Collection V1 marks FIT SOUND's first compilation, showcasing tracks from renowned artists Jared Wilson, Bizz O.D., and Fit Siegel.

Collection V1 marks FIT SOUND's first compilation, showcasing tracks from renowned artists Jared Wilson, Bizz O.D., and Fitsd Siegel.
Here exclusivly featured is Bizz O.D.’s “One Two” before the official vinyl release on July 12th, an enigmatic figure known for her jackin' acid techno tracks released between '93 and '98, emerges once again with the previously unreleased floor-killing acid stomper, 'One Two,' which, despite being recorded in the mid-'90s, remains as fresh as ever.
This is Khan's second vinyl outing on FIT Sound after 4E "Ask Isadora" FIT 023.

If you would like to see or buy the full collection please visit: fitsound.bandcamp.com

Thanks for your love of dirty machine music and your support!

Khan Of Finland to open the Rudi Gernreich exhibition at POP KUDAMM on May 11th

„Tutti Frutti...Oh Rudi!“

by Paul Graves and Frank Wilde, Berlin 11. Mai 2023, POP KUDAMM, kuratiert von Karin Kruse with a special live performance by Khan Of Finland.

Die Show „Tutti Frutti Oh Rudi“ präsentiert im Mai 2023 die einzige vollständige Sammlung von Design-Ikone Rudi Gernreichs formidablen Seidenschals.

So bahnbrechend Lil Richards zensierter Klassiker „Tutti Frutti“ für die rock- als auch gay – history ist, so visionär sind die genderfluiden Designs von Warhol’s- und Bowie’s Zeitgenossen Rudi Gernreich für die Kunstwelt und die damals gerade im Entstehen begriffenen, emanzipatorischen Bewegungen.

Auf der Mai - Show 2023 erwartet Design- und Kunstliebhaber*innen im silbermetallischen Überseecontainer des POP KUDAMM eine einzigartige Installation.

In Szene gesetzt von Paul Graves und Frank Wilde, die die letzten 15 Jahre damit verbrachten, diese Sammlung zu komplettieren, feiern die luxuriösen Kreationen mit Gernreichs einzigartigen und verwegenen Farben, Mustern und Drucken die Ästhetik der 60er und frühen 70er Jahre und geben aus einer neuen Perspektive Einblick in die Passion von Designer als auch Sammler.

In den Händen und Linsen der beiden werden die Luxusschals der Design - Ikone zu lebendigen Objekten der Begierde, verlockend und frappierend, dreist und unwiderstehlich und verwandeln den POP KUDAMM in einen fliessenden Zauber.

Selbstverständlich geht es nicht um stylishe Accessoires, sondern um individuelle Kunstwerke eines der großen Design - Pioniere des 20. Jahrhunderts. Neben seinem berühmten „Monokini“ und seiner futuristischen, androgynen Ästhetik, sind Rudi Gernreichs von Objekten seines alltäglichen Gebrauchs inspirierten Schals zentrales Schaffenselement.

Er wollte für seine Kunden einen „totalen Look“ kreieren, von Kopf bis Fuß vollständig umhüllt von seiner Vision. Tatsächlich vermittelt jeder einzelne Schal die konzeptionelle Substanz seiner Zeit, ob durch die Insignien der berühmten Military - Kollektion als Statement zum Vietnamkrieg, den Humor des banal simplen Typographie - Schals oder z. B. die strahlenden Punktmuster der ikonischen, Clown - inspirierten Arbeiten. Auch waren Bodypositivity und Akzeptanz für den Star - Designer schon damals wichtiges Anliegen, und seiner Kraft als Aktivist wird im Rahmen der Ausstellung noch ein eigenes Panel gewidmet.

In der Geschichte und Fotographie von Gernreichs Werk wurden die Schals nichtsdestotrotz lange vernachlässigt. Die Rudi Gernreich - Story konzentriert sich üblicherweise auf seine Tanzkarriere und seine geniale Konsequenz als Designer, den menschlichen Körper durch radikal neue Schnitte und Formen zu inszenieren, oder auch auf seine historische Bedeutung als queerer Aktivist, der aufgrund seiner jüdischen Herkunft 1938 vor den Nazis aus Österreich fliehen musste und seinen Nachlass einer homosexuellen Künstlergruppe stiftete. Ein oft unterschätztes Detail seines künstlerischen Werdegangs ist seine Berufserfahrung als Textil-Designer, deren Einfluss sich so vorzüglich in eben jenen umwerfenden, plastischen und strahlend gefärbten Träumen aus Seide manifestiert.

Dass diese Leckerbissen den Appetit von Graves und Wilde weckten ist klar. Nachdem sie ihre erste Beute in der Ecke eines Ladens in Lower Manhattan entdeckt hatten, war die Jagd eröffnet. Schrittweise trugen sie im Lauf der Zeit die vollständige Kollektion durch Online-Auktionen, Sammler und aus Vintage-Stores rund um die Welt zusammen.

