Moodle

Enigma Unveiled

Friday 7 March, 16:00 thru 10:00 @ Catalyst ground floor

Enigma Unveiled is an interdisciplinary event exploring the theme of Intersectionality in feminism, to celebrate International Women’s Day. Celebrating and amplifying diverse voices, experiences and perspectives in the arts while fostering a space for critical reflection and connection.

Through live electronic music, film, workshops, photography and discussion, Enigma Unveiled will examine how overlapping identities—such as race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and ability—interact with systems of power and inequality within the feminist movement. Our goal is to create an inclusive platform where art and activism intersect to inspire dialogue and action.

👉🏼 Save the date on RA | Open to public ⭐️ | Bring your friends!

/// Discussion and workshops

• 16:00 Doors open 
• 16:30 Welcome ceremony
• 16:45 Unveiled: the making of an album as collaborative practice with Martina Bertoni, Ciaran O’Shea and Gregory Cowling (panel discussion)
• 18:30 Empowered Expression: Reclaiming Confidence in Art & Identity (workshop)
• 19:00 Honest Vocal Circle (workshop) 

/// Music 

• 17:45 Orvokki (live)
• 18:15 Anastasiia Zyrianova (live)
• 18:45 Eklektik (DJ set)
• 20:00 Sashiko (live)
• 20:30 MALINA MALINA (live)
• 21:15 The Kakis (live)

/// Films 

• 18:30 (all films) 
• 20:30 (all films)

‘A Nook of One’s Bliss’ by Sonia Kharitoniouk
‘Aurora's dream’ by Dragana Jovanovic
‘Esther, Rivke, Chayale’ by Soshana Simon
'Let the light rise upon the forest' by Hanna-Mirtel Paas

/// Installations 

• Acoustic Darkness
• ‘From Nowhere with Love’ Elizaveta Abramishvili
• ‘Existiendo Excesivamente’ by Marta Torres
• Praxis Typography

▪️ Artwork by Nilgün Gül Özer

Created, curated and organised by students at Catalyst – Institute of Creative Arts & Technology, this event is open to all.

Catalyst Improvisational-Experimental Ensemble

Friday 28 February @ EMP Lab, 16:00 - 18:00

We’re are starting a student-driven group dedicated to free improvisation, experimental music, and avant-garde performance. Whether you play an instrument, create with electronics, or simply love sound, this ensemble is a lovely opportunity to dive into spontaneous composition creation. Inspired by artists like Pauline Oliveros, Cornelius Cardew, Keith Rowe, James Tenney, and Michael Pisaro, we’ll explore unconventional approaches to music-making in a supportive and creative environment.

/// Details

• Location: EMP Lab
• Time: 16:00 - 18:00 
• Room available: 15:30 - 18:30 for setup/teardown
• 💥 Sign up -> HERE
• Rehearsal schedule listed below

What to expect:

• Collaborative improvisation & experimental performance
• Graphic & text scores (Cardew, Pisaro, Tenney, etc.)
• Sound walks, electronic integration & alternative notation
• Deep listening & sonic meditation (Oliveros)
• Re-interpretations of avant-garde works (e.g., Morton Feldman’s Projections)
• Opportunities for structured & free-form performances

Rehearsal Dates

• February 28
• March 21
• April 4
• May 2
• May 16

/// Who can join?
This ensemble is open to all music students interested in experimental approaches—regardless of instrument or genre. No prior experience with improvisation is required. Just bring your instrument, voice, laptop, or anything that makes sound! Our first meeting we will discuss the ensemble’s goals, set expectations, and maybe even come up with a cool name together! If you’re curious but unsure, this is the perfect chance to check it out.

/// Led by Martina Bertoni
Guided by EMP tutor and cellist Martina Bertoni, these sessions will introduce key concepts of experimental music, facilitate group dynamics, and encourage you to find your unique artistic voice through improvisation. Martina Bertoni is an experimental cellist and composer whose work bridges the physical and emotional realms of sound. Classically trained, she has developed a distinctive practice centered on electronic music, drones, synthesis, modern composition, and generative systems. Her music explores liminal spaces where perception, sound, and emotion intersect, challenging conventional listening paradigms. Using time, proximity, and timelessness as compositional tools, Martina crafts immersive sonic structures that evoke introspection and transformation.

From All Sides: Spatial Sound Forum 2025 Open Call

Embracing “Ma” in Sonic Spaces

We are excited to announce the call for submissions for our upcoming festival, dedicated to exploring multi-spatial audio and contemporary electro-acoustic music composition. This year, we invite artists, composers and sound designers to create works inspired by the Japanese concept of “ma” (間). The event will take place April 9 - 11, 2025

Deadline: Monday 3 March 💥submit application HERE

/// What is “ma”?
"Ma" refers to the space or interval between two parts, an emptiness that holds potential and allows elements to interact in a meaningful way. It is a fundamental principle in Japanese aesthetics, emphasizing the importance of the void and the relationships between sounds, silences, and spaces. "Ma" is about the beauty found in the pauses, the transitions, and the interplay of presence and absence.

