#002 / Inventuren – Regina Dürig, Christian Müller, Frank Heierli & Beni Weber

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Regina Dürig is a writer, performer, and lecturer/mentor in literary/creative writing, a. o. at the Bern University of the Arts HKB. She writes experimental prose, audio plays, children’s books, young adult novels, uncertain translations, and received her PhD from Plymouth University (UK) with a fabulatory study of classical philologist Alice Kober’s archive. Regina’s work often revolves around moments of silence and being silenced and explores the notion of gentle encounters. Collaborations with other disciplines are an important part of her artistic practice, notably the Stories & Sounds duo Butterland with musician Christian Müller and the artist duo Dürig/Bach with visual artist Patrizia Bach. Her writings have won several awards, a.o. the IBBY Honour List, the Wartholz Literature Prize, the Peter-Haertling-Prize and the Literature Prize of the Cantone of Berne, her books have been shortlisted for national YA book awards in Germany and Switzerland.

Frank Heierli, cellist and guitarist, born 1972, lives in Biel and Epauvillers. The former primary school teacher completed the degree programme in 2014 and the Master of specialised music for imprvisation performance at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel in 2017. 
From 1998 to 2005 he studied flamenco guitar and dance accompaniment with Alfredo Palacios and Antonio Flores in Cordoba (ESP) and Pablo Beyeler. 
As a theatre musician Frank played with 400 asa, at the Schauspielschule Zurich, Bochum and Hamburg and at the Theater Basel with Schwarz / Bärfuss, Andres Lutz, Barbara Liebster, Barbara Weber, Jordi Vilardaga, Matto Kämpf, Joey Zimmermann and Arianne Andereggen, among others. 
Frank Heierli accompanied readings by Lukas Bärfuss, Raffael Urweider, Regina Duerig, Christan Philips and Urs Engeler.
He also performed contemporary dance with the Inbetween Butoh Dance Company Rome with Ezio Tangini and Flavia Ghisalberti and with Katharina Vogel.

Christian Müller is clarinetist and electronic-musician with a strong love for experimental noise, transdisciplinary collaborations and being en route. He completed his classical studies at the Conservatory for Music & Theater in Berne and works since then as improvising electronic-musician, electro-acoustic bass-clarinetist and composer with a conceptual approach. He realized numerous works with the duo Strøm (with Gaudenz Badrutt) and also in national and international projects. As member of Strøm and as a solo musician he created several sound installations and audiovisual pieces and also worked in multimedia-based contexts with dancers and performers. He collaborates and has collaborated in diverse constellations for concerts, a. m. o. with the musicians Christian Kobi, Tomas Korber, Jacques Demierre, Kurt Liedwart, Ilia Belorukov, dieb13, Cristián Alvear, … Since 2010 he works with the writer Regina Dürig as Butterland, an interdisciplinary project that combines text and sound. He composed the music for more than 30 theater pieces and dance performances, he works regularly with the director Barbara-David Brüesch and the Vienna based mexican-swiss dance and performance company nadaproductions.

Beni Weber is a drummer, organplayer, drawer and painter. He lives and works in Biel. He plays a.o. with Putsmarie, Superschurken and is active in the impro scene.

www.reginaduerig.ch
www.christianmueller.me

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Reviews/Reception

«… Wie mit Eva-Augen, mit Kaspar Hauser-Augen stellt sie [Regina Dürig] fest: Gärten gibt es, Tiere, Bruder und Mutter, Orte, Cowboys, Haut und Angst, Unterschiede gibt es und Wiederholungen. Dieses existentielle Konstatieren geht einher mit Musik, so wie man mit seinem Hund spazieren geht. Mal geht er bei Fuß, mal trödelt er hinterher, meist schnuppert er voraus. […] Während Dürigs alliteratives ABC ver­wundert feststellt, was es alles gibt, was es immer wieder gibt, was es nicht mehr gibt, im­provisiert das Trio dazu elektroakustisch geräuschhafte oder dröhnend rumorende Illu­strationen und Kontraste, mit wechselnden Akzenten auf Bassklarinette, Cello oder per­kussivem Patschen oder Klopfen. Dürigs Inventarium wird derweil immer […] detailreicher. Um das Alphabetisieren von Dingen wu­chern Gefühltes und Erfahrenes. Erkenntnis zieht ihre knisternden, schleifenden Klang- und Schneckenspuren, ‹Angst› zieht sich als Akrostichon quer durchs ganze Alphabet und das scheint mir nicht das einzige Abecedar zu sein und noch weniger das letzte Wort.»
Rigo Dittmann, Bad Alchemy 76

«A new Swiss label, Deszpot, just released their first two albums. This one is a poem/music hybrid. Poet Regina Dürig reads her poems (in German), backed by improvisations by Christian Müller (contrabass clarinet, electronics), Frank Heierli (cello) and Beni Weber (percussion, electronics). 24 poems, all cast in the same mold: «[x] exists.» Rich imagery, interesting ideas, but the form and the delivery are repetitive (I understand very little German, but I was provided with English translations of a few poems). The music goes through a deconstruction process in the course of these 24 short tracks, from acoustic and near melodic improvisation to increasinly fragmented, chopped works polluted by electronics. The language barrier is high, but the project is sound.»
François Couture, Monsieur Délire

«Inventuren est une suite de 24 pièces de musique électroacoustique et de textes récités. Les textes, entre la prose sensible et la poésie réaliste, «24 miniatures», sont lus et écrits par Regina Dürig, une jeune poète allemande qui réside en suisse. Quant au musicien, on trouve Christian Müller, fondateur de ce nouveau label qui publie ce disque, à la clarinette contrebasse et à l’électronique, Beni Weber au violoncelle et Frank Heierli à la batterie et à l’électronique. La voix uniquement parlée est monotone, les textes sont fondés sur la répétition, et à ses côtés la musique (improvisée la plupart du temps) est principalement électronique et souvent assez minimaliste. L’univers produit par ces quatre artistes sort des catégories et des étiquettes, il s’agit avant tout d’une tentative et d’une expérimentation pluridisciplinaire, il s’agit de faire cohabiter l’écriture, la poésie, la musique et l’improvisation. Ces 24 propositions sont en ce sens plutôt réussie, il y a une véritable communauté artistique où chacun a sa place en-dehors et à l’intérieur de sa fonction (musicale, sonore, signifiante, littéraire, etc.). Les quatre individus sont un appui pour chacun, ce n’est pas une musique d’accompagnement et la voix n’est pas en mode soliste ni récitative et uniquement chargée de sens. Ceci-dit, la musique manque parfois de consistance et l’aspect répétitif et monotone peut paraître redondant ou rébarbatif. Une tentative néanmoins intéressante et originale de conciliation des disciplines fondée sur l’intimité et une bonne écoute.»
Julien Héraud, improv sphere