András Nun, one of the founding fathers of the festival answered our questions about the differences between international and Hungarian experimental festivals, the hardships of organizing Ultrahang and his program selection that shouldn't be missed.
We Love Budapest: How did the idea of Ultrahang festival came? Were there any (non-)Hungarian festivals that made you think something like „I want to do something similar”? András Nun: I've started going to concerts and festivals at a really early age, so there are both foreign and Hungarian inspirations. From the latter, I must mention the Nagy Fül fesztivál, and the Szünetjel, which was founded by Zsolt Sőrés and Pali Tóth in the nineties and lasted a few years after the millennium. Both events were important, but funnily, my first real festival experience dates back to the nineties, to Hungarocarrot, which was organized by Gyuri Szabó at the Petőfi Hall. Speaking of foreign festivals, phonoTAKTIK in Vienna had a great impact on me. Before that, I haven't seen a festival which wasn't organised at a separate location but at different concert venues and special places. So they could basically match the atmosphere of the location with the atmosphere of the performer's music. All these things inspired us to do something like that in Hungary too.
We Love Budapest: There were several years when you didn't organize Ultrahang festival. In 2010, you wanted to do it again, but the next time you organized it was in 2014. Why?
András Nun: Well, it wasn't about our will to organize the festival or that there isn't enough good artists to showcase in the given year – actually, there are more than we could ever stage! The reasons were financial, organizing a festival like this costs a lot of money and we are not an institutionalized organization, but a registered foundation, so we haven't got an office, for example – just as bedroom artists record music in their bedroom, we also run things from there. Back in 2010, there were so good vibrations during the whole festival that I felt like we should go for it again next year, but putting together a festival like this takes a whole year or at least half a year of really intense work. And after it, you feel so tired and empty that you don't really know, what to do. The previous festivals ran me out, I couldn't say that okay, next one please; after 2010, I wanted to continue it, but none of our two tenders won, which was a big throwback in terms of enthusiasm.
We Love Budapest: Last year, you've said that you won't organize Ultrahang in the following years, and here we are now, talking about this year's festival. What have changed?
András Nun: Last year, we intended to continue the festival, we discussed about it a number of times, if we could organize it again. Last year's festival came together because we finally had the institutional background, which Ultrahang lacked – somewhy it was important for Trafó to collabrate with us again, to bring our programs there, so they gave the institutional background and a bit of money. That's what we needed and we didn't know if we will have it again in 2015. Not to mention that we always apply to tenders – not in Hungary, as I feel hopeless about that, a waste of our time. They don't even understand what we do or why want to do it. So we can only organize the festival in case we win a tender resulting in money from the European Union. We handed in a tender together with sixteen other European festivals last year, which is SHAPE, and we won it: it's a three-years long programme, so there will be Ultrahang in the following two years too.
09.27: Phill Niblock with Hilary Jeffery, Christian Kobi, Juho Laitinen & Thomas Ankersmit @ Trafó, 7pm.
During a special three hour long opening concert Phill Niblock will present his works with two quartets led by Hilary Jeffery and Christian Kobi. Juho Laitinen will play a brand new Niblock piece on cello. The opening night will be kicked off by Thomas Ankersmit who will perform a piece on the Serge analogue synth, exploring the sound phenomenon known as otoacoustic emission.
09.28: Me As Us: lecture by CM von Hausswolff @ Central European University, 5pm.
Me As Us is a lecture of CM von Hausswolff presented at the Central Europen University on 28th September as part of the Shape program. The lecture will cover Hausswolff's work with individual musical and sonic conceptual pieces, including his large FREQ_OUT installation, and will focus on collaborations and co-operations in a neo-renaissance time.
09.28: Rashad Becker, Bocca al Lupo, Omymax, Stanislav Abrahám @ Dürlin, 8pm.
On 28th September the master of physical sound and engineering Rashad Becker will perform with British experimental violinist Kathy Alberici aka Bocca al lupo, Czech analogue electronic musician Stanislav Abraham and young local laptop artist Omymax. Abraham and Alberici will perform as part of the festival’s collaboration with the Shape platform.
09.29: Talk with Rashad Becker @ G3, 5pm.
After his concert on the previous day, Rashad Becker will talk at G3 about modes of hearing and listening, about scrutinizing and comparing audio, and of finding method and terminology for personal use to evaluate sonic processes.
09.29: James Hoff, Nagy Gergő, CM von Hausswolff, Faun Racket, Tóth Kina Hagyfalu @ Capella Café, 8pm.
On 29th September legendary Swedish sound artist and electronic composer CM von Hausswolff will perform at Capella Bar. American James Hoff will present his virus-infected digital sound. Estonian electronic pop duo Faun Racket, Hungarian abstract guitarist Gergő Nagy and sound poetry-noise duo Tóth Kína Hegyfalu make the evening's line-up complete.
09.30: Iancu Dumitrescu masterclass @ Budapest Jazz Club, 2pm.
As part of the Shape program Iancu Dumitrescu’s masterclass and workshop during the afternoon of 30th September at Budapest Jazz Club will focus on the connection between written and improvised music, especially on spectral tecniques involved in instrumental performing. If you'd like to join the workshop, please write an email to info@uh.hu and include "Dumitrescu workshop" in the subject.
09.30: Discussion with Charles Cohen & Rabih Beaini @ G3, 6.30pm.
As part of the Shape program Rabih Beaini and Charles Cohen will participate in a public conversation about the differences and dialogues between the generations in improvised electronic music. The discussion will be moderated by Lucia Udvardyova at G3.
