Hirai Masaya from Beppu (Japan) and me merge together to form the Beppu Punk Cats. An explosive mixture of political content and emotional songs in English, Japanese and German.
Accompanied by guitar and piano, the expressive voices explain why Alex expropriated the bear, how to get Nazis out of the house and why people are more important than borders. And while the two use my pen to write the odd lines of music into the listener’s ears, they talk musically about melted ice cream. Just as if they were sitting in the sun â with a beer in their hand â in front of the next late-night shop.
ć„ćșïŒæ„æŹïŒăźăă©ă€ăă”ă€(Vo.Gt.)ăšăăŹăčăăłïŒăă€ăïŒăźă€ăłă»ăłă·ăŻ(Vo.Pf.)ăćäœăăŠć„ćșăăłăŻăăŁăăăç”æăè±èȘăæ„æŹèȘăăă€ăèȘă§æżæČ»çăȘæăšăăăłăăăŻăȘæăççșçă«æ··ăăćăŁăäœćă
ăźăżăŒăšăăąăăźäŒŽć„ăšèĄšçŸćè±ăăȘ棰ă§ăąăŹăăŻăčăăŻăăźèČĄçŁăæČĄćăăçç±ăăăăčă柶ăăèżœăćșăæčæłăćœćąăăăäșșéă性ćă§ăăçç±ăèĄšæăăŸăă
ăăăŠă2äșșăŻăç§ăźăăłăă§ăăȘăăźèłă«ć„ćŠăȘăĄăăăŁăŒăæžă綎ăăæș¶ăăăąă€ăčăŻăȘăŒă ă«ă€ăăŠéłæ„œçăȘäŒè©±ăäș€ăăăŸăă
ăăăŻăŸăă§ăæăæčăźăłăłăăăźćșć ăăăŒă«ăéŁČăżăȘăăææ„ă攎ăłăŠćș§ăŁăŠăăăăźăăă§ăă
As of April 11:
Hirai Masaya (Japan) and Jan Kosyk (Germany) merge together to form the Beppu Punk Cats. An explosive mixture of political content and emotional songs in English, Japanese and German.
The first album with 9 tracks. Reason enough to celebrate a record release concert. ăă©ă€ăă”〠and Jan Kosyk presented songs from the album garnished with their own and new creations.
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.
For the second time Hirai Masaya and me played a Wohnzimmerkonzert at the great bar of Tapyasan.
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.
Schwarzparken kostet 5 Euro und ist eine Ordnungswidrigkeit. FĂŒrs Falschfahren kommste ins GefĂ€ngnis, weil es ist eine Straftat. Und wer hat’s erfunden? Die Nazis. Zeit, darĂŒber aufzuklĂ€ren.
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. đ
La tierra es roja, tan terracota.
Pero mira el brillo de sus ojos.
Con Ămpetu se lanza por este universo.
El sol es suave, tan esponjoso,
siĂ©ntelo fuerte en tus oĂdos.
El tiempo oscila relajado,
se desliza por el espacio.
La luna se mece, tan fuerte.
ÂżOyes el temblor, amigo mĂo?
Tiembla, hasta que la piedra y el polvo flotan.
Las estrellas bailan rĂtmicamente,
hacen trabajos de construcciĂłn.
Construyen una tierra tan terracota.
Atornilla aquĂ, gira allĂĄ.
El mecanismo funciona de maravilla.
Y mientras el mundo gira
el corazĂłn vuela.
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.
Credits:
Artwork by Omani Frei.
The sample of the Bodhran drum on freesound.org is made by pogmothoin.
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 â with half a tooth deaf â
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.
For the individual lyrics I would like to thank Kaede Taniguchi, Nanami Tsuchiya, Ryosuke Ueno, ç±çŸ Yumi Kobayashi, Saikishimin and Teppei.
For help with melody finding and pronunciation, my special thanks go to Hirai Masaya.
