IN BETWEEN SPACES: Mediterranean Crossings

Ethiopian Records & Azmari Synthesis (Addis Ababa)
"Negus" (film by Invernomuto)
STILL "Goverment" feat. Freweini & Devon (Milan)

The first edition of IN BETWEEN SPACES - "Mediterranean Crossings" - is dedicated to the Mediterranean as a link and fluid border between Africa and Europe.

The first evening of the two-day event will feature the film "Negus" by the Italian artist duo Invernomuto, a glimpse into European colonial history in Africa. Anchor point is the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, who, demonized as a "black devil", as a propaganda enemy image of fascist Italy Mussolini, is supposed to justify the Italian attack on Ethiopia. The war waged with a huge army, modern weapons, poison gas and concentration camps against Ethiopian warriors and civilians and the subsequent colonial occupation finally resulted in between 150,000 and 700,000 Ethiopians falling victim to the war. The Rastafari movement, which is simultaneously emerging in Jamaica, worships Selassie as a "black messiah" and incarnation of God on earth: Between locations in Italy, Ethiopia and Jamaica, "Negus" - in which "Godfather of Dub" Lee ´Scratch´ Perry also plays an important role - explores the historical, mythical and magical space between these completely different symbolic captures of Haile Selassie.

The evening will be opened by the new project "Azmari Synthesis" of the Ethiopian musician and producer Endeguena Mulu aka Ethiopian Records. As a key figure in the Ethiopiyawi electronic sound and experimental electronic scene in Addis Ababa, he develops - similar to Mikael Seifu - a fusion of electronic sounds, beats and textures with elements and instruments of traditional Ethiopian music from different parts of the country. The floating flow of ethio-jazz by Hailu Mergia and Mulatu Astatke can be seen as an influence as well as the sound of Mala, J Dilla, Kode 9 or Francis Bebey. With his new band project Azmari Synthesis, which brings his electronics together with three musicians on traditional Ethiopian instruments, he is in Europe for the first time.

Simone Trabucchi is not only one half of Invernomuto, he also follows the tracks of Ethiopia and Jamaica in his experimental dub productions ("I" / PAN, 2018) as STILL. Between the tonal and semantic layers of the project, a dense resonance space is created between the past and the present, between digital riddims, trembling deep bass and the polyphonic voices of African-Italian MCs, of which Devon and Freiweini will also be present at the concert in Cologne. In new pieces, improvisations and solo vocal experiments they combine their weirden and amazingly fresh dancehall sound with animated visuals by Rastafari comic artist Salmm from Kingston, Jamaica.

A cooperation of ZAM Zentrum für Aktuelle Musik e.V. with the Akademie der Künste der Welt / Cologne and the European Centre for Jazz and Contemporary Music in the Stadtgarten.

Supported by the TURN Fund of the Federal Cultural Foundation

Presented by
WDR COSMO & City Review