Diese obsessive Sammelleidenschaft gipfelt nun in einer Serie von Fotografien aus dem letzten Jahrzehnt, in denen die beiden Freunde ihre Schätze zelebrieren. Die eigens für die Ausstellung kreierte Installation aus Objekt und Fotografie füllt den gesamten Raum aus, umhüllt, umgarnt und nimmt mit auf eine Zeitreise in ein halbes Jahrhundert zurückliegende Farb- und Formwelten, die bis heute nichts an ihrer Wirkung, Intensität und Bedeutung verloren haben.

Vernissage ist am 11.5. 2023 im POP KUDAMM in Berlin.

The Rixhter Scale Part 2 - Khan Of Finland Remixes out now via Heresy Records/UK

The Story of The Richter Scale Remixes

The Richter Scale Remixes (4 track EP – To be Released by Heresy Records out now) are collaborations between Composer, Boris Bergmann, Pianist, Ji Liu and Techno Musician/Producer, Khan of Finland. The Remixes are techno electronic reorchestrations of movements from Bergmann’s piano composition, The Richter Scale.

During the pandemic lockdown it was not possible to record The Richter Scale in a studio nor on the Spirio/r player piano. Therefore Khan, Boris and Ji worked together remotely to create the Pre & Remixes. Ji recorded some of the two-handed movements - and the four-handed movements – from The Richter Scale in his home in London and sent them to Khan who created remixes of these movements. Since these “remixes” were created prior to the official recording of The Richter Scale (which is the source material), they were titled Premixes – in other words – they are remixes that were created before the tracks they were remixed from were officially recorded.

While retaining the elemental essence of the piano composition, The Richter Scale, the Premixes add an entirely new sonic dimension to the original piano movements fusing them elements of elegiac ambience, plangent and driving percussion and a plethora of other electronic sounds, moods and emotions.

Tracklisting:

Seismograph - Khan Of Finland Remix
Richter The Poet - Khan Of Finland Aftershock Mix
To The Beloved Ones - Khan Of Finland Aftershock Mix
How To Dance Out An Earthquake - Khan Of Finland Remix

FUNDRAISER FOR COMMUNITIES S AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKE IN SYRIA/TURKEY at Arkaoda Berlin April 26th

Dear friends, we are doing a fundraiser this Wednesday April 26th @arkaodaberlin starting 7pm.

It’s a great diverse line up and cause, so please come support! All artist show and play for free and all monies go to @kaf.kolektif @mavikusdayanismasi LGTBIQ+ and @lubunyadeprem

The door will be 15€ donation.

Looking forward to seeing you!

zB (Andreas Reihse & Khan Of Finland) at Gallery Periode, Leipziger Str. 61/Berlin from April 19th-May 6th

Periode is happy to present new works by zB, a collective comprised of Can Oral and Andreas Reihse.

The works of zB can be read on many levels, reacting to each other in their significance.

Oral's artworks consist of manipulated photographs found online of people taking selfies. The faces are distorted and blurred, giving the images a painting-like quality similar to some of Gerhard Richter's or Francis Bacon's works. Oral's series of photographic prints are a response to Andreas Reihse's artwork, a paper collage with a serviette depicting a children's book-style drawing of two Easter bunnies, one with a speech bubble saying: "We reclaim our future."
The bubble is taken from the campaign of Projektgruppe Klimaneustart, the driving force of a recent referendum to get climate neutrality in Berlin by 2030, a referendum that was lost to a combination of the concerted actions of right-wing media and politicians addressing older people, as well as the inaction (or laziness) of lots of younger folks to vote.
With selfies, you never really know who's looking at whom. We at ourselves or the internet at us. The persons inhabiting Oral's pieces, are people like us, mutants, slowly becoming internet compatible, when morphed enough, or fluid enough to sashay the digital space with ease.
Oral's photographs also depict a distorted image of our society, reflecting the selfishness and self-obsession of the "generation selfie." The works question the authenticity of the images we create and share on social media, raising concerns about our obsession with self-promotion at the expense of the greater good.
Andreas Reihse's piece shows a more hopeful message of reclaiming our future. The bunnies in the artwork represent a symbol of rebirth and renewal, urging us to take action and create a better tomorrow for us and our planet. This work challenges us to think about our role in creating this world and not to give up hope in the face of adversity.

zB's exhibition »wir holen uns unsere Zukunft zurück (sagt der Osterhase)« is a commentary on our current situation and the challenges we face as a global community. zB urges us to take responsibility and not to hand over our planet to corporate players who already checked into their flights to outer space.

(A. Rahibe)

19 APRIL 6 PM Opening
20 APRIL—7 MAY
Saturday 12—4 PM and by appointment

HERESY RECORDS TO RELEASE THE RICHTER SCALE PREMIXES BY ELECTRONIC PRODUCER KHAN OF FINLAND, COMPOSER BORIS BERGMANN & CONCERT PIANIST JI LIU

The Digital 4-Track EP is the First Installment of The Richter Project, a Unique Collaboration Between Classical & Techno Artists

On Friday 6th January 2023, Dublin-based Heresy Records (www.heresyrecords.com) will release The Richter Scale Premixes, a 4-track digital recording by Berlin-based techno producer/musician Khan of Finland, German composer, Boris Bergmann and Chinese pianist, Ji Liu.