On March 9, 2024, Hirai Masaya and me played at ăżăć±ăă our second Yeah Man! German! concert.
4ćčăźç«ăć±æ čèŁăé§ăć·Ąă
ććŸăăăăăăšăăăŁă±ă
çłă§ăăăăă
ä»æ„ăćșă«ç«ăăăăăăŠăă
ć„棰ăçșăăŠèżœăŁæăŁăŠăăŁă
ăăłăăŒă«ăźäžă§ćŻăç«ăšæ„é°ă§ćŻăç«ăă
æŻæ„æ„ćăŒăŁăă㊠ăăăăăăă矚ăŸăă
æș¶ăăăąă€ăčăżăăă«
æ„ăźć
ăăćžăăăă§
è·Żäžăźć€ąăăèŠăŠăăăă
ææ„ăźăăšăăăăăăăȘă
ăŸăăăȘăŁăŠăăăăă
ăăŁăĄă«ăăă§ăă”ăă”ăăĄăă
ăăăăăȘăăăăă
ăăłăŻăźăăăăă
Four cats running around in the attic
There is a lot to do in the afternoon
Don’t do it on tatami
Another cat pooped in the garden today
I chased it away
By making strange noises
A cat sleeps on a manhole
And a cat sleeps in the shade
I envy the cat
Who basks in the sun every day
Like melted ice cream
Soaking up the sunlight
I dream on the street
I don’t even think about tomorrow
Curled up, dozing
Come here, fluffy friend
The sun is laughing
Setting in the pink sky.
Credits: Artwork by Omani Frei.
ĐŻ ĐžĐŽŃ ĐżĐŸ ŃлОŃĐ”,
ĐĐŸŃ ĐžĐŽĐ”Ń ĐżĐŸ ŃлОŃĐ”.
ĐŃĐŸ ĐœĐ°ŃĐ° ŃлОŃĐ°.
ĐŃĐŸ ĐœĐ°ŃĐ° ŃлОŃĐ°.
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃŃĐČĐ”ŃĐ”ĐœĐžŃĐ”Ń!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃĐ°ĐŒĐŸĐŸĐżŃĐ”ĐŽĐ”Đ»Đ”ĐœĐžĐ”!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃĐČĐŸĐ±ĐŸĐŽŃ!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń Đ¶ĐžĐ·ĐœŃ!
ĐĄĐŸĐ»ĐœŃĐ” ŃĐČĐ”ŃĐžŃ ĐœĐ°ĐŽĐŸ ĐŒĐœĐŸĐč.
ĐĄĐŸĐ»ĐœŃĐ” ŃĐČĐ”ŃĐžŃ ĐœĐ°ĐŽ ĐșĐŸŃĐŸĐŒ.
ĐŃĐŸ ĐœĐ°ŃĐ” ŃĐŸĐ»ĐœŃĐ”.
ĐŃĐŸ ĐœĐ°ŃĐ” ŃĐŸĐ»ĐœŃĐ”.
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃŃĐČĐ”ŃĐ”ĐœĐžŃĐ”Ń!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃĐ°ĐŒĐŸĐŸĐżŃĐ”ĐŽĐ”Đ»Đ”ĐœĐžĐ”!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń ŃĐČĐŸĐ±ĐŸĐŽŃ!
ĐŻ Đ»ŃĐ±Đ»Ń Đ¶ĐžĐ·ĐœŃ!
ĐŻ ĐčĐŽŃ ĐżĐŸ ĐČŃлОŃŃ
ĐŃŃ ŃĐŽĐ” ĐżĐŸ ĐČŃлОŃŃ
ĐŠĐ” ĐœĐ°ŃĐ° ĐČŃлОŃŃ
ĐŠĐ” ĐœĐ°ŃĐ° ĐČŃлОŃŃ
ĐŃĐ±ĐžĐŒĐŸ ŃŃĐČĐ”ŃĐ”ĐœŃŃĐ”Ń!
