Unerhört! Julian Sartorius Solo / Melinda Nadj Abonji und Balts Nill

Julain Sartorius‘ first solo projects, the «Beat Diary», a sound diary comprising 365 entries, has catapulted him to the musical territory of a drum soloist. He has made a name for himself already earlier, playing drums for Sophie Hunger or Colin Vallon. He played an unforgettable concert with the Co Streiff quartet at unerhört! 2010. Following the release of «Beat Diary», his new solo album «Zatter» is coming out this fall. «There’s nothing in this world that doesn’t make some kind of sound,» he says. Sartorious expanded his drum kit with pieces of wood, further instruments, cymbals, quirky apparatuses and everyday objects. In line with a long tradition of Swiss drummers, he builds his own fantastical arsenal. Sartorius has carved a specific, personal sound. He swings, pulsates, drives and rocks wonderfully; he gives the world of Beat a new structure filled with fantasy and jest, and tells stories along the way.

Balts Nill, who’s been playing with «Stiller Has» for many years, and Melinda Nadj Abonji, singer, violinist and award winning author, laureate of the German and Swiss book award for her novel «Tauben Fliegen Auf», present their boundary-breaking performance «Verhören» (to interrogate / to mishear). Following an invitation by «Hexperimente» in Avers Valley, the two delved into the subject of the 1652 witch trial against Trina Rüdi.

They use the records of the proceedings, along with original texts, digressions, improvisations and songs. «Suddenly, there’s a different tone,» Balts Nill describes the work process, «a scornful revolt against apathy and superstition. Certain speech melody arises from the judicial language. The contours of a figure appear; a subject that is speaking. This subject, conjured by our imagination, is the point of departure for a new text – a counter text to the one of the protocols.» «Verhören» is a touching intersection of music and text, historical construction and time analysis. It is as relevant as ever in today’s discourse of gender, sensuality, body politics, repression and liberation.