The Richter Scale Premixes is the first of three releases from The Richter Project. The Richter Project is centred on the upcoming recording of Boris Bergmann’s, The Richter Scale, an hour long contemporary classical piano composition performed by Steinway Artist, Ji Liu. The Richter Scale is a virtuosic piece comprised of 11 movements and performed by Ji Liu on the Steinway Spirio/r, the world’s most advanced player piano. The Richter Scale features several movements composed for four hands. These movements are performed and programmed (on the Spirio) by Ji who plays with - and against himself - in a stunning colloquy between man and machine.

The Richter Scale is a programmatic composition that engages with the theme of subterranean seismic eruption as a broader reflection of cultural, political, social, medical, and emotional states of trauma, upheaval, and resolution. The Richter Scale will be released by Heresy Records on 3rd February 2023.

The Richter Scale Premixes (4 track EP) and The Richter Scale Remixes (4 track EP – To be Released by Heresy Records in April 2023) are collaborations between Composer, Boris Bergmann, Pianist, Ji Liu and Techno Musician/Producer, Khan of Finland. The Premixes are techno electronic reorchestrations of movements from Bergmann’s piano composition, The Richter Scale.

During the pandemic lockdown it was not possible to record The Richter Scale in a studio nor on the Spirio/r player piano. Therefore Khan, Boris and Ji worked together remotely to create the Premixes. Ji recorded some of the two-handed movements - and the four-handed movements – from The Richter Scale in his home in London and sent them to Khan who created remixes of these movements. Since these “remixes” were created prior to the official recording of The Richter Scale (which is the source material), they were titled Premixes – in other words – they are remixes that were created before the tracks they were remixed from were officially recorded.

While retaining the elemental essence of the piano composition, The Richter Scale, the Premixes add an entirely new sonic dimension to the original piano movements fusing them elements of elegiac ambience, plangent and driving percussion and a plethora of other electronic sounds, moods and emotions.

The team for Heresy Records’  release of The Richter Scale Premixes EP is comprised of highly respected artists in their field, including, Producer Khan of Finland (http://www.khanoffinland.com), Composer Boris Bergmann, (boris-bergmann.eu/en/home), Pianist Ji Liu (https://jiliu-ml.org/) and Executive Producer Eric Fraad.

The Richter Scale Premixes – Track Listing

1.    Richter the Poet (Khan of Finland Remix)

2.    Seismograph (Khan of Finland, Aftershock Mix)

3.    How to Dance Out an Earthquake (Khan of Finland, Aftershock Mix)

4.    To the Beloved Ones (Khan of Finland Remix)

Never Gate @ Lausanne Filmfestival October 19th 2022 feat. Khan as the Acid King!

NEVER GATE

Psychoactive movie

Elena Montesinos & JD Schneider, 2022, Switzerland

18', DCP, Eurotrash w/English subs

World premiere
In the presence of Elena Montesinos & JD Schneider.. and Khan Of Finland.

It looks like the end of the world in the middle of a vast dump that stretches as far as the eye can see. A mad preacher (Silverio) bedecked in a black disco suit fulminates and screams at some kind of human parasites. An eccentric bunch of freaks prepares a telepathic meeting. The Queen of the beehive (Lydia Lunch) bellows out her anger at the world while "earworms" fallen from space broadcast subversive messages (created by Otto Von Schirach).

Never Gate is a strange and inspired "crazy trip", shot mainly in "broken English" (and a few european languages) and infused with spirals of lysergic fantasy.  It tells the story of the extraordinary and energetic fauna that inhabits a residence which is bizarrely reminiscent of a psychiatric hospital and begs the question "is this some kind of madhouse?"

Meet Khan of Finland as « The Acid King », The Monsters and their Singing Pizza Delivery, Jean-Luc Verna and Jean-Louis Costes as wrathful deities, Gianni Motti leading a worldwide telepathic meeting, The Young Gods in their laboratory, Vidya Gastaldon as a dematerialized yoga teacher, Nathanael Esh wrapping everything he finds, Noise Populi cutting vinyls, Poulpo (aka LPLPO) in microscopic size, The Wild Panthers being watchful, Abraham Poincheval hidden inside a synthetic stone and DJ Marcelle trying to get the power back after a few black outs.
There will be a certain number of contemporary art pieces to be found in the middle of this audiovisual multi-layered fantasy, in which some of the most powerful energies from the international underground will pop up.
The artists and artworks originally programmed to the artistic event GET A NERVE have now become the movie central characters.

NEVER GATE is an anagram of GET A NERVE which is an anagram of ARTGENEVE.

www.nevergate.space

WED 19.10, 22:45
Paderewski

4E "Ask Isadora" out now on FIT Sound in all good record shops!

Under the alias 4E, producer Can Oral created his own unique sound of raw, futuristic acid-electro. The A-Side tracks "Ask Isadora" and "Conga Banana" first appeared on the album, Blue Note, released on Home Entertainment in 1996. On the flip are two unreleased tracks picked from his extensive archive and edited by FIT Siegel. These were also recorded during this era, which Can describes below:

"In the 90s I moved to NYC to start a band with Jimi Tenor. I had a small flat in the East Village with the apartment number 4E and that became my artist name for the downtempo and electro material I was working on. The style I called Futuristic Electro because I didn't want to relate to the old school with this. I had my studio on the kitchen floor and pretty much only used EMU SP-1200, TB-303, TR-808 and SH-101 by good ol’ Roland. In a way NYC was still developing because it was all about house music. In 1995, I opened Temple Records in Manhattan with Dr Walker from Air Liquide and DJ DB from Smile Communications. The record shop was inside the Liquid Sky clothing store. After a fire in the shop, along with a falling out with the owner I decided to talk to a fortune teller to find out what the future held. Her name was Isadora, and she had a TV show called "Ask Isadora." She told me on live television to move out, have my own shop and be independent, so I did. Thanks Isadora!"

