Heavy Listening w/ Kobermann, MPU101 & Electric Indigo

HEAVY LISTENING puts music first: immersive, patient and made for attentive ears. Ambient, New Age, Dub, Downtempo, Tribal and experimental electronics meet in a format that offers an alternative to the accelerated rhythms of digital culture and the constant pull of short-form content. If noise were a swimming pool, Kobermann would be its lifeguard. Since 2014, Johannes Piller has operated under the surname of his late grandfather, indulging his love of saturation. Lo-fi meets wave one moment, punk the next, and somehow there’s always some dub in the mix. Cassettes are the medium of choice, because that’s where the brilliance of the high end gets nicely fried away. The only things that stay sharp are the razor blades used to cut tape loops or covers. DIY from front to back, basically. Piller found a home at Goldgelb Records, and in Julian Klien a kindred spirit in the art of the bush drum. Since 2021, he has been shaping his own label, A.T.C. Records (Adjust Tone Control), releasing digital tracks, tapes, and vinyl. For the past ten years, Johannes Piller has operated under the alias Kobermann, devoted entirely to electronic and electroacoustic music. Here, chance keeps stumbling into the autodidact and tumbling headfirst into handmade dub, somewhere between tribal rhythms and the place where post-punk says goodnight. With A.T.C. Records, Kobermann created his own home port, from which he wanders through the blows and bruises of Vienna, giving fellow travellers a cheeky wink. Then, before you know it, there’s a tape—and with a long enough reach, a record or several. Take the plunge into the unknown with the best intentions and whatever knowledge you’ve got. No panic. You’re the lifeguard yourself. MPU101 is an electronic musician, living in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany. Electric Indigo is a DJ, composer, and musician from Vienna, Austria, who has performed in 46 countries around the globe since 1989. Her name stands for an intelligent and distinctive interpretation of techno and electronic music. In 1998, she founded the female:pressure network and has been running its website and database ever since. She has received several awards, among them the Kunstpreis Musik 2020 of the Republic of Austria. Her DJ-sets are characterized by range, clarity of vision, and a depth rooted in a profound understanding of music and the art of DJing. Her compositional work moves between immersive electroacoustic music and the dancefloors of dark clubs. Occasionally she also writes for theatre and film. In 2019, Kirchmayr composed for Klangforum Wien, and her works have been premiered at festivals such as Wien Modern, Musikprotokoll, CTM, and Heroines of Sound. In her audiovisual concerts, she combines her music with her love of colors and abstract forms. Electric Indigo started her DJ career in Vienna 1989 and lived in Berlin for three years [1993-1996], working at the legendary Hard Wax record store. In 1998 she founded female:pressure , the transnational network for female, non-binary and transgender artists in electronic music, which received an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica in 2009. Her debut album "5 1 1 5 9 3 " was released on Imbalance Computer Music in 2018, followed by "Ferrum " on Editions Mego in March 2020. Important works include multichannel compositions such as "Structuring Contours " [Klangspuren Festival 2011], "Chiffres " [e_may / Wien Modern 2012], "109.47 degrees" [Dunkle Zeiten Festival 2014], "MORPHEME" [CTM Festival 2015], Hierarchy Glitch- a commissioned work for Klangforum Wien, together with Vessela Dantcheva [Eclat Festival, Stuttgart, 2019], "Ferrum A/V" - an audiovisual surround sound concert [musikprotokoll, Graz, 2020], and the music for Phädra in Flammen at Akademietheater, Vienna [2023/2024]. Looking forward to seeing you there! 🧭 With kind support of the City of Vienna/MA 7.