Kookoo – altering the sound of reality...

In the organizer's words:

Reality check, Georgia. In October 2024, a far-right party seized power in an election marred by intimidation, physical violence, and vote-buying. Since then, the new government has been busy repressing any form of protest. Activists are jailed, the media are under pressure, the arts are suffering a severe crackdown.

Reality check, Lebanon. Five years have passed since a devastating blast in the port of Beirut killed over 220 people, injured around 6,000, and left 300,000 homeless as large parts of the city were reduced to rubble. Not a single official has been held accountable for the catastrophe, its causes still shrouded in the mist of corruption.

By altering the sound of reality, you alter reality itself. This is the conviction expressed by NATALIE BERIDZE in connection to one of her recent releases—and it is a necessity that is felt more strongly than ever before in her hometown of Tbilisi. Hailed as the first female Georgian electronic musician to gain widespread international recognition, Beridze has enjoyed a career spanning over two decades. Her work stands out due to its multifaceted nature and poetic quality, ranging from electronic singer/songwriter pieces to collaborations with Nikakoi, Gudrun Gut, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. At KOOKOO, she presents a live set of daring techno, driven by unusual time scales, anger, and her belief in the power of sound.

Beirut-born MAZEN KERBAJ is a true polymath, constantly breaking new ground in different fields. As a trumpet player, he pushes the boundaries of the instrument and keeps developing his innovative language through free improvisation. His work as a visual artist and comic book author often deals with everyday situations in Lebanon and has been published in fifteen books and translated into over ten languages. And then there’s his DJ persona: DJ BATATA. In this guise, Kerbaj is able to cause surprising twists in the time-space continuum and bend the status quo to highly entertaining effect.

Visual artist CARLY FISCHER created a clay sculpture specifically for the occasion, which she captured in a mesmerizing photograph. And KOOKOO hosts MIEKO SUZUKI & ARA join in with their musical status report.

Price information:

13€ until 23:59, 15€ after 0:00