Dearest friends, the Berlin Senate, last week, decided to extend the theatre closure due to the Corona pandemic until July 31, 2020. Because of this regulation, there will be no events at Theater Ballhaus Naunynstrasse until the end of summer break. This means the restaging of »sonus — the sound within us« has been cancelled…. Continue reading
Tomorrow would have been the re-opening of »Echoing Europe: Postcolonial Reverberations« at Ballhaus Naunynstrasse. However, this week, the gramophone, the shellacs, the reel-tapes, and radios shall remain silent, and the stage dark, until we could gather again as a community in the theatre. The Berlin Senator for Culture and Europe, Dr. Klaus Lederer, has decided,… Continue reading
We’d like to share the trailer/rehearsal of Pasyon 2020 that Pepe Dayaw and I did a few weeks ago, right before the quarantine. We were unable to fully realize the performance due to the technical difficulties circumscribed by the global pandemic. We look forward to re-sounding/re-wiring voicings of passion next Cuaresma. We hope your time… Continue reading
Elisa Erkelenz came to Ballhaus Naunynstrasse to see Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations last December, and we talked about sound, music, performance, and archives. Thanks, Elisa for including our conversation on the latest edition of VAN Outernational Magazine. “yamomos Soundperformance im Ballhaus Naunynstrasse ist eine vielschichtige Überlagerung verschiedener Zeiten und Bewertungssysteme. Der Saal des Ballhauses ist für die… Continue reading
On 25 October, I will be premiering a new piece, »sonus — the sound within us« at Theater Ballhaus Naunynstraße. For this new project, I am excited to collaborate with Pepe Dayaw (performance artist), Morgan Sully (sound designer), Karlene Denolo-Hayworth (opera singer), Katherina Oliver (opera singer). What is the sound of memory? How do we… Continue reading
Moritz Buchner of the Forum Transregionale Studien interviewed me about my ideas and experience in the creation of »Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations«. On 16-18 May, you premiered a sound performance entitled “Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations” at the Theater Ballhaus Naunynstrasse Berlin. Could you tell us the background of the project? Around the same… Continue reading
Jamal Tuschick reviewed Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations on der Freitag. “meLê yamomo zeigt in seinem Soundwerk „Echoing Europe – Postcolonial reverberations“ die europäische Aneignungs- und Kategorisierungsarroganz und ihre wissenschaftlichen Maskierungen im Geist der Traurigen Tropen. Er untersucht die Grenze zwischen „Musik“ und „Geräusch“ als gewaltsame Setzung nicht zuletzt. … Er spielt mit Tonspulen und Grammophontrichtern…. Continue reading
In time for our premiere, music critic Christoph Möller produced a feature on “Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations” on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. “Was Musik ist, entscheidet nach wie vor der Westen, meint der Musikwissenschaftler und Performer meLê yamomo. In seiner Sound-Performance „Echoing Europe“ will er koloniale Denkmuster in der Musik offenlegen und kritisch hinterfragen.” (The West… Continue reading
On 16 May, I will be premiering a new music theatre/sound performance piece entitled »Echoing Europe – Postcolonial Reverberations«. You can read the dramaturgical notes on the Theater Ballhaus Naunynstrasse website. Tickets are now available on the Berlin Bühnen website. (Up there is a picture at the rehearsal studio.) If you are in Berlin, it… Continue reading
Sarong Banggi is an ongoing conversation between meLê yamomo (performance and sound artist-scholar) and Pepe Dayaw (food and performance artist) who talk, sing, dance, and cook about macro- and micro-histories of Filipino diasporas and musical movements. The journey starts in 1571, with the establishment of the city of Manila as the beginning of globalization. Their stories… Continue reading