SWITCH ON
Electronic Sounds and Visuals from Switzerland and China

Fall 2008

Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, is a partner of the major international exhibition Synthetic Times. Through this partnership an additional project came into being which provides a good overview of the Swiss electronic music scene and its crossovers with the visual arts. Together Shift and Miro China, the organisers of Switch On, invited artists from Switzerland and China who work in comparable fields. The project has been situated within the clubbing scenes of Beijing and Shanghai. This deliberate choice of location outside of the institutional context of museums allows the artists to meet a wider audience and for many people, clubs are their first point of contact with media art.

The project will be the first in a series of exhibitions and workshops in the field of electronic arts which will take place until the middle of 2010 as part of Pro Helvetia’s overall project in China. It aims at enabling a lasting cultural exchange between the two countries’ art scenes. The artistic concept of Switch On was developed by Michael Vonplon (Miro China/Cheesebeat), Raffael Dörig and Katrin Steffen (Shift – Electronic Arts Festival) following a commission from Pro Helvetia.

Marianne Burki, Head of Visual Arts, Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council

Switch On

Switch On showcases interdisciplinary projects ranging from audiovisual performances to electronic music. In an extensive programme encompassing projects rooted in experimental electronic music and advanced dance music, Swiss and Chinese artists will have the opportunity to meet. Visual transformations are, beside the sounds themselves, of central interest. In varying combinations abstract tones, rhythmic grooves, video and dance melt into one another to create audio-visual-experiences

Switch On presents artists from different regions of Switzerland who have gained both national and international recognition. With their idiosyncratic ways of working, they give a revealing glimpse into the country’s lively scene, club culture and media art. The invited participants entice audiences through their originality and creativity, while being instantly accessible without the need for introductory translations. Strotter Inst. and Flo Kaufmann are among the most important exponents of the vibrant Swiss scene, positioned at the intersections between homespun craftsmanship, music, performance and art. A “do it yourself” attitude is central to their work. Larytta, the duo from Lausanne, in their specific mixture of laptop-act and band, achieve in a very convincing way the transition from the experimental use of sounds to danceable electronic music. Sonja Moonear from Geneva and Galoppierende Zuversicht, a duo from Zurich, are two extraordinary Swiss practitioners who both successfully produce techno away from the mainstream.

All of the Chinese artists involved have long been important pioneers in their fields and have found recognition far beyond national boundaries. For example, Huzi - who is going to present his project Touch Listening with the dancer Xioa Ke - was one of the first to combine Chinese traditions with contemporary electronics in his music. Collaborations between the Chinese artists and Michael Vonplon through his independent Swiss label Cheesebeat started at the beginning of the nineties. A shared passion for electronic music, its associated lifestyle and its proximity to the visual arts helped to create a scene that operates beyond an increasingly commercialised society. The three DJs, Yang Bing, Mickey Zhang and Weng Weng have been at the forefront of the electronic music scene in China since its very beginning. All three were important forces in the mid-nineties when the scene still met at underground raves in unusual venues around Beijing. Today, Mickey Zhang has his own radio show, while Yang Bing has opened a club. Weng Weng has founded a record label in order to spread electronic music across China. Together they have one aim: to inject life into the Chinese music scene without making compromises.

Close contacts exist between China and Switzerland to the present day and a lively exchange of ideas and projects is continuing. Switch On further enlarges this network, bringing together Chinese and Swiss artists, offering its audience a place for surprising encounters and last but not least, it supports the exchange between the organisers to encourage the development of new projects.

Raffael, Dörig, Katrin Steffen and Michael Vonplon

The organisers
Through his label Cheesebeat, Michael Vonplon has actively contributed to the electronic music scene in China since the early nineties. He continues to support the cultural exchange between China and Switzerland.
www.miro-china.ch

Shift is an international festival for electronic arts based in Basel. It presents new tendencies in the fields of media-, video-art and electronic music. Special attention is given to interdisciplinary projects.
www.shiftfestival.ch

Beijing

Yang Bing, Xiao Ke & Hunzi, Strotter Inst. & Flo Kaufmann, Cheesebeat, Larytta, Liman, Galoppierende Zuversicht, Sonja Moonear, Styro 2000 & Bang Goes, Mickey Zhang, DJ Group Acupuncture Records, 8gg, Tang Yi Hu

Shanghai

Xiao Ke & Hunzi, Strotter Inst. & Flo Kaufmann, Larytta, B6, Galoppierende Zuversicht, Sonja Moonear, Styro 2000 & Bang Goes, Ben Huang

For more information: www.myspace.com/switzerlandandchina

Switch On artist (a selection)