Tracklist

A1 Ask Isadora
A2 Conga Banana
B1 Middle Eastern Cooking
B2 Mode (previously unreleased)

Electricity E.P. out now on Further Electronix (FE069)

Electricity by Khan was originally released in 1996 on German label extraordinaire Harvest. Harvest/EMI also home to psychedelic rock legends Pink Floyd, Can, or Thomas Dolby now released young German electronic musicians by the likes of Mike Ink, Air Liquide, Modernist, and Khan.
Electricity was Khan's highly acclaimed introduction into the experimental world of Acid.

Recorded entirely live in a stream of consciousness at his Blue Box Studio NYC/Brooklyn on a single weekend. High as a kite as you can imagine.

This 4 track e.p. focuses on the DJ-compatible side of the album and is out now on Further Electronix out of the U.K. on limited colored vinyl.

Get your copy below!

A1 Electricity (3:02)
A2 Moon Over Mind (7:09)
A3 Quick Step (5:46)

B1 Walk (7:57)
B2 Soap (6:56)

Khan plays Super-8 live at Krake Festival 2021

Khan has been a constant and very important figure in the Berlin and international scene. He also played Krake Festival several times and so we are happy to give you an insight into the thoughts and views of this versatile and interesting man. Enjoy!

Khan Of Finland "INTERFACE" @ Almanaque Fotografica/Mexico City Oct. 16th-31st

ALMANAQUE-fotográfica is proud to present Khan of Finland from Berlin with an exclusive selection from his photo series INTERFACE and the book project HASENHEIDE.

The exhibition will be accompanied by weekly video screenings, live performances and guests.

In his series of anonymous yet universal portraits, Khan subverted and un-identified a selection of profile pictures taken from Planetromeo.com, using them as a digital mat to intervene and remix each one in order to create a new persona. We recognize just the keys of a fragmented whole, allowing us to peek into personal cruising habits as a voyeur seduced by a pictorial halo reminiscent of George Condo, Philip Guston or Francis Bacon.

In Khan’s images, the human body is liquified to fit into our modern digital environments. The idea of exposure is reversed and we shift from personality to identities, questioning properties and moralities.

These portraits are accompanied by large night landscapes photographs, taken at Berlin‘s cruising park Hasenheide during winter. Deserted, after losing it’s green coverage, the park’s nature is revealed as the architecture of cruising. An interface exposed with its ability to grow and organize around human behavior.

Hal Foster (Princeton) said about the portrait in contemporary-photography that “it verges on a representation of the body as if it were turned inside out of the subject. Literally abject, thrown out of

© images are courtesy from the artist and ALMANAQUE-fotográfica Colima 101-PB. Roma Norte, Mexico City. 06700, México. info@almanaquefotografica.com

itself, despite it is also the condition of the outside turned in. The invasion of the subject by the gaze of the world”

Placed in a post-gender era, Khan’s images ask us whether they are a current form of photography, in which the artist’s use of digital edition, painting and printing tools configure something different than what is captured, that is, the opposite of the original purpose of photography.

Khan has been a DJ, music producer, performer, visual artist and art director in NYC’s and Berlin’s foremost scenes during two decades. He is currently working for Christian Dior in Berlin.

This exhibition had to wait for a long time due to Covid’s Pandemia which has already turned the world deeper into a new interPHASE.

Khan described his work in a recent letter to ALMANAQUE’s founder:

“Dear Arturo,

I’m on a train from Berlin to Ludwigsburg, a short trip compared to those transatlantic flights that we were so used to.

The Outside world seems so distant and unreal through the yellow glass. Almost as if I was looking at a computer screen. I feel isolated, apart from nature and life. Is this our future? Looking at second hand nature, on handheld gadgets, face-masks, vaccinated and digitally connected? The blur between analogue and digital already happened.

We are in the middle of the outside and the inside. We are the interface!

My work deals with this thin line between the real and the unreal, the digital and the analogue. The infinite cosmos behind me and the man-made universe inside the computer in front of me. I am the interface. I am the small chip in this vast system that generates sense and non-sense. I question Identities, gender and properties; at least for myself.

The characters in my photographs are lonely hunters for love and affection in a cold and unreal digital confined world. But so am I in the world I grew up in with it’s traditions, borders, rules and regulations. We talk about identities by only enforcing the differences between us. We claim copyrights by only accepting ownerships and capitalism.

I liquify these characters to fit into our new world of content that is shaping us and we seem to adapt by evolving from personality to identity. The lines are blurred.”

ALMANAQUE-fotográfica was founded in 2016 in Mexico City’s Colonia Roma, offering a curatorial program with international artists working on the image as an artistic device.

ALMANAQUE-fotográfica is also a bureau of contemporary art advisory and has presented more than 40 artists, collaborating with international curators in exhibitions at its gallery and worldwide art fairs,

PRESS:

Fue una tarde en la que Artemio me llamó para pedirme que me lanzara a una galería cerca de Polanco. “Tienes que conocer a este bato” me dijo, “estoy seguro que tienen muchos puntos en común”. El bato resultó ser Khan of Finland. Y bueno, yo soy fan de las ilustraciones de homosexualidad asquerosamente masculinas de Tom of Finland. Tanto que llevo uno de sus cuadros tatuado en el brazo izquierdo. También los dos somos jotos.

Khan of Finland es un músico alemán dedicado a la creación electrónica orientada al techno. No obstante ha hecho colaboraciones con artistas que no precisamente dependen de la programación para sacar sus notas, como Bob Mould de Husker Du, Kim Gordon de Sonic Youth y J Mascis de Dinosaur Jr. Cuenta con su propio sello, Temple Traxxx Records. Pero también es un audaz artista visual contemporáneo. Cuando lo conocí gracias a la bondad del buen Artemio, Khan tenía planeado presentar una exposición en México sobre los canales, físicos y digitales, en las que los homosexuales solemos relacionarnos sexualmente. Pero la pandemia por covid-19 atajó su viaje a México y sus exhibiciones.

Más de un año después, por fin Khan of Finland llega a la Ciudad de México para presentar Interface, un proyecto audiovisual que combinará su trabajo inspirado en los perfiles de páginas de contactos para homosexuales. La inauguración se llevará a cabo el próximo 16 de octubre en la galería Almanaque. Las obras estarán acompañadas por un soundtrack hecho con los nuevas temas producidos por Khan, que por primera vez serán escuchadas fuera del estudio. Y contará con una pieza de Danza Contemporánea de Convexus Ballet.

A propósito de su expo, música, hombres y de sexo homosexual, hablé con Khan of Finland previo a la inauguración de Interface:

¿Cómo te has sentido con la pandemia?

Este es mi primer gran viaje internacional en año y medio. Así que me tomó bastante tiempo comprar mi boleto a México. Todos mis planes se arruinaron con la pandemia y me costaba bastante trabajo organizar aunque fuera un poco el futuro. Sin embargo, disfruté bastante del tiempo libre. ¡I feel good!, como diría James Brown.

¿Cómo surgió la idea de curar Interface?

Había hecho un libro de fotos de perfil tomadas de la página de contactos para homosexuales www.planetromeo.com Solo elegí imágenes en las que los chicos ocultaban su identidad y las organicé en 4 capítulos. Recorté la cara, alteré el rostro digitalmente como si se agregara un cuadrado o una máscara (hoy agregaría un emoji, pero no lo sentía tan orgánico con base en mi idea original). Destellé sus caras mientras tomaba la foto en un espejo y por último posicione el rostro como si los perfiles estuvieran ocultándose, posando o retorciéndose en la clásica pose cuando quieres ocultar tu identidad. El resultado fue como la creación de una nueva especie homosexual. Llamé al libro Ángeles de la luz, pero hay una banda con ese nombre, así que lo cambié a Angels of Disguise.

Soy una especie de archivero y produzco mucho material si tengo una idea. Lo mismo ocurre con mi música. Tengo 150 horas de material inédito sonoro solo de mi periodo techno en Nueva York, cuando viví allí de 1992 a 2002.

Lo mismo ocurre con las fotos de esos perfiles. Reuní tanto material que comencé a jugar con él y desarrollé esta técnica para desidentificar los retratos. Aunque son fotografías, parecen pintura y le da un aspecto romántico, si no real. Es una especie de ciclo ascendente de lo que se supone que es publicidad. Al hacer que se vean como pintura al óleo, siento que también cambia la forma en que solemos mirar el cuerpo de los hombres que se supone que es fuerte, más preocupado, masculino. A través de mis alteraciones digitales terminan con ese toque vulnerable que muestran profundidad.

¿Tú mismo cuentas con un perfil en planetromeo?

Por supuesto que sí. Cuando navego por su web observando perfiles lo llamo “investigación”. Mi nombre fue por mucho tiempo El Turco Loco. Es un nombre que me dio un amigo en Nueva York. Luego me cambié a Taxi Turk, porque la gente siempre dice que no parezco lo suficientemente turco, así que normalmente les pregunto si esperan que un turco se parezca al estereotipado taxista de Berlín. Después elimino todos mis perfiles de la página, aunque siempre vuelvo. Mi interacción con esa web de contactos es una cosa de amor y odio. Pero sigo pensando que es más divertido e interesante que ver televisión y además conocí a gente increíble allí. Además de las numerosas citas que tuve.

¿Te impusiste algún parámetro con el es que escogiste a los perfiles que forman parte de tu exposición aleatoria?

Básicamente suele haber algo que me atrae en la imagen. Que sea una pose un tanto más fresca. Trabajo de forma muy intuitiva, así que eso, sigo mis instintos y empiezo a trabajar en la foto. Por lo general lo hago muy rápido, así que si una imagen funciona, es genial, si no, la tiro a la basura de inmediato. Nuevamente, lo mismo con mi música. Necesita agarrarme, si no, voy a la siguiente.

¿Estableciste algún tipo de relación con los hombres de los perfiles que forman parte de la exposición?

¿Quieres decir que hablo con ellos o les pido permiso? No, no lo hago. En mi libro Angels of Disguise, ni siquiera cambié nada en las fotos que tomé de internet. Los dejé como estaban y solo los organicé en las 4 secciones. Con Interface elimino sus características obvias y solo dejo la esencia. Los licúo, así es como lo veo. Lo convierto en una nueva forma de vida que se adapta a nuestro mundo digital moderno. No sé si podrían demandarme por esto, pero creo que el arte es un comentario y, en cierto modo, también un estudio social y creo que esto legitima mi trabajo. Cuando terminé, los retratos se volvieron muy cercanos e importantes para mí, como si los conociera desde hace mucho tiempo. En ese sentido tengo una estrecha relación con esos hombres.

¿Crees que páginas como planetromeo, manhunt, bbrt, han cambiado la forma en como nos relacionamos los homosexuales hoy día?

No creo que este sea un problema solo de personas homosexuales. Los gays somos muy rápidos en encontrar cualquier tipo de lugar para conectarse, físico o digital. Ya que nos vimos obligados a escondernos durante tanto tiempo en cuartos oscuros o parques públicos y baños, por lo que internet solo se convirtió en un armario más grande que cualquier otra cosa. Creo que internet en sí cambió las relaciones humanas y esto no depende de la orientación sexual. Es lo que Marshall Mcluhan llamó “los medios son el mensaje”. Internet es un mercado enorme ahora y nosotros somos el producto. Somos la interfaz entre lo “real” y lo digital.

Han comparado tu trabajo de Interface con la obra de Francis Bacon, ¿cómo te sientes al respecto?

Me siento muy honrado con esa comparación. Amo su trabajo y veo las similitudes. Su trabajo es muy violento y mi trabajo lo es también, de una manera técnica. Pero tiendo a resaltar el lado suave de la persona en la imagen. Creo que expreso mi simpatía por la humanidad. En cierto modo, tengo un estilo de vida similar con Bacon, ya que salía casi todos los días y me destrozaban y buscaba sexo o amor. Vivía un estilo de vida muy excesivo. La pandemia me detuvo solo porque era imposible salir. Y bueno, no soy un bebedor a excepción de cuando abría una botella de ginebra en casa.

Interface es un proyecto que tenías planeado presentar el año pasado, pero se canceló por la pandemia, ¿hiciste más retratos durante el encierro al que nos tuvimos que ver sometidos?

Mi presentación en Almanaque Fotográfica estaba programada para el año pasado en mayo, pero debido al aislamiento tuvimos que reprogramarla. Por lo que estoy muy feliz de estar en México ahora y poder presentar mi trabajo. Realmente no he cambiado el concepto en este tiempo de pandemia. Siempre quise mezclar lo digital con lo analógico, así que estoy mostrando impresiones muy grandes del parque Hasenheide en Berlín. Hay una gran sección para hacer cruising ahí (como se le conoce al acto de tener sexo gay en público) que documenté para mostrar la arquitectura pública de los espacios para cruising. Esto lo comparo con el mundo digital y mis retratos de perfiles de planetromeo. ¿Qué tienen ambos en común? Quiero mostrar los espacios en los que se desarrolla el cruising y el ligue en internet. Ambos son espacios fríos y vastos. Es la soledad que puedes sentir al deambular esos lugares, digitales o reales.

Tus pinturas serán presentadas junto con tu nuevo material musical, ¿cómo se relacionan estas dos disciplinas en torno al mismo tema?

La verdad es que mi trabajo siempre está muy relacionado, aunque no sea tan obvio. La música electrónica es la música de la conciencia transmitida. Es un flujo de sonido interminable y también lo es mi trabajo visual. Hago uno tras otro, casi maniaco, y tiene vida propia. Trabajo mucho para el cine y el teatro en este momento, así que estoy muy feliz de tener este enorme archivo y repertorio de música que puedo usar. Lo veo como un material que se puede remodelar y ensamblar en varias formas nuevas. Esto también se aplica a mi trabajo fotográfico. La música está llenando el espacio de la galería con más energía y es una buena forma de comunicarme con mi audiencia. ¡Me aman, yo los amo y me encanta demostrarlo!

Tu inauguración estará acompañada de la presencia de Convexus Ballet, ¿cómo se dio esta relación?

Conocí a Francisco de Convexus Ballet a través de Arturo de Almanaque y se enamoró de mi música, así que decidimos colaborar. No solo para la inauguración del próximo 16 de octubre. Tenemos proyectos para el futuro. Arturo se inspirará en las fotografías y los retratos como punto de partida para ensamblar su coreografía y bailará con un compañero a través de la galería. El tema de los cuerpos líquidos cobrará vida en su pieza de danza.

¿Crees que las plataformas digitales se llevaron algo de la vida gay que nunca regresará?

