Resonance as Practice: What Does »Experimental« Mean in South Asia?

Isuru Kumarasinghe in conversation with Salomé Voegelin

00:00

Free entry

As a key figure in the first wave of experimental music and sound art in Sri Lanka, Isuru Kumarasinghe has played a formative role in shaping the local scene. He is a co-founder of the Musicmatters collective in Colombo, which organises concerts, festivals, collaborations, and teaching formats.

The session will begin with a short presentation by Kumarasinghe, sharing insights into the scene and music practices in Colombo and wider Sri Lanka. At the same time, the presentation will give an entry point for exploring what the notion of »experimental« actually means to musicians in the country, as well as in relation to the South Asian mainlands. How do musicians in South Asia practice experimentation, and how does this compare to practices here in Berlin and other Western contexts? How does the meaning – and sound – of »experimental« change according to locality?

The presentation will flow into a listening session and conversation hosted by Salomé Voegelin, where together both artists will expand on how culturally-dependent ideas of noise and silence, of tradition and modernity, and of experimentation can be. Kumarasinghe will also share sounds from his own practice, which emanates from a position that experimentation doesn’t mean creating new sound, but rather to listen and attune to what is already there and how it resonates with us, in order to consciously overcome certain socio-political patterns. Very much in line with this, his current work »Resounding Bodies,« presented in the Echoes of Tumult exhibition, explores sympathetic resonance as both a physical phenomenon and a social metaphor.

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