The second edition of Fragments of Sonic Extinction, centres itself on the dire—and political—interdependency of the Earth’s biospheres. This edition does not distance itself from the invaluable nature of individual species, but focuses on communicating the tensions between discourses of complexity, highlighting the links between environments, economies, cultures and the narratives that they embody and employ to understand—and accelerate—their development.

Fragments of Sonic Extinction (FOSE) is an ongoing project initiated by German-Bulgarian artist and curator Kalas Liebfried in 2022. The project demonstrates a subjective approach towards the extinction of natural sounds, focusing on the sonic character of the process of extinction along with its relationship to a variety of cultural histories and global catastrophes related to the anthropocene.

The goal of this project is to create valuable impulses for the emergence of ecological awareness through the use of immersion in and sensitivity to sonic perspectives through the creation of sustainable cultural artefacts, which pay close attention to the catastrophes taking place in biospheres.

In the form of a website, the project intends to shift the focus on ephemeral extinction and the complexity of the rapid changes within the sonic spheres of our world. By taking an active position and an engaged approach, the website’s visitors are able to recompose the layers of each composition, in the process creating new and unique experiences, representing possible futures and examining the tensions which govern the world’s various biospheres. Employing interpretation, immersion and interaction as central characteristics, FOSE presents contributions by artists dedicated to the perilous or extinct nature of specific species and attempts to negotiate their sonic perspectives and environments, in connection to intricate social and political circumstances.
The eight new commissions of the second edition, co-curated by Kalas Liebfried and L. M. Ramsey, will be shared on the re-designed website between May 1 and 12, and presented live in Munich on May 13, 2023, at ZIRKA SPACE, facilitating an intersectional dialogue centred on multidisciplinary practices and tactile experiences. The one-day festival will feature performances, workshops, concerts and multimedia installations, accompanied by a day-long takeover of Munich based Radio 80000.

The pieces of the second edition span the illegal hunting of the highly endangered black rhinos in east Africa (DUMA, Kampala/Nairobi), the genetic sequence of the remaining two species of African Elephant and their low frequency communication (Jol Thoms, London), hunters using artificial devices to imitate animal distress calls (Mishka Henner, Manchester), forest fires and the irreversible silencing of vast habitats (Aloïs Yang, Prague), the performance of a bee waggle dance, signalling potential sites for a new hive (Heloise Tunstall-Behrens & Auclair, London), the health issue-related sounds of overbred French bulldogs as a result of human hubris (Beni Brachtel, Munich), the unique sonic experience of whales and its invisibilization by humans in Antarctic waters (DAWN PHASE, Munich / Toronto) and the protection of intact territories through the purchase of land in the Amazonas (Tomer Baruch, Tel Aviv).

FOSE intends to grow as a speculative encyclopaedia and archive, which aims to map the history, course and sound of extinction, in the process engendering an aesthetic discourse rooted in a multiplicity of perspectives, centred around the aforementioned themes. Our purpose with each curated edition is to build an inclusive global network of artists, providing an accessible and interactive archive of knowledge and resources.

– Kalas Liebfried

SCHEDULE WEBSITE RELEASE
1 MAY: Tomer Baruch, SalvaMontes Reserve’s Imaginary Band, 00:42, 2023
3 MAY: DAWN PHASE, Junk Anima, 07:36, 2023
5 MAY: Heloise Tunstall-Behrens & Auclair, Dance Off (acapella version), 5:30, 2023
7 MAY: Beni Brachtel, Overbreeding, 08:43, 2023
9 MAY: Mishka Henner, Nature Calls, 07:26, 2023
10 MAY: Jol Thoms, (Haunting Genetics of) A Tuskless Mutation, 05:00, 2023
11 MAY: DUMA, Black Rhinos (shot to extinction for their horns), 20:20, 2023
12 MAY: Aloïs Yang, Cycles of Rebirth and Redie, 06:00, 2023

OPENING EVENT PRESENTATION
The one-day festival shifts the focus from the global digital platform www.sonicextinction.net to a local and engaged community which acts as a polyphonic group with shared responsibilities. The new commissioned pieces transform into physical experiences: The omni-directionality and physicality of sound are the points of departure from which the artists create interactive situations with the audience and the architecture of ZIRKA. Furthermore, the chimerical approach of the event creates a merging experience of simultaneous forms of active intersubjective perception: broadcasting, exhibiting, engaging, teaching, performing, listening.

The event starts with an eight-hour-long takeover of Munich’s community radio station Radio 80000 in which the artists will use the platform to present DJ sets and further works beyond the project’s framework. Overlapping with the radio program, the doors open with a guided curatorial tour (L. M. Ramsey & Kalas Liebfried) and the program continues with a workshop on bee communication and identity (Heloise Tunstall-Behrens & Auclair), the performative activation of a multichannel sound installation (Beni Brachtel feat. Jakob Roters), a transitional performance which opens the gate to the concert hall (Aloïs Yang), a guitar driven live set (Kalas Liebfried) which leads to the climax: a live improvisation of DUMA’s newly commissioned work about the extinction of the black rhinos. The evening closes with a DJ set by local artist and PARA member Anja Lekavski aka Sarmabot.

OPENING EVENT SCHEDULE, 13 MAY 2023
10 am – 6 pm: Radio 80k takeover, live via radio80k.de
All artists presenting DJ sets, further works etc.
10 am: Heloise Tunstall-Behrens & Auclair
11 am: Mishka Henner
12 pm: DUMA
1 pm: Jol Thoms
2 pm: Tomer Baruch
3 pm: Beni Brachtel
4 pm: Fragments of Sonic Extinction, First Edition
5 pm: Fragments of Sonic Extinction, Second Edition

4 pm – 8 pm: performances, presentations, workshop, tours
4 pm: doors
4:30 pm – guided tour with Kalas Liebfried and L. M. Ramsey
5 pm – Auclair & Heloise Tunstall-Behrens, workshop
6:30 pm – Beni Brachtel, “Overbreeding” feat. Jakob Roters (cello), performative activation
7:30 pm – Aloïs Yang, performance and live set

8 pm – 12 am: concerts
8:30 pm: Kalas Liebfried, live
9:30 pm: DUMA, live
10:30 pm: Sarmabot, DJ set