No creo que los bares gays desaparezcan. Estaba hablando con nuestro amigo en común Artemio, el artista y cineasta, sobre lo que solía significar Queer y lo que se ha convertido hoy. Creo que quiero volver a mi identidad gay. Quiero que mis cuartos oscuros sean tranquilos y sórdidos y no llenos de queers a la moda. Tal vez haya un regreso del clásico bar gay y la vida gay. No creo que todo tenga que estar en el centro de atención y FUERA. Me gusta lo oscuro y lo oculto. Queer se convirtió en un estilo y una moda que comercializa el capitalismo.

Inauguración 16 de octubre 2021

Almanaque-fotográfica

Colima 101-PB, colonia Roma, 06700, Ciudad de Mexico

Wenceslao Bruciaga

H.E.A.D. "EFS" out now (again) via Optimo Muisc

Optimo Music press release:

“By 1993 I was saturated in Acid. Oversaturated! Since 1987 there had been an endless explosion of records from across the planet using the 303 and it seemed like the sonic possibilities offered by this little silver box had hit a dead end.

And then in 1993, from Germany, came the Blue label with mind-blowing releases by Air Liquide and friends. It felt like a new paradigm, paying homage to Germany’s Kosmische Musik past while paying respect to the Chicago Acid House originators while simultaneously looking ahead to a new form of transcendental music.

And then - BOOM! - the H.E.A.D. “EFS” double album drops. What is this music? Was it beamed in from the future? It ticked every box I loved. Endlessly hypnotic and expertly programmed with an effortless groove that sounds as if Jaki Liebezeit’s syncopations have been absorbed by the machines. It is Acid in ways my ears hadn’t heard before, the little silver box tweaked in new, exhilarating directions.

Made by future Optimo ally Khan, alongside uber talent, Kerosene, and recorded in a Brooklyn kitchen, this double disc set became an eternal home listening and backroom favorite. It is also a club favorite too, perhaps even more so now than it was then. It is endlessly mixable and playable at multiple speeds. A genuine classic long overdue a second life”.

This fully remastered 2021 edition of this 1993 gem comes with new artwork on a super fat double vinyl pressing.

released September 24, 2021 Optimo Music

Museum für Lebensgeschichten 23-26.09.2021

click image for more info

10 + 1 Lebensgeschichten im Stadtraum

Vom 23.–26. September 2021 werden 11 der gesammelten Lebensgeschichten an öffentlichen Plätzen in Berlin aufgeführt.

Durch Gesang, Tanz, in Installationen und anderen künstlerischen Formaten werden die Geschichten erlebbar.

10 Performances wurden in engem Austausch von Künstler*innen und
Interviewten entwickelt. +1 ist die Lebensgeschichte einer Person, die nicht von ihr selbst erzählt wurde.

Die Geschichte von Can wird von ihm selbst am 23. September 2021 um 19 Uhr im Rahmen von „10+1 Lebensgeschichten im Stadtraum“ als Performance im Spor Klübü, Freienwalder Str. 31, 13359 Berlin-Wedding aufgeführt.

MISS YOU!

MISS YOU ist ein Ausstellungsprojekt inmitten der Stadt, die Künstler*innen aller Genres zu den Menschen bringt. Sie ist vom 2. bis 16. März im Stadtbild in Berlin in 700 WALL-Vitrinen zu sehen und in Hamburg und Baden-Baden in jeweils 200. Die Bilder, aufgenommen von Fotograf*innen der Agentur Ostkreuz, zeigen Schauspieler*innen, Musiker*innen, Künstler*innen, Tänzer*innen des etablierten Kulturbetriebs und der freien Szene an Orten fernab ihres Publikums. Es sind bekannte Künstler*innen dabei wie Katharina Thalbach, Lars Eidinger, Anne Imhof, Thomas Struth, Max Raabe und Cristina Gómez Godoy sowie weniger bekannte der freien Szene vom Jazz-Posaunisten, DJ, Choreograf*innen und Musikproduzenten bis zur Puppenspielerin. Die Fotografieausstellung signalisiert: Wir vermissen euch und freuen uns auf ein baldiges Wiedersehen. Und sie zeigt auch - wir gehören zusammen.

Veranstalter: Kulturförderverein up art e.V.
Konzept & Realisation: Susanne Rockweiler, Jürgen Reiche
In Kooperation mit OSTKREUZ. AGENTUR DER FOTOGRAFEN.

Ermöglicht durch: WALL GmbH & Siemens AG/Siemens Arts Program.
In Zusammenarbeit mit OSTKREUZ. AGENTUR DER FOTOGRAFEN.

Unterstützung von: Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa Berlin,
Klaus Groth Stiftung, visitBerlin, East Side Mall, Witte Projektmanagement GmbH und Bikini Berlin.

Medienpartner: radioeins (RBB), Der Tagesspiegel.

Radio Rinse Paris will broadcast the 2h show "It's about KHAN" with Fabrice Despres on January 28th from 12-14:00. Tune in drop out (in acid terms speaking)

click image for radio link and further info

Khan's Blue Box Sessions out November 2020 on Music From Memory/Second Circle (SC018)

The eighteenth release on Second Circle is the label's second exploration into an artists archival works; this time presenting a selection of four early tracks by theatre, film and music producer Can Oral under his Khan alias.