/// Submission guidelines:
Conceptual relevance:

• Submissions must creatively engage with the concept of “ma” within the context of multi-spatial audio and electro-acoustic music.
• Works should explore the interplay between sound and silence, space and structure, presence and absence.

Technical specifications:

•  Works can be composed for multi-channel sound systems 
•  Submissions should include a detailed description of the spatial audio setup and technical requirements.
•  Audio formats accepted: WAV, AIFF, or other high-quality audio files.  

Documentation:

• A written statement (Max 500 words) explaining how your work interprets and incorporates the concept of “ma.”
• A visual diagram or description of the intended spatial arrangement of the audio components.
• Artist bio + links to online profile
• Press image

Submission process:

• Deadline for submissions: 
• Submit your works via [submission platform or email] this form
• Include all required documentation and audio files in a single submission package.

Selection criteria:

• Artistic and conceptual alignment with the theme.
• Innovative use of multi-spatial audio techniques.
• Technical quality and feasibility of the proposed setup.
• Originality and creativity in interpreting “ma.”

⭐ Submissions are open to all students, alumni and staff!

Sound Perspectives: Artistic Research Forum featuring Martina Bertoni - Electro Acoustic Works for Halldorophone

Friday 21 February, 14:00 @ EMP Lab

Our very own Martina Bertoni will be releasing her album, "Electro Acoustic Works for Halldorophone," on Karlrecords. Martina has been a very valuable addition to our Catalyst teaching team, as she teaches various workshops both on Creative Audio Production and Electronic Music Performance. She will be presenting her research on the Halldoraphone instrument and her creative process.

🎧 Listen to Martina's discography HERE

/// About Album
Martina Bertoni returns to Karlrecords with »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone,« her most radical album yet. The foundation for the four electroacoustic pieces was laid during a residency at Stockholm’s legendary Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) that the Berlin-based cellist and composer used to explore the curious instrument, originally designed by Halldór Úlfarsson in 2008, as an algorithmic system in order to examine tunings and the mathematical relationships between harmonic frequencies. Aiming to analyse and understand their interaction beyond the composer’s control, Bertoni sought to engage more deeply with the concepts of time, tuning, and, most importantly, control. Accordingly, her four »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone« seem both massive in scale and incredibly intimate, sonically restrained and emotionally overwhelming— almost ambient and always demanding your full attention. (K.Cornils)

/// About Martina Bertoni
Martina Bertoni is an experimental cellist and composer whose work bridges the physical and emotional realms of sound. Classically trained, she has developed a distinctive practice centered on electronic music, drones, synthesis, modern composition, and generative systems. Her music explores liminal spaces where perception, sound, and emotion intersect, challenging conventional listening paradigms. Using time, proximity, and timelessness as compositional tools, Martina crafts immersive sonic structures that evoke introspection and transformation.

After self-releasing two EPs in 2018 and 2019, Martina presented her first full-length album, All the Ghosts are Gone (FALK, 2020). Her second album, Music for Empty Flats (Karlrecords, 2021), was met with critical acclaim and featured in A Closer Listen’s Top 10 Ambient Drone Albums of 2021. In 2023, she released Hypnagogia (Karlrecords), which received widespread praise for its immersive compositions.

Her upcoming release, Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone (Karlrecords, 2025), expands her research into tuning systems and generative practices. Beyond her solo work, her cello and compositions have been featured in numerous films, series, and documentary soundtracks.

martinabertoni.com
instagram.com/m__bertoni
soundcloud.com/m__bertoni

Our friends at MANIFEST:IO have their annual symposium this weekend. Catalyst students and alumni embedded into the yearly exploration of new media and electronic art; performing, taking care of stage/sound support and volunteering throughout the event.⁠

Supporting this project continues providing a space for free artistic expression and meaningful conversation in Berlin. We're looking forward to seeing you all at the third instalment this Saturday and Sunday. Get ticket info via the @manifest.io.berlin page. or HERE

Come out to support third year Creative Audio Production student Nilgün Gül Özer performing 21:00 on Saturday 22 February

Broken Patterns represent our ritualistic patterns and the contrast they have to the atrocities happening around an individual. It tells the stories of how through breaking these patterns, one find themselves in the hands of different mindsets and places they have never been before. It's the contrast we desperately try to hide in our capitalist society. These broken pieces end up taking us to fragmented places where we start to acknowledge the cognitive dissonances we live in. A simple act of brushing one's teeth becomes uncomfortable. These unmatched different worlds collide and result in glitches and cuts. Broken Patterns represents the collisions of two worlds, electronic/ acoustic, east/west, and realities/dreams and results in fragmented realities.