Yang Bin (CN), DJ
Yang Bing was one of the first DJs in China and has gained wide national and international recognition for his work that continuously sets new musical trends. In his role as organiser he has influenced and shaped Beijing’s electronic music scene from its very beginning. Today he manages the White Rabbit, one of Bejing’s most famous clubs for non-commercial dance music. His DJ work and the collaboration with Miro China/Cheesebeat have taken him to Switzerland several times in the past.
www.myspace.cn/yangbingbeijing, www.myspace.cn/electraxbeijingoffice

Galoppierende Zuversicht (CH), live act
No matter whether it is at an underground party or a major festival, the two Zurich based musicians Marcel Ackerknecht aka Styro 2000 and Roland Widmer aka Bang Goes under the name Galoppierende Zuversicht, are known for their idiosyncratic mix of techno and electro and have been responsible for many musical highlights over the years. They resist the using laptops during their concerts, but work with homemade samplers instead that allow them to tailor-make their unique sounds.
www.myspace.com/styro2000, www.banggoes.ch

Ben Huang (CN), DJ
Ben Huang is one of the best know DJs in China. This pioneering artist organised the first raves at the Great Wall in the early nineties. His involvement was crucial in establishing electronic music in China. However he also puts a lot of energy into his own music: combining everything from experimental and nu jazz to minimal techno into flowing sets. His unique style quickly caught the attention of the international clubbing scene.
www.myspace.cn/djbenhuang

Xiao Ke & Huzi (CN), dance performance: Touch Listening
Huzi (music) and Xiao Ke (dance) combine Chinese tradition and contemporary tendencies in their half hour dance performance Touch Listening. Electronic sounds meet traditional Chinese music, morphing them into a gripping performance: Xiao Ke absorbs the music and expresses it physically through her own body.
Xiao Ke, in her role as dancer and choreographer, is acquainted with both modern dance and traditional Chinese folk dance. Huzi pioneered combining classical Chinese music with electronic sounds, which has gained him widespread international recognition already.
www.kkleeart.com/kklee2006TLText.htm, www.huzimusic.cn, www.myspace.cn/huziband

Larytta (CH), live act
Christian Pahud and Guy Meldem founded the duo Larytta in 2004. With energy and creativity, Larytta create original, experimental electronic pop using found sounds, guitar loops, rhythmic beats and vocals. They are part of the lively Lausanne music and art scene and they have worked on many collaborative projects, among others with the Swiss video artist Emanuelle Atille. Guy Meldem is also part of the artist collective Körner Union, which creates the graphic design for Larytta. Together with the artist Tatiana Rhis, Larytta are currently working on new ideas for the interplay between music and video. These will be shown for the first time in China.
www.myspace.com/larytta, www.creakedrecords.com

Liman (CN), live act
Liman is one of the few Chinese artists to have put away his DJ equipment to play live sets. Using only a few analogue machines, his gigs thrill audiences with gripping, raw minimal techno and his extraordinary skill for live performance. His work has been released by the German label Stemma Tics and by ShanShui, one of the most important labels for electronic music in China.
www.myspace.com/xlimanx

Sonja Moonear (CH), DJ
Sonja Moonear is without doubt one of the best and most sought after Swiss DJs for advanced techno. In the last couple of years she has been booked by the most important festivals and clubs around the globe and releases her own tracks and remixes through international labels such as Karat and Perlon. However, the artist from Geneva is not easily categorised. Her enormous wealth of ideas and creativity are mirrored in her sets and lead her to continuously redefine her style.
www.ruta5.org/sonja/sonjaframeset.html

Strotter Inst.& Flo Kaufmann (CH), concert-performance
Strotter Inst. modifies record players to produce live sound sculptures, which make electronic music acoustically comprehendible while also providing an optical experience. Flo Kaufmann who amongst other things managed a vinyl pressing plant, appropriates surprising everyday objects, such as beer cans, and cuts them so that they produce sounds. During their concert performanc these newly created phonographic records provide a basis for a surprising live remix.
www.strotter.org, www.flokka.com

Mickey Zhang (CN), live act
Mickey Zhang a music producer, radio moderator, events organiser and internationally recognised DJ is a pioneer of electronic dance music in China and one of its most important promoters. He releases his music through Modern Sky records, an independent label for Electronica, Indie, Rock and Pop. He is a central character in the promotion of electronic music in China.
www.myspace.cn/mickeyzhang, www.02culture.com

8gg (CN), VJs
Jiang Haiqing and Fu Yu from Beijing are an internationally known multimedia duo called 8gg. Their audiovisual performances and interactive installations have brought 8gg to important institutions and festivals from Asia to Europe. They have been to Switzerland on several occasions, which allowed them to collect a great mass of video material. This rich visual archive will now form the starting point for an individual live video mix: A Chinese view of Switzerland – the result of an inspiring exchange.
www.8gg.com