Khan moved to Williamsburg, New York in the early 90's along with good friend and fellow musician Jimi Tenor. Born in Germany of Turkish-Finnish parents, he would frantically start buying equipment (such as a TR808, TB303 and Korg Polysix) from junk shops across New York, becoming greatly prolific in his recordings which he would work on throughout the night. During the daytime though, Khan set up and ran the now defunct Temple Records, a seminal Soho record store, and later label, largely importing Techno and Acid from Europe. Though a small store, Temple Records would count musicians and DJs such as Björk, Tricky, Dee-Lite’s Dmitry, Josh Wink and Joey Beltram among its regular customers. Also he would host many such guests to play live or DJ at his weekly Techno party “Killer” which was held at Save The Robots in New York’s East Village.

Can Oral's nightly studio sessions eventually led to an almost inexhaustible discography with over a dozen monikers each representing a different aspect of his productions. SC018 focuses then on his early electronic works as Khan.

Named after the color painted studio where the EP was produced between 1993-1996, 'Blue Box Sessions' is a collection of four analogue machine driven cuts, covering different tempos and ethos within electronic music. Initially live recorded to an old DAT recorder, and without any overdubs, SC018 is a lost and found artefact to Khan's unquestioned raw talent and timeless relevance.

Blue Box Sessions tracklist:

Give Me More 6:48
Sweet Pink Lemonade 10:19
Slow Stepper (Original Slow Version) 7:30
Warm Lethereth 5:47

Khan shows exclusive photo series "Libertango" at gallery YourHomeIsWhereYoureHappy

Libertango is a series of photographs shot on the Internet. Khan in his own words: “What’s the difference between walking around town and taking pictures while we spend so much time on the internet and it’s not considered “original work” to document this huge part of our lives?” This game-changing statement in regards of image copyright, alters our view on being stalked by Facebook, Google, NSA, etc. but we agree to cookie settings in a blink of an eye without a complain.

These are no screenshot to be precise but original photographs taken from Khan’s computer screen including the dust particles and the glowing monitor raster. Light reflections and other interference on a drag queen’s legs, sitting on a park bench in Mexico’s south. Depending on the angle the picture was taken, we see a solarization effect that is very specific to LED.

Khan is playing with perspective, time and gender and at the same time, going into the private that is nothing but private anymore. Dancing with his satanic icons LaVey and Aleister Crowley- looking at the YouTube play-button as if it was an insect buggin’ him.

The Libertango look is neon, VHS, 80’s, and so is the song he picked as the title for this exclusive project.

Grace Jones, the original gender bender, sings in her version of the 1974 composition by Astor Piazzola: “Strange I’ve seen that face before, seen him hanging ‘round my door, like a hawk stealing for the pray, like a night waiting for the day”.
This describes the mood Khan is trying to convey. Endless walks trough the Internet, hunting for affection, love, or sex? Time slows down and it is already 5am in the morning and the sun is coming up.

Grace switches to French and asks in her demanding voice: “What are you looking for, meet death? Who do you think You are? You too hate life!”

Khan Of Finland will be supporting the Global Day Of Suicide Prevention with a couple of songs at Filmtheater am Friedrichshain Sept. 10th from 5:30-7:30pm

Wir, das Netzwerk Suizidprävention Berlin, laden alle Interessierte herzlich zu einem offenen Gesprächsraum ein, in welchem Erfahrungen von Lebensüberdruss, Trauer, Verlust sowie hoffnungsvolle Erlebnisse geteilt werden können.

Suizidalität kann uns alle betreffen. Uns geht es darum, Betroffene, Angehörige und Helfende in einen gemeinsamen Austausch auf Augenhöhe zu bringen.

Als Vertreter der Berliner Senatsverwaltung wird der Landesbeauftragte für Psychiatrie, Herr Dr. Götz, am Gespräch teilnehmen. Buchrezensionen zum Thema Suizidalität durch die Bloggerin/Sinnfluencerin Nora Fieling und Stimmen von Hinterbliebenen, die zu Gehör gebracht werden, runden den Trialog ab.

The event is public and free!

Khan solo exhibition "THUG" opens Sept. 4th as part of the "Re-imagining America" series at SPOR KLÜBÜ Berlin

Fr, 04/09/2020, 20:30 Uhr - SPOR KLÜBÜ - Freienwalder Str. 31, Berlin

Elektronische Musik / Klangkunst / Sound Art /Performance /Photography

Khan of Finland »THUG – I don’t wanna say anything........ patterns & loops«

Im Rahmen von Re-Imagining America

Die Ausstellung und Performance THUG befasst sich mit Gewalt. Kann sie ein Terrorakt oder ein Virus sein? Gewalt führt zu einem Zustand der Verwirrung und lässt Menschen gelähmt zurück. Am Beispiel von zwei katastrophalen Ereignissen, dem Anschlag vom 11. September 2001 in New York und der Covid-19-Pandemie, versucht Khan of Finland die unmittelbaren Erfahrungen aus medialer Sicht in eine persönliche Perspektive zu transformieren.

Anlässlich der Ausstellungseröffnung "THUG" von Khan of Finland wird der Musiker und Künstler mit Bezug zur Projektreihe "Re-Imagining America" eine Musik- und Soundperformance aufführen.