ĐŃĐ±ĐžĐŒĐŸ ŃĐ°ĐŒĐŸĐČĐžĐ·ĐœĐ°ŃĐ”ĐœĐœŃ!
ĐŃĐ±ĐžĐŒĐŸ ŃĐČĐŸĐ±ĐŸĐŽŃ!
ĐŃĐ±ĐžĐŒĐŸ жОŃŃŃ!
I’m walking down the street,
The cat’s walking down the street.
This is our street.
This is our street.
I love sovereignity!
I love self-determination!
I love freedom!
I love life!
The sun shines on me.
The sun shines on the cat.
That’s our sun.
That’s our sun.
I love sovereignity!
I love self-determination!
I love freedom!
I love life!
I’m walking down the street
The cat’s walking down the street.
This is our street
This is our street
We love sovereignity!
We love self-determination!
We love freedom!
We love life!
Credits: Artwork by Omani Frei.
Micka Ćșo na pĂłdpoĆudnjo
chapja se_mrocyĆ, lubĆĄe luĆș!
Micka rejujo na mrokach
byĆa pĆeĆapjonâ aĆŸ tĆĄach
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
zgromadnje ze sĆyncom?
WĂłt sĆyĆca buĆșo pĆeraĆșone
za micku byĆa ĆĄopĆy deĆĄÄ
GaĆŸ micka se_myjo, pĆiĆșo woglÄd
sĆyĆco, woglÄd, jadnorogac
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
zgromadnje ze sĆyncom
ChtoĆŸ micka w_mÄchu kupijo
Ćșe sânjedajom wobĆĄuĆșiĆ
GaĆŸ micka jo z domu
ga_maju myĆĄy swĂłju wĂłlu
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
zgromadnje ze sĆyncom
SĆynco Ćșo na pĂłdpoĆudnjo
chapja se_mrocyĆ, lubĆĄe luĆș!
SĆynco rejujo na mice
byĆo pĆeĆapjonâ aĆŸ tĆĄach
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
Jo micka wuwlakĆa ta tyca
zgromadnje ze sĆyncom
Micka Ćșo na pĂłdpoĆudnjo
chapja se_mrocyĆ, lubĆĄe luĆș!
SĆynco Ćșo na pĂłdpoĆudnjo
micka, wĂłstaĆ micka
micka, wĂłstaĆ micka
micka, wĂłstaĆ micka
Kitten moves south
dear people, clouds are coming!
Kitten dances on the clouds
it’s fallen down
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow
Along with the sun?
The sun brings it to light,
For the kitten it rains warm
When the kitten cleans itself, a visitor comes.
Sun, visitor, unicorn
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow
Along with the sun?
Who buys a kitten in a bag
I don’t buy a kitten in a bag
When the kitten’s out of the house
the mice will get their will.
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow
Along with the sun?
The sun is moving south,
Dear people, clouds are gathering!
The sun dances on the kitten
and has fallen down.
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow,
Has the kitten eaten the rainbow
Along with the sun?
Kitten is heading south,
Dear people, clouds are coming!
The sun is heading south,
Kitty, stay kitten
Kitty, stay kitten
Kitty, stay kitten
Credits:
Artwork by Omani Frei.
Also a big thank to Omani for helping me create an italian text, that is pronounceable for me. đ„ł
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 cittĂĄ.
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 lâaqua perde il colore.
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.
Credits: Artwork by Omani Frei.
Tanz! Tanz! Tanz! Tanz!
Spring! Spring! Spring! Spring!
Tanz! Tanz! Tanz! Tanz!
HĂŒpf! HĂŒpf HĂŒpf! HĂŒpf!
