URBAN BANANA SOUNDS – I’ll take the lead! | The audio script was set to music

The second part of the audio guide project by young people and for young people for the current exhibition TALKING… & OTHER BANANA SKINS took place on 22 and 23 February under the direction of the two sound artists Heidrun Schramm and Nicolas Wiese from geräusch[mu’si:k], an artistic mediation programme for experimental music. It started with outdoor sound recordings in and around the URBAN NATION Museum. The pupils of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Oberschule – a partner of the Stadtraum!Plus programme of the Stiftung Berliner Leben – were initially curious and at the same time nervous because they did not know what to expect. But they quickly realised that the days were going to be a fun and interesting experience for them.

Through the leadership duo, they learned how to record ambient sounds separately and specifically and then put them back together. They worked in small groups and recorded a variety of nature sounds and urban sounds: From stones on the ground, birds chirping, train noises to spray cans. The participants also developed individual sounds. These were enriched by the happy coincidence when Ukrainian youths with their mountain bikes and stunt scooters started to play in the skate park: These sounds were definitely not to be missed!

Afterwards, the workshop continued at the URBAN NATION Museum. There, computers were available as a makeshift sound studio. The young people selected suitable sound recordings for the audio guide Youth. Then they could mix, amplify or change the speed of the sounds with wiping gestures on a tablet, similar to records. There was a lot of room for improvisation and creativity ! So they played and sang along with their own instruments or improvised sounds with pot lids and table tennis balls, for example.

So in the second part of the Audioguide Youth workshop, the pupils of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Oberschule also learned a lot again. They not only rediscovered their own environment, but also learned how to use new tools, devices and programmes. In the process, they also practised creative group processes again and were able to strengthen their interest in urban art and art in general.

We are looking forward to the third part of the workshop, in which the young people will record their text in three different languages in the studio, in German, English and French.

Are you also excited about the end of the workshop?

Stay tuned!