Scenic-musical action / music-theater installation (2023/24)

100 minutes

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composition & staging: Eloain Lovis Hübner

scenography & staging: Jakob Boeckh

audio engineering: Pablo Garretón

artistic director: Felix Knoblauch

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performance: Anna Neubert

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electronic ID:

Sarah Heemann (flute)

Raik Weidemann (saxophone)

Christoph Stöber (keyboard)

Naomi Binder (viola)

Rebekka Stephan (cello)

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What does a mass sound like? What does the chaos of the many sound like? How can the merging of voices, the noise of movements and the dynamics of the collective be captured in sound and space? The expansive composition MASSEN takes the audience on an extraordinary journey through the sonic dimensions of mass media, sporting events, mourning ceremonies and protests.

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To mark the tenth anniversary of the Cologne-based ensemble electronic ID, a unique experience was created that merges sound, light and movement: synthesizers, radios, self-built sound generators and classical instruments interact in an interplay between live performance and random systems, inspired by Elias Canetti’s “Crowds and Power” and the Internet.

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Individual voices become visible and audible in the midst of the collective—a constant balancing act between chaos and harmony, fusion and demarcation.

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The audience is guided through various stations in the room, experiencing the ensemble sometimes in synchronized movement, sometimes spontaneously breaking up the order, and becoming an active part of this fascinating production. In a mixture of listening theater, performance and installation, MASSEN creates a multi-layered sound universe that makes the complex phenomenon of mass an immersive experience.

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The world premiere MASSEN was a cooperation with the Kunsthalle Bielefeld as part of the exhibition Zwischen Pixel und Pigment. Hybride Malerei in postdigitalen Zeiten. Funded by the Kunststiftung NRW and ON Cologne.