Die Katze blau wie Grashalmsaft
Wasser grau viel Freude schafft
Hund und Huhn aus Lethargie
Bunt und kĂŒhn die Harmonie
Wellen rund wie sondersgleichen
Quallen sind am Frösche laichen
GrĂŒn der BĂ€r und heiĂ der Wald
die Sonne hell, es ist soweit
Pinienwald nah an der WĂŒste
Schuppen zart wie frischer Schnee
Drache â Springmaus â Ozean
mit schwarzem Fell, juchhe!
Biwafrucht auf Mamorboden
Suche, finde, nichts verboten
Lange Pause, Tusch in Moll
Tanz des Mondes, ach wie toll!
Rosa Rock im Regenschein
Tropfen klar im Sonnenhain
Maulwurf sagt dir: Gute Nacht
bald ist der Mond zuhaus
Orangenumbra, indigo
Dichter war der Wiesenfloh
Es grölen laut zum Tanze
die Sonne und die Katze!
Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!
Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!
Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!
Hop! Hop! Hop! Hop!
The cat blue as grass blade juice
Water grey creates much joy
Dog and chicken from lethargy
Colourful and bold harmony
Waves round like peculiar
Jellyfish are spawning frogs
Green the bear and hot the forest
the sun bright, it is time
Pine forest close to the desert
Scales as soft as fresh snow
dragon – jumping mouse – ocean
with black fur, whoop!
Biwa fruit on marble soil
Search, find, nothing forbidden
Long pause, flourish in minor key
Dance of the moon, oh how great!
Pink skirt in the rain
Drops clear in the sunshine grove
Mole says good night to you
soon the moon will be home
Orange umbra, indigo
The poet was the meadow flea
They bawl loudly to the dance
the sun and the cat!
»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. đź However, for dialogue and speech synthesis. The animation is handmade. đ
And lesson learned: GIMP is not suitable for animating. Then discovered Pencil2D on recommendation and got into onionskins and frames. đ„
San has been selected for the 2024 edition of the Frome International Climate Film Festival.
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.
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”.
The rest is manual work on the laptop:
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.
The songs are available here, on the well-known streaming platforms and as a booklet with CD or tape. You have the full choice.
Artworks: Omani Frei
There is a limited edition of 42 CDs and 21 tapes. Both are available in the online shop of the Neustadt Art Kollektiv on Etsy.
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.
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.
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!
For more videos look into the Wohnzimmer concert event.
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!
It’s nearly two weeks since the last daily, but I have my reasons. đ 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!
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! đžđ¶đ»đ”
Today youâll see another unboxing of music equipment (How exciting! đ), the first impression of the first verse of the first song of the project Cat And The Sun and a surprise at the end.
Itâs been a while since the last daily (and itâs not called âweeklyâ), but I was busy creating a new Peertube instance for my videos. Now itâs ready and Iâm proud to present it to you. đ„ł
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!
Today youâll get some impressions of doing âmusician thingsâ like texting and rehearsing and a little timelaps building an improvised Piñata. đȘ
The first one is directly about the project »Cat And The Sun«. In this project Iâll 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.
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. đ€đ”đŒïžđ€
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 soonâŠ
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 SpĂ€tverkauf (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.
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.
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.
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 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 can find the music on Spotify, Soundcloud and other Platforms.
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.
| Jan Kosyk | vocals, piano |
| Atze Rudolf | guitar, ukulele, banjo |
| Henk Teichmann | bass |
| Achim Jurenz | drums, washboard |
| Remo Devago | 2nd vocals at SpÀtverkauf |
| Virtuose Vibes | recording, mixing, mastering |
We threw the record release party together with our Fatschenhock for SmörgĂ„sbord and since then the album is official! đŸ
Pssst, the recordings are ready. We’re doing a little pre-release here before the official release in March.
Today followed the finish: Together with Remo Devago I gave the song SpÀtverkauf content. It was short and crisp and also a new experience to record vocals without a live band. Thanks Remo!
We did it: We recorded 8 songs in the Virtuose Vibes recording studio. It was fun, exciting and we are mega satisfied.
