REVIEW: Paul Kalkbrenner // Icke Wieder

The newest Paul Kalkbrenner offering is something magical. The German electronic musician/ actor weaves a strangely unsettling, yet beautiful acoustic tapestry in his eighth full-length, Icke Wieder.  The opening track “Boxig Leise” is driven mostly by a gorgeous sprawling synth-heavy effervescence that gets you in the mood for dancing, yet flirts with a dark final section, giving an ominous contrast to the happy tune. In fact, the album seems to straddle the best elements of dark and light, the sensual and the surreal, and Kalkbrenner seamlessly transitions between these polarities. One standout track,“Des Stabes Reuse” is downright unsettling, sounding like something caught between a celebration of life cut short in a war-torn place. Kalkbrenner’s no cynic though, as best heard with “Gutes Nitzwerk,” a harmonic electro symphony of the same anthematic proportions of Swedish House Mafia. (Paul Kalkbrenner Musik/ Rough Trade)

In the desert: the art of sustainability

In the desert: the art of sustainability

For Sustainability Television

The Arizona State University Art Museum is putting together an exhibit to depict environmental issues through initiating dialogue through artists and the public.

The exhibit, Defining Sustainability, will run between August 26th to February 20, 2010. In collaboration with the ASU Ceramics Research centre, the art show is a non-traditional museum project that will illuminate issues such as the interaction between human beings with the natural environment, the effects of urban human environments and the concerns they place on the individual’s inherent relationship with the Earth. According the university’s press release, the need to further the conversation of sustainability is its goal: 
“Each exhibition tells a simple story — an artists’ proposal for green transportation or a designer’s solution for recycled shad structures — which together convey the complexity of sustaining life on earth.”

Through the non-conventional format of the exhibit, the diverse array of multimedia art installations depict the exploration of these real-world environmental concerns by experiencing it through the creative process.
ASU will be presenting three central exhibits, including Native Confluence: Sustaining Cultures by acclaimed artist Nora Naranjo Morse. Jillian McDonald, from New York, is also showcasing her work Alone Together in the Dark, which is an exploration of unsustainable “ghost towns” and cities.

As Arizona’s desert-setting makes it a hot spot for sustainable dialogue, the art show will be featured at several international conferences such as the U.S. GreenBuild conference and other organizations involved with United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark.