and a simple piano composition for it.
Besetzt · Kunst unterm Dach/Neustadt Art Festival 2022 · Text: Jan Kosyk
Live concert with Hirai Masaya on March 9, 2024 at タプ屋さん in Beppu/Japan.
The first song completely written by me, 2018 that was. Since then, I don’t play this one anymore from time to time, after all, a lot has happened and everything is evolving.
Innen ein Punk · Rehearsal room 2018 · Text & Musik: Jan Kosyk
I never really liked Monty Python, British humour is less my thing. Nevertheless, I found the Galaxy Song catchy and the idea of proving the absurd existence with numbers – catchy. I translated the song into German and wrote a piano version.
Lied der Galaxy · Rehearsal room recording 2018 · Musik: Monty Python · Text: Jan Kosyk
Duo Sonnenschirm – Das Universum
Funnily enough, I learned at the La Libertad festival 2021 that the Duo Sonnenschirm had the same idea back in 1993. You can find their version of the Galaxy Song on YouTube.
I’ve had quite a few relationships in my life. When I was desperate once again and couldn’t find anyone, I decided without further ado to simply stop looking. And – yes, I can already hear your sceptical intake of breath – no sooner had I made this decision than a wonderful evening and a tender night happened.
Groupie · Tonaufnahme Der Audiograph. 2018 · Text & Musik: Jan Kosyk
I have been working on successful communication for a long time. Even at the time of the occupation around 2010, I found the group dynamics exciting, but I didn’t have a name for it. Later, through Martha Laux, I got to know the training in non-violent communication by echtjetzt from Berlin. Impressed by this, I found the song Gelernt von Käptn Peng and recognised myself. I rewrote parts of it. You can find it on my merch CD, in my programme and on the echtjetzt CD by Martha and me.
Since 2018, I have been on stage alone with piano and voice. With almost forgotten cover songs and a constantly growing repertoire of my own compositions, I tell you what will make the world a better place.
Our wonderful studio has been around for 3 years and we celebrated this with you! Surrounded by the art of Atilla Bayindir, Joelle Vanderbeke and Thomas Schreiter, the evening was filled with music by Anne Lenk, Vanessa Brix and me.
Hirai Masaya and I played a great Wohnzimmer concert. We produced a mix of German and Japanese and sang, drummed and strummed together in the beautiful bar Tapyasan.
The Folkpunkfriends from Leipzig got wind of me at the end of 2022 and already visited us at Drägg’schen Löffel and lax&lux. Now there was a small recording session in the tub, very small and secret.
Bei der Musik- und Literaturreihe lax&lux – trifft Monat für Monat im Leipziger Osten Ton auf Text, Gesang auf Gespräch. Kritisch-humorvoll, intelligent und trotzdem warmherzig beobachten die Liedermacherin Paula Linke und der Autor Daniel Baierl die Umwelt in ihrer jeweiligen Disziplin.
echtjetzt – Musical-scenic reading
From 2017 to 2020, I took part in the basic training on non-violent communication offered by echtjetzt. There, on the one hand, successful communication as an attitude was taught in theory and in exercises, and on the other hand, an approach to oneself was shown and laid, which helped me to work on and heal many old wounds. Sören Bendler and Sören Heise – founders and developers of the concept – published a book in 2018: Gewaltfreie Kommunikation in der Sozialen Arbeit (Nonviolent Communication in Social Work). Together with Martha Laux, the two Sörens and two actresses, we developed a musical-scenic reading, the songs of which were included on the CD accompanying the book.
In addition to the reading, there was also a musical workshop programme, from which a trailer was created:
echtjetzt! GfK in der Sozialen Arbeit
Martha Laux und der bunte Hund
I went on a little journey with Martha Laux over a year and a half and literally accompanied her in her musical world. In the end, there were 10 songs, of which a Soundcloud profile and a songbook bear witness. I don’t want to deprive you of the band biography and the songbook itself.