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/
At our penultimate rehearsal before the dress rehearsal we recorded all the songs. Feel free to take a look:
We had another rehearsal yesterday and I finally managed to take some pictures. I don’t want to deprive you of them:
It’s getting serious: Crowdfunding is going live.
This page is being created and this much can be revealed: We have scheduled rehearsal dates and booked the recording studio.
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.
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
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! đ
It looks like Alex will pick up a few more laurels in the final metres. đ One festival is still to come, the ReAnima Festival in Bergen. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that a fifth award will be added.
As part of a joint exhibition with Hirai Masaya, there is now also a Japanese version of the film.
I’m so touched and couldn’t have imagined it more for Alex: At the Paris International Animation Film Festival, the animated film won the Audience Award in the music category, together with the wonderful film “Illusion” by Jin Woo.
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.
A Laurel every year, that’s how it works. Alex was selected by the Paris International Animation Film Festival in the music video category. đ The film will be shown on Sunday 21 January at 9 pm.
đ„ł 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!
Not quite, but almost: The Courage Film Festival voted Alex into the semi-finals. Then the screening time was out. đ€Ł Still, the first laurels, and at a festival where Alex definitely belongs. Thank you!
It is done, the film is released.
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. â±ïž
Helena has finished the nine drawings. The colouring is now done by Alexa Paul.
Ich habe â parallel zum Song Anarchia â mit den Musikern Atze, Henk und Achim eine Version des Songs einstudiert und aufgenommen. Wir haben uns dabei den SpaĂ gegönnt, mit Banjo, Waschbrett und Kontrabass zu arbeiten. Herausgekommen ist ein StĂŒck Leichtigkeit, das ihr hier schon einmal genieĂen dĂŒrft:
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:
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.
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. đ„ł
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 PÀckchen 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.
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.
The tapes are not for sale. They are only available as free merch at my concerts or thrown in the Etsy shop of the Neustadt Art Kollektiv.
| side A | ||
| 1. | Autonomia | Musik & Text: Yok Quetschenpaua |
| 2. | Nazis im Haus | Text: Terrorgruppe, Musik: Jan Kosyk |
| 3. | Innen ein Punk | Musik & Text: Jan Kosyk |
| 4. | Lieselotte Meyer | Musik & Text: Yok Quetschenpaua |
| 5. | Zaubersteuer | Musik & Text: Götz Widmann |
| 6. | Doch eine Sache gibt es | Musik & Text: Martha Laux |
| side B | ||
| 7. | Autonomia | Musik & Text: Yok Quetschenpaua |
| 8. | Besetzt | Text: Jan Kosyk |
| 9. | Innen ein Punk | Musik & Text: Jan Kosyk |
| 10. | Groupie | Musik & Text: Jan Kosyk |
| 11. | Lied der Galaxie | Musik: Monty Python, Text: Jan Kosyk |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 KĂ€ptn 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.
Punk without drums and guitar, cross covers, own stuff and with a huge portion of political education. Political what?
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.
I played my programme on NAF Friday at Oosteinde and on NAF Sunday at the Neustadt Art Kollektiv studio.
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.
Tapya International Friends with special guest â me â on the melodica. Live at Gin&Lemon on April 14, 2024 organized by Kurukuru.
For the second time Hirai Masaya and me played a Wohnzimmerkonzert at the great bar of Tapyasan.
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.
I played together with Hiraj Masaya, ă”ă€ăă·ăăł, æČæ©æŻ and FLASHBACK9 at the AT HALL in Ćita. đ„ł
We made it: After less than two months on our trip called SmörgĂ„sbord, we have our first exhibition and concert in Japan. đ„ł
I produced an album – with band! \o/ Due to external circumstances we use the 2nd of March to release the album in a small round – with band! đ
The Folkpunkfriends from Leipzig got wind of me at the end of 2022 and already visited us at DrĂ€gg’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 fĂŒr Monat im Leipziger Osten Ton auf Text, Gesang auf GesprĂ€ch. Kritisch-humorvoll, intelligent und trotzdem warmherzig beobachten die Liedermacherin Paula Linke und der Autor Daniel Baierl die Umwelt in ihrer jeweiligen Disziplin.
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:
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.
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 gemĂŒtliche Tour” through the living rooms and cafĂ©s 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 ĂstĂ 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.
FĂŒr das jĂŒngste Mitglied unserer WG suchten wir eine Möglichkeit der Nachtbeleuchtung. Als TĂŒftler wollte ich natĂŒrlich selbst etwas basteln â et voilĂ : Ein bunter Sternenhimmel mit einstellbarer Leuchtkraft, kombiniert mit einer Zeitschaltuhr ein autonomes System.
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 TrĂ€gerstĂŒck (Pappe, Holz, Metall oder Plastik), zeichnen die Löcher zum Festschrauben ab und bohren diese In das TrĂ€gerstĂŒck. Dann schrauben wir den Step-Down-Wandler auf dem TrĂ€gerstĂŒck fest.
Ich habe jetzt an die Ausgangsseite eine LĂŒsterklemme gesetzt, um die Lichterkette bei Bedarf ohne Löten wechseln zu können.
Die âLichterketteâ ist einfach ein Lautsprecherkabel mit gewĂŒnschter LĂ€nge; ich habe 1,5m genommen. Nun habe ich mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (groĂe 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 lĂ€ngere Beinchen in den Pluspol. Mit Isoband klebt man die LED dann rĂŒckseitig 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 verbrÀt. 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.
Beim Netzteil habe ich das Kabel durchtrennt und richtig gepolt auf den Eingang des Step-Down-Wandlers gelötet. Wer hier gewissenhafter sein will, kann natĂŒrlich auch eine Buchse an den Step-Down-Wandler löten.
Ihr solltet noch nicht die Lichterkette anschlieĂen, 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 gewĂŒnschte 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 ĂŒber 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 LĂŒsterklemme und dreht nun den Step-Down-Wandler langsam hoch. An der LED könnt ihr die Helligkeit abschĂ€tzen.
Wenn ihr die richtige Spannung eingestellt habt, schlieĂt die Lichterkette an die LĂŒsterklemme an. Sollte die Lichterkette nicht leuchten, ist die Polung eventuell verkehrt. Vertauscht dann die Adern an der LĂŒsterklemme.
Habt ihr alles richtig gemacht, schaltet das Licht aus und genieĂt den Anblick.
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.
Es gibt mehrere Arten Mate als ErfrischungsgetrÀnk zuzubereiten. Hier wird beschrieben, welche Materialien benötigt werden, wo diese zu finden sind und wie ein GrundgetrÀnk hergestellt wird.
Mate-Tee
Ein gute Anlaufpunkt fĂŒr Mate-Sorten ist Delicatino. FĂŒr Einsteiger empfehle ich die milde Sorte Amanda. Ich selbst benutze Rosamonte, der um einiges herber und etwas gĂŒnstiger ist.
Zucker
FĂŒr Club Mate wird Rohrzucker verwendet.
Seit 2012 gibt es einen rein pflanzlichen Zuckerersatz auf dem Markt namens Stevia. Inzwischen fast ĂŒberall erhĂ€ltlich als Tabletten oder FlĂŒssigkeit.
Als weiteren Zuckerersatz gibt es Xylit.
KohlensÀure
Am einfachsten lÀsst sich die KohlensÀure 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 bewĂ€hrt hat sich ein WasserMaxx. Der KohlensĂ€ureanteil ist zwar geringer als bei Club Mate, verbessert aber spĂŒrbar die Spritzigkeit des GetrĂ€nkes ohne das Aroma zu beeinflussen.
Teebeutel
Um den Mate nicht filtern zu mĂŒssen, benutze ich handelsĂŒbliche Teebeutel.
Flaschen
Es lassen sich prinzipiell alle Mehrwegflaschen verwenden. Der VollstÀndigkeit halber möchte ich erwÀhnen, dass ich mich mit 0,5l Saftflaschen samt Deckel bei Bauer eingedeckt habe.
Mit dem Kaltwasserauszug habe ich die besten Erfahrungen. Achtet darauf, das so gut wie keine Schwebeteilchen im GrundgetrÀnk sind, damit der WasserMaxx noch arbeiten kann. Demzufolge gibt es beim Kaltwasserauszugsverfahren drei Etappen: Kaltwasserauszug, KohlensÀurezusatz und Verfeinerungen.
Zutaten
5l kaltes Wasser
20 EL Mate-Tee
10 TL Rohrzucker oder entsprechend Stevia oder Xylit
GewĂŒrze und KrĂ€uter (siehe Verfeinerungen)
Zubereitung
Das Wasser in ein GefÀà fĂŒllen. Den Mate-Tee in die Teebeutel fĂŒllen und die Teebeutel mittels Tacker verschlieĂen. Dann die Teebeutel und den Zucker ins Wasser geben. Hier können auch bereits in Teebeutel verpackte GewĂŒrze und KrĂ€uter zugegeben werden.
An einem kalten Ort (um die 5°C) 12 Stunden ziehen lassen.
Den Mateauszug per WasserMaxx mit KohlensĂ€ure versetzen, den Mate verfeinern und in Flaschen abfĂŒllen.
Micha spart sich den WasserMaxx und nimmt Sprudelwasser:
Ich mach meistens weniger als 12h weil ich die Mate dann immer schon trinken will und mir nie VorrĂ€te zubereite. Ich nehme eine 0,3l Schraubglas. Mache da 100ml Sprudelwasser rein. Dann ein Teebeutel âMate&Zitronengrasâ. Das ganze fĂŒr ein paar Stunden in den KĂŒhlschrank und am Ende gieĂe ich noch 200ml Sprudel dazu.
Mate aufzukochen fĂŒhrt dazu, dass das Endprodukt bitter wird. Allerdings lĂ€sst sich ein aufgekochter Mate besser mit Mineralwasser ansetzen. ZusĂ€tzlich können Verfeinerungen durch GewĂŒrze und KrĂ€uter 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
10 TL Rohrzucker oder entsprechend Stevia oder Xylit
GewĂŒrze und KrĂ€uter (siehe Verfeinerungen)
Zubereitung
Das Wasser zum Kochen bringen und die KrÀuter darin auskochen. Den Topf vom Herd nehmen und den Mate-Tee zugeben.
Den Tee 5 Minuten ziehen lassen.
Dann den Mate-Tee und die KrĂ€uter aus dem Wasser entfernen und alles abkĂŒhlen lassen.
GetrĂ€nk abschmecken, verfeinern und in Flaschen abfĂŒllen.
Zitronensaft
Der Zitronensaft soll dem GetrÀnk mehr Spritzigkeit verleihen. Ich verzichte darauf, den fertigen Zitronensaft zu benutzen, da er dem Aroma der Mate nicht zutrÀglich ist. Experimentieren lÀsst sich hier sicher, indem die Zitrone mit ausgekocht wird oder im Teebeutel verpackt im Kaltwasserauszug liegt.
Zitronengras
Das Zitronengras kommt direkt zum Mate in den Teebeutel oder als fancy Effekt in die Flasche.
Fanta
Selbst habe ich das nicht probiert, da mir Fanta zu sĂŒĂ ist. Jedoch soll der selbstgemachte Mate sehr gut mit Fanta harmonieren.
Ingwer
Da Ingwer ebenfalls einen intensiven, frischen Geschmack hat, lĂ€sst er sich eventuell als Zitronenersatz benutzen. Auskochen oder dem Kaltwasserauszug beigeben oder als Gimmick direkt in dĂŒnnen Scheiben oder Streifen in die Flasche.
