Call for applications: Sonic Experiments residency in Germany

With Sonic Experiments, the ZKM | Hertz-Lab awards scholarship focuses on electronic music and sound art as part of its artist-in-residency programme. Interested artists should apply in three different categories/genres and submit project proposals to realise new works.

All works can be audio-visual. The categories/genres that can be selected are:

• Ambient
• Noise
• Drone

The following modes of realisation and presentation can be chosen for all three categories:

• Composition for live electronics.
• Mixed music (acoustic instruments in combination with electronics).
• Experimental performance with prominent electronic music or sound component.
• Live coding.
• Acousmatic.
• Fixed media.

For multichannel acousmatic or audio-visual fixed media works that use spatial sound as a design tool and are conceived for performance in the ZKM_Sound Dome, the free spatialisation software Zirkonium developed at ZKM can be used, but does not have to be.

Production conditions

The duration of the residency for realising the production at ZKM | Karlsruhe should be four weeks. Possible dates for the residencies are between mid-September and the presentation at the end of October 2023 and will be arranged individually. The duration of the work to be realised should be 10 to 20 minutes. The works produced during the residency are expected to be premiered in a concert on 27 October at the ZKM_Cube in the presence of the composers.

The residencies will be held in the studios of the ZKM, each of which has multichannel monitoring (horizontal speaker circle). In addition, there is access to a minidome with its dome-shaped loudspeaker array. The concert hall ZKM_Cube also has a dome-shaped loudspeaker array, the ZKM_Sound Dome. Further information on the technical equipment of the rooms available for residencies and presentations can be found here. Guest artists will receive a detailed introduction to the ZKM infrastructure and, if needed, to the sound spatialisation software Zirkonium.

On top of that, the organisers offer temporary access to a powerful AI computer. The residents should then be able to realise their projects independently.

Financial conditions

The amount of the scholarships is €1 500 (about $1 650) each for the entire duration of the residency. All costs for the realisation of the musical work as well as the accommodation for the period of the stay will be paid by the scholarship holders from this amount. For the one-time travel to Karlsruhe and back, travel expenses can be reimbursed up to a maximum amount of €600, taking into account the applicable travel expenses law.

Conditions of participation

The following is required for submission:

• Short summary of the project idea to be realised (max. 1 500 characters including spaces).
• Project description with indication of the corresponding submission category ambient, noise or drone (max. 5 000 characters including spaces).
• Short list of the technical means required for the production.
• Detailed biography with information on artistic education and career (max. 1 000 characters including spaces) and contact details.
• If possible, at least professional portrait photo(s) in landscape format (min. 300 DPI) with photo credits. The photo(s) must be freely and unrestrictedly usable for internal and external press work.
• Three music samples not older than three years to illustrate the artistic work to date. Of these, one piece should serve as representative with regard to the application (please indicate main_piece at the end of its file name). The other two pieces to be submitted will serve as additional illustrations of the artistic creation.

Applicants should submit the music samples as audio files (MP3 with 320kbps, multichannel files optional) or as video files of the complete work(s) (1920x1080 px, h264 codec, 50 FPS, mov or MP4). Supplementary material to the submitted music samples such as scores or documentary image files are welcome to be included.

Complete applications may be submitted via email to dominik.kautz@zkm.de with a customised email subject using the template “Sonic Experiments 2023, submission category/genre, last name in a PDF file up to 5 MB in size.”

The submission deadline is 16 July. Read the privacy policy for applicants here.

Applicants should upload accompanying audio, images, and video material online to a file hosting service of their choice and include the non-expiring download link in the PDF file with application materials. Incomplete applications will not be considered in the selection process.

“We want to represent the diversity in the field of electronic music as entirely as possible,” the organisers said. “Thus, the competition is open to composers and sound artists of all ages from all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, cultural, ethnic and social background. We are looking forward to a high heterogeneity of applicants.”

View the original call here.