09.30: Goodiepal, Bálint Baráth & Ákos Nagy, Floris Vanhoof & Karen Cosemans, Hodgkinson/Kobi/Sőrés @ G3, 8pm.
On 30th September the program is: scientific and fantastic computer music from the outsider genius of Faroe Islands; sax-clarinet-viola-electronics improvisation by Zsolt Sőrés, Christian Kobi and Tim Hodgkinson; Floris Vanhoof & Karen Cosemans’ live stereo modular music with live analogue projection; scientific experimantal electronic compositions of Bálint Baráth & Ákos Nagy.
10.01: Charles Cohen, Jacob Kirkegaard, Iancu Dumitrescu and Ana-Maria Avram with Silver, Hodgkinson, Hacklander, Sőrés and Márkos @ Budapest Jazz Club, 5pm.
On the 1st October, master of the Buchla Music Easel instrument and organic-improvised electronics Charles Cohen will perform at Budapest Jazz Club along with Jacob Kirkegaard and Romanian composer Iancu Dumitrescu, who will play a concert with his long time collaborator Ana-Maria Avram and Yoni Silver, Tim Hodgkinson, Colin Hacklander, Zsolt Sőrés and Albert Márkos.
10.01: Helena Hauff, Rabih Beaini, Új Bála, We Will Fail @ LÄRM, 9pm.
Lover of industrial sounds, acid techno, 80’s electronic body music (EBM), darkwave, minimal wave and electro, Helena Hauff has learned everything she knows as a DJ (which is plenty) in the small club The Golden Pudel, located in a dingy basement of her native Hamburg. Inside the club’s four walls she has been responsible for nights Birds and Other Instruments which has allowed her to investigate the experimental spectrum of electronic dance music and in doing so she has created her very own sound. Over time this sound materialized via a series of EPs and projects, cementing the shared opinion that she will have a long and fruitful career as a producer.
10.02: Andreas Tilliander: Octatrack & live electronics @ G3, 4pm.
On 2nd October – as part of the Shape program – Andreas Tilliander will present a seminar about the Octatrack in practice, and will talk about the problems and controversies of “live electronic acts”.
10.02: L’ocelle Mare, Dorota, C. Spencer Yeh @ Hátsó Kapu, 7pm.
Abstract, still poetic music with electroacoustic instruments, human voice and electronics from Thomas Bonvalet aka L'ocelle Mare. C. Spencer Yeh works in and in between the realms of composition, experimental music, film, and visual arts, both as a practitioner and a curator of events and artistic collaborations. As a former student of radio/television/film at Northwestern University, Yeh seeks and probes instances in which the sonic (or vocal) and visual (or tangible) intersect in both typical and unexpected ways.
10.02: Low Jack, TM404, Silf, Zovek, Ñaka Ñaka @ Toldi, 10.30pm.
TM404 is the new project by renowned Swedish producer Andreas Tilliander and is focused on live music, in every sense. He works in the studio, surrounded by analog synthesizers and effects, creating live music at all times where nothing is replayed once recorded. It is a methodology crystallized by eight compositions that make up his first album for Kontra, simply entitled "TM404" (an excellent ambient dub album rich in textures). It makes sense then, that this new project can be fully appreciated via his new live show, in which Tilliander relocates his studio concept (and synths) to the stage.
10.03: Somló Dávid: Length of a Distance @ Budapest, 3.15pm; 4.30pm; 5.30pm.
The site-specific performance Length of a Distance was performed for the first time in the 370 meters long Greenwich Foot Tunnel, London. In the piece 8 performers are carrying 8 pulsating tones, creating a constantly changing chord. Length of a Distance highlights the unique acoustic qualities of the transitional public spaces and explores the pace, density and presence of the people passing through them. The piece will be performed in 3 different sites during the afternoon: 15.15 - 15.45: Bulcsú utcai foot tunnel; 16.30-17.00: Blaha Lujza tér underpass; 17.30 - 18.00: Ferenc körút underpass.
10.03: Dean Blunt, Burning Star Core, Valerio Tricoli, Pierce Warnecke & Matthew Biederman @ Trafó, 6.30pm.
Little is known about this mysterious artist from London: Dean Blunt always remains elusive. This Londoner, a member of the enigmatic duo Hype Williams with the German artist Inga Copeland, released the album The Redeemer in 2013. This album, more accessible than his previous one, Black Metal, presents long stretches of minimalist electronic music tinted with atmospheric trip-hop. His dreamy and profound music is both captivating and attractive. Among his meanderings, there is always one point of reference: his voice, steeped in subtle grooves characteristic of his label Stax Records and inspired by Isaac Hayes. With around twenty tracks, Dean Blunt attracts a lot of attention for his album, but always with a masterly balance between innocence and nonchalance.
10.03: UH Fest Club Night @ G3, 11.40pm.
On 3rd October, UH Fest brings you seven dance acts from seven corners of the world: NHK’Koyxen: pulsating and excentric body music from Japan.
Candie Hank: Patric Catani's digital world dance music.
Yves De Mey: threatening soundscapes and sinister beats for clubs.
DJ Nigga Fox: acid and techno with Congolese and angolan polyrhytmic dance music roots.
Kokum: Hungarian outsider noise electronics producer presents his new album Impressions of Environment coming out on Baba Vanga.
Borusiade: DJ of Bucharest-Berlin axis playing poignant bass lines, obsessive themes melting genres of dark disco, raw house with a touch of acid.
Philip Quehenberger: Outsider synth musician playing unpredictable things from disco to noise and techno.
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