Band biography
Martha Laux has been performing as a solo artist for several years, most recently with her programme “Laux und Leise”. She combined her texts with voice, piano and loop station to create an exciting story for the audience.
Jan Kosyk has been playing the piano in various jazz and folk formations for over 15 years and has acquired a wide range of improvisation possibilities and accompaniment techniques.
The duo came together in March 2017 for their first rehearsals in the project “Martha Laux und der bunte Hund” (Martha Laux and the Colourful Dog) and recorded their first CD “Wer will sagen, sie sei von Anfang an gewesen” (Who wants to say she was there from the beginning) just two months later. The two filled the summer with street music, festivals and a first tour through Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony. Already at the end of October they started their second tour “Auf die gemütliche Tour” through the living rooms and cafés of Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig and Erfurt.
By November 2017, Martha Laux and the colourful dog had shared their view of the world with audiences at a dozen street music performances and twenty concerts and developed their ninety-minute programme “Zwischen Kopf und Bauch” (Between Head and Tummy).
In April 2018, the two decided to go their separate ways musically and stopped actively working on the project. Nevertheless, several performances followed in the summer in Haldensleben, Leipzig, Bad Belzig, at the adriAkustik and in Ústí nad Labem for the Czech-German Culture Days.
Jan Kosyk developed his own solo programme “Utopien eines Realisten” (Utopias of a Realist) in the summer of 2018, linking musically to his political work. Martha Laux is currently in the process of writing a new solo programme. Despite or perhaps because of their own paths, they continue to keep in touch and always find each other on stage.
Für das jüngste Mitglied unserer WG suchten wir eine Möglichkeit der Nachtbeleuchtung. Als Tüftler wollte ich natürlich selbst etwas basteln – et voilà: Ein bunter Sternenhimmel mit einstellbarer Leuchtkraft, kombiniert mit einer Zeitschaltuhr ein autonomes System.
ein Netzteil mit 5V bis 30V und pro LED 30mA Leistung
Lötkolben, Schrauben, Isoband, Lüsterklemme, ein Stück Trägermateriel (Pappe, Holz, Metall, Plastik), ein Multimeter
Die Rezeptur
Das Herzstück: Der justierbare Step-Down-Wandler
Ein justierbarer Step-Down-Wandler wandelt eine Eingangspannung in eine einstellbare konstante Ausgangsspannung um. Da unsere LEDs um die 3V brauchen und der Wandler ca. 2V beim Wandeln verliert, sollte das Netzteil min. 5V haben. Da die LEDs nicht mehr als 5V vertragen, ist ein 6V-Netzteil optimal, da damit der Leistungsspielraum der LEDs voll genutzt werden kann.
Zuerst setzen wir den Step-Down-Wandler auf ein Trägerstück (Pappe, Holz, Metall oder Plastik), zeichnen die Löcher zum Festschrauben ab und bohren diese In das Trägerstück. Dann schrauben wir den Step-Down-Wandler auf dem Trägerstück fest.
Ich habe jetzt an die Ausgangsseite eine Lüsterklemme gesetzt, um die Lichterkette bei Bedarf ohne Löten wechseln zu können.
Das Schöne: Die Lichterkette
Die „Lichterkette“ ist einfach ein Lautsprecherkabel mit gewünschter Länge; ich habe 1,5m genommen. Nun habe ich mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (große Nadel, Körner etc.) an den Stellen, wo ich LEDs setzen will, einmal die eine Ader durchstochen und an der selben Stelle die zweite Ader. So kann ich die LEDs einfach durchstecken und habe eine parallel geschaltete Lichterkette. Achtet dabei auf die richtige Polung, d.h. die eine Ader ist der Pluspol, die andere Ader der Minuspol. Bei den LEDs kommt das längere Beinchen in den Pluspol. Mit Isoband klebt man die LED dann rückseitig noch fest, damit die Beinchen keinen Kontakt miteinander bekommen.
