BorderMovement

“One of our biggest goals was to show that electronic music can be more performative; something akin to art.” says Asvajit Boyle.

Writer Akshatha Shetty interviews artists from around the region, exploring the relationship between creative experimentation and audio-visual technology through a series of boundary pushing projects that have taken place over the last few years based in Sri Lanka.

w/ Sub_Sequence Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka Fold Media Jambutek Recordings Cyber Illusions VAEG - Visual Art and Experiences Group Pettah Interchange Butterflies Are Cockroaches With Wings. Studio Moebius VJ Zombie Nigel Perera

Image from Sub_Sequence 2018 by Magic Monkeys Ceylon

A New Vocabulary Of Art Created Through Sound, Light, Time & Space: Artistes Of South Asia Curate Multi-Sensory Experiences Image from Sub_Sequence 2018 by Magic Monkeys Ceylon. “For me, sound is a building material”, says Austrian-artist Bernhard Leitner who is often considered as the pioneer in experimenting with sound installation as an art form. His work explores the audio-physical experience of spaces and object...

The creation and nurturing of a ‘community’ through music collectives have given rise to some of the most powerful social and cultural movements in South Asia. While some strived to construct a space for artists beyond the conventions of mainstream culture, others offered a safe space for dialogue on prevalent issues including discrimination, social injustice and cultural diversity.

Writer Akshatha Shetty strikes a conversation with collectives in the region to understand how their journeys helped pave the way forward for a generation of artists.

Image of Tenma from The Casteless Collective shot by Madhavan Palanisamy.

w/ The Casteless Collective jwala MOX - Movement of Expression Phatcowlee Jambutek Recordings Fold Media Akaliko Records Salt Arts Cape Monze Records The Second Floor (T2F) Gangwar Studios

Compassion, Collaboration & Acceptance: How Music Collectives In South Asia Are Forging New Paths For Artistes Image of Tenma from The Casteless Collective shot by Madhavan Palanisamy. The creation and nurturing of a ‘community’ through music collectives have given rise to some of the most powerful social and cultural movements in South Asia. While some strived to construct a space for artists beyond the...

“It seems like every time there is a momentum here in Nepal, we are struck by some sort of calamity”, Prasidha Yonzon almost laughs it off, reflecting on the unfortunate obstacles that have hindered the growth of audiences and infrastructure around electronic music in Nepal.

Writer Amaan Khan discusses the evolution and challenges of electronic music and nightlife in Nepal with music makers, DJs and promoters.

According to Ranzen [...] There is a preference for live bands with folk-oriented lyrics while the taste for electronic music has started to gradually grow. “To make it big among the international audience is still a distant possibility because we are still not adequately connected to the larger world,” he continues. “The culture is yet to see progress in terms of more specialised larger spaces and consistency. More promoters, mentors and sponsors are needed for electronic music to make that major leap.”

Image Credit: Prasiit Sthapit / Sine Valley Festival 2016

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The Changing Face Of Electronic Music In Nepal Image Credit: Prasiit Sthapit / Sine Valley Festival 2016: Rajan Shrestha (Phatcowlee), Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey (Alien Panda Jury), Ranzen, Chandresha Pandey, Pranav N Manandhar and Irina Giri (Flekke), sitting - Manal(Autonomotor) “It seems like every time there is a momentum here in Nepal, we a...

"The electronic music scene has witnessed exciting growth in Asia, and post-internet radio is gradually coming to terms with its potential in forging collaborations between local artists and labels in the cities. Channeling these idiosyncrasies and commonalities within each community, internet radio has cultivated an environment in which artistic expression can appear, playing an increasingly important role in uncovering transcendental cultures and spaces of expression."

A really interesting exploration from Prarthana Mitra of independent radio in South Asia which focusses on a few individual journeys who share insightful lessons they have learned along the way...

Maed in India Radio Sagarmatha boxout.fm soundistan Karachi Community Radio Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi Drishti

Image courtesy of Transmitterance Festival by community radio Radio Nazariya, an outworking of local arts organisation Drishti Media.

Leveraging Independent Radio To Tell South Asian Stories: A Guide To The Region’s Frequencies Image courtesy of Transmitterance Festival by community radio Radio Nazariya, an outworking of local arts organisation Drishti Media. Growing up in the 80s, Mae Mariyam Thomas would record radio shows on blank cassettes. Back then, radio was a space for discovering new or forthcoming music, staying....

Border Movement has been quiet for quite a while now. The multiple lockdowns across the region resulted in a pause in output and we have been slowly recouping and reconnecting with our writers to put together a closing series of reflective content.

After 8 years of residencies, workshops, festivals, parties and partnerships; the Goethe-Institut funded initiative is officially winding to a close. However the offspring of legacies it will leave behind and the connections it has made through Germany, India, Pakistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, we hope will have infinite ripples through the individuals, collectives and organisations we worked with. A huge thank you to all the writers, artists, event organisers, partners and readers that have been part of the project.

Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi Ableton Musicboard Berlin Wild City

An in-depth account of Sri Lanka's alternative nightlife over the last decade featuring some great insight from key individuals: “I think a lot of our initial energy as movers and shakers was spent fighting the general hierarchical systems here of club owners and ‘star’ DJs that have done less for music and more for their own egos.”

w/ Good Music Movement Bang Bang Asvajit Jambutek Recordings Pettah Interchange Sunara VAN LUUP BOOKA BOOKA

Image courtesy of Booka Booka

The Evolution Of Sri Lanka’s Alternative Nightlife Image courtesy of Booka Booka In 2018, popular British-Norwegian EDM artist Alan Walker graced Sri Lanka for a performance. The country’s foremost alternative electronic music label Jambutek Recordings went to Berlin for a showcase. Burgeoning homegrown band The Soul crowdfunded their way to a tou...

"Dhaka’s music community has undergone a rapid evolution and, as we enter a new decade filled with a new set of socio-economic, political and cultural challenges, what obstacles must Dhaka’s independent scene overcome and how are they planning on doing it? What kind of sonic aesthetic will come to define this city post-COVID?"

A fantastic read from Uday Kapur exploring the current state of the music industry in. Bangladesh…

Image of Embers In Snow by Siam

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Staying The Path: How Bangladesh’s Music Scene is Evolving with the Help of Dedicated Grassroots Movements Image of Embers In Snow by Siam If you’re looking for an institution that can help you trace the evolution of Dhaka’s independent music scene, look no further than Rainbow. Founded in 1982 by Abdul Kabir Murad, the small store served as a space for young musicians and fans to access catalogues o...

Check out this great resource compiling all the workshops from the Electronic Music Journalism editorial residency led by GROOVE-Magazin and Goethe-Institut. There are sessions on everything from 'How to Write A Pitch and Get Your Story Published' to videos on 'Conflicts Of Interest and Criticism' and 'Boundaries and Ethics in Music Journalism'.

Global GROOVE: Electronic Music Journalism - How to Watch the Workshops - Groove You will be able to stream the Global GROOVE workshop programme in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut live on YouTube. Here's how.

Interesting read from writer Amaan who participated in the GROOVE-Magazin and Goethe-Institut editorial residency earlier this year...

“Who gets in and who doesn’t?” is a quandary found at the doors of nightclubs around the world. In India, that separation is often meted out based on appearance and through the misuse of policies like “no stag”, to turn lower-class ravers away at the door in favour of higher-paying clientele. Amaan Khan probes into the factors motivating this segregation and what it might take to bring these barriers of entry down.

Cream crowd-only: Why inclusivity in Indian Nightlife is turned away at the door “Who gets in and who doesn’t?”: Amaan Khan probes into the factors motivating segregation at the doors of India's nightclubs and what it might take to bring these barriers of entry down.

“Given the loosely defined and unorganised nature of the industry—which is more a collection of clusters and movements, rather than a consolidated entity—groups tend to take traditional industry roles and adapt and reimagine them in this space. To develop a sort of fundamental ethos and take it from there, rather than merely recreating western modes.”

Akhil Sood interviews a number of people across the region to explore the evolving role that labels play in the independent, non-film music communities.

"Ghose, an economist by training, says: “I had a thought that, inherently, the music industry is unsustainable. We can see now — it’s an example of how precarious the whole thing is. When it works, it works. But when it doesn’t, it just falls apart. As ever, there’s a push-pull between art and commerce, but it’s comforting to know that, as the music industry in the subcontinent comes into its own and expands, there are enough voices out there with integrity and love for music.”"

http://www.bordermovement.com/the-evolving-role-of-labels-in-south-asia/

Image credit: Malaka MP

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The Evolving Role Of Labels In South Asia Image of Sunara playing at Pettah Interchange in Colombo. Image credit Malaka MP Old-timey incarnations of record labels — glitz, glamour, big money and big exploitation — are great to watch in movies, but their relevance has diminished over the past two decades. The music industry, internationa...

Akshatha Shetty in conversation with Perera Elsewhere about her relationship with music and creativity and the intersection of culture and identity prevalent in her work...

"Perera unknowingly explores the reconfiguration of the relationship between culture and identity with ‘Thrill’; a beautiful coincidence that manifested into digital-art for the EP featuring an old photograph of young Perera. “I was the only brown girl amongst seven white girls. I had won silver in the gymnastic competition held at school. The photographer placed me in the centre since I didn’t fit in anywhere else.”"

Image credit: Andrew Charles Edman

http://www.bordermovement.com/we-intrinsically-glamourise-the-past-in-order-to-heal-an-interview-with-perera-elsewhere/

Tejaswi Subramanian in conversation with Tejas Nair about SPRYK, his early experiments with tech and installation art playing with sound frequencies and water all the way through to APEX, the dazzlingly immersive audio visual experience at Magnetic Fields Festival.

“Through SPRYK, I was applying all my learning in the digital and commercial world to building projects that I could only dream of, and finding ways to do it without a ridiculous amount of money to build a tech experience around it. It was a sweet spot for how I can present my music in interesting ways,”

Credit: Magnetic Fields Festival / image by RC Photography

http://www.bordermovement.com/apex-tejas-nairs-quest-for-the-ultimate-music-festival-experience/

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