With the theme of “Portals”, CTM 2023 opens gateways to other realities and to the experiences of others. Sound and music can transport the listener into imaginary worlds as well as into bygone times or distant locations. Through these portals and wormholes, one can become immersed in utopian longings and collective identities, in stories and histories or in deeply personal experiences. But while thinking about music as portals and practices of worldbuilding – the creation and expansion of fictional worlds – questions of access inevitably come into play: Who is addressed? Who gets access and how is access governed? And who owns the material and immaterial resources to be able to create portals and the worlds behind them in the first place?
Through concerts, performances, and a discourse programme, artists explore thresholds, regulation, and fundamental function of sound and music as gateways to other realities. Two of the focusses at the festival’s 24th edition are electronic music from South Asia and collaborations between African and German artists. At HAU1, the Congolese-Swiss-German collective GROUP50:50 presents a post-documentary music performance that addresses issues of restitution and the political entanglements of their countries. CTM 2023’s sonic portals run the gamut from psychotropic journeys, intimate melancholia, experiences of war, ceremonies of grief and renewal, and full-blown club nights.
Full programme at www.ctm-festival.de