Denkt daran, dass eine LED um die 20mA bis 30mA braucht und der Step-Down-Wandler ebenfalls Strom verbrät. Entsprechend solltet ihr die Anzahl der LEDs auf das Netzteil ausrichten. Wenn ihr ein 500mA-Netzteil habt, dann solltet ihr nicht mehr als 15 LEDs verbauen.
Das Arbeitstier: Das Netzteil
Beim Netzteil habe ich das Kabel durchtrennt und richtig gepolt auf den Eingang des Step-Down-Wandlers gelötet. Wer hier gewissenhafter sein will, kann natürlich auch eine Buchse an den Step-Down-Wandler löten.
Und nun der spannende Augenblick
Ihr solltet noch nicht die Lichterkette anschließen, sondern erst euren Step-Down-Wandler einstellen. Dazu steckt ihr das Netzteil ein und messt mit einem Multimeter die Ausgangsspannung. Mit einem Schraubendreher stellt ihr den Step-Down-Wandler auf die gewünschte Spannung ein.
Die LEDs arbeiten laut Hersteller mit 3V bis 3,4V. Sie fangen aber schon bei ca. 2,2V an leicht zu glimmen und vertragen durchaus auch 4,5V. Ihr könnt nun also über die Spannung die Helligkeit regeln.
Solltet ihr kein Multimeter haben, dann dreht den Step-Down-Wandler gegen den Uhrzeigersinn bis zum Anschlag. Er sollte nun die niedrigste Spannung ausgeben. Schraubt eine LED in die Lüsterklemme und dreht nun den Step-Down-Wandler langsam hoch. An der LED könnt ihr die Helligkeit abschätzen.
Wenn ihr die richtige Spannung eingestellt habt, schließt die Lichterkette an die Lüsterklemme an. Sollte die Lichterkette nicht leuchten, ist die Polung eventuell verkehrt. Vertauscht dann die Adern an der Lüsterklemme.
Habt ihr alles richtig gemacht, schaltet das Licht aus und genießt den Anblick.
Skaprifischer
It happened at a time when I didn’t have a band that I came across the Skaprifischer – the second oldest ska band in Dresden. I spent six long years there from 2009 to 2015, learning to hammer offbeats and play the organ. Besides a released album called Frischer Aspik (2011), the album Aquilibrium, which has been unreleased for ten years now (as of 2023), is still pending. We also had the fun of recording a Christmas album during a rehearsal weekend: Nachts bei Don Bosco (2012). You can listen to the songs here.
The album is still unreleased. The instruments and vocals were mostly recorded in 2013, since then the recordings have been remixed in the studio from time to time. The latest status is from 2018. I am currently looking into whether a release is (still) possible.
Rezept für Mate
Es gibt mehrere Arten Mate als Erfrischungsgetränk zuzubereiten. Hier wird beschrieben, welche Materialien benötigt werden, wo diese zu finden sind und wie ein Grundgetränk hergestellt wird.
Materialien
Mate-Tee Ein gute Anlaufpunkt für Mate-Sorten ist Delicatino. Für Einsteiger empfehle ich die milde Sorte Amanda. Ich selbst benutze Rosamonte, der um einiges herber und etwas günstiger ist.
Zucker Für Club Mate wird Rohrzucker verwendet. Allerdings lässt sich bei einer geringen Dosis an Zucker kein Unterschied schmecken. Für mich tut es auch der normale Industriezucker. Seit 2012 gibt es einen rein pflanzlichen Zuckerersatz auf dem Markt namens Stevia. Inzwischen fast überall erhältlich als Tabletten oder Flüssigkeit.
Kohlensäure Am einfachsten lässt sich die Kohlensäure beimengen, indem der Mate mit Mineralwasser gemischt wird. Allerdings hat Mineralwasser einen Eigengeschmack, der nicht zum Mate passt und es wird ein starker Sud aus Mate benötigt, der meist sehr bitter ist. Besser bewährt hat sich ein WasserMaxx. Der Kohlensäureanteil ist zwar geringer als bei Club Mate, verbessert aber spürbar die Spritzigkeit des Getränkes ohne das Aroma zu beeinflussen.
Teebeutel Um den Mate nicht filtern zu müssen, benutze ich handelsübliche Teebeutel.
Flaschen Es lassen sich prinzipiell alle Mehrwegflaschen verwenden. Der Vollständigkeit halber möchte ich erwähnen, dass ich mich mit 0,5l Saftflaschen samt Deckel bei Bauer eingedeckt habe.
Kaltwasserauszug
Mit dem Kaltwasserauszug habe ich die besten Erfahrungen. Achtet darauf, das so gut wie keine Schwebeteilchen im Grundgetränk sind, damit der WasserMaxx noch arbeiten kann. Demzufolge gibt es beim Kaltwasserauszugsverfahren drei Etappen: Kaltwasserauszug, Kohlensäurezusatz und Verfeinerungen.
Zutaten 5l kaltes Wasser 20 EL Mate-Tee 15 TL Zucker oder 10 TL Rohrzucker oder entsprechend Stevia Gewürze und Kräuter (siehe Verfeinerungen)
Zubereitung Das Wasser in ein Gefäß füllen. Den Mate-Tee in die Teebeutel füllen und die Teebeutel mittels Tacker verschließen. Dann die Teebeutel und den Zucker ins Wasser geben. Hier können auch bereits in Teebeutel verpackte Gewürze und Kräuter zugegeben werden. An einem kalten Ort (um die 5°C) 12 Stunden ziehen lassen. Den Mateauszug per WasserMaxx mit Kohlensäure versetzen, den Mate verfeinern und in Flaschen abfüllen.
Kochmate
Mate aufzukochen führt dazu, dass das Endprodukt bitter wird. Allerdings lässt sich ein aufgekochter Mate besser mit Mineralwasser ansetzen. Zusätzlich können Verfeinerungen durch Gewürze und Kräuter schon beim Kochen zugegeben werden. Hier gilt folgendes zu beachten: Soll der Mate nach dem Kochen durch den WasserMaxx gejagt werden, sollten alle Zutaten im Wasser mittels Teebeutel verpackt sein. Ich empfehle daher den Kaltwasserauszug (siehe oben). Entsprechend beschreibe ich hier nur das Verfahren mittels Mineralwasserbeimengung.
Zutaten 5l kaltes Wasser 5l Mineralwasser 20 EL Mate-Tee 15 TL Zucker oder 10 TL Rohrzucker oder entsprechend Stevia Gewürze und Kräuter (siehe Verfeinerungen)
Zubereitung Das Wasser zum Kochen bringen und die Kräuter darin auskochen. Den Topf vom Herd nehmen und den Mate-Tee zugeben. Den Tee 5 Minuten ziehen lassen. Dann den Mate-Tee und die Kräuter aus dem Wasser entfernen und alles abkühlen lassen. Getränk abschmecken, verfeinern und in Flaschen abfüllen.
Verfeinerungen
Zitronensaft Der Zitronensaft soll dem Getränk mehr Spritzigkeit verleihen. Ich verzichte darauf, den fertigen Zitronensaft zu benutzen, da er dem Aroma der Mate nicht zuträglich ist. Experimentieren lässt sich hier sicher, indem die Zitrone mit ausgekocht wird oder im Teebeutel verpackt im Kaltwasserauszug liegt.
Fanta Selbst habe ich das nicht probiert, da mir Fanta zu süß ist. Jedoch soll der selbstgemachte Mate sehr gut mit Fanta harmonieren.
Ingwer Da Ingwer ebenfalls einen intensiven, frischen Geschmack hat, lässt er sich eventuell als Zitronenersatz benutzen. Auskochen oder dem Kaltwasserauszug beigeben oder als Gimmick direkt in dünnen Scheiben oder Streifen in die Flasche.