A large number of artists from South East Asia are present in the CTM 2019 programme thanks to Nusasonic, a multi-year project that plunges into a broad spectrum of experimental sound and music cultures in Southeast Asia, enabling dialogue within the region, with Europe, and beyond. This talk explores and contrasts music aesthetics, scenes, and the daily life of musicians from several South East Asian countries. What kinds of challenges do they face with respect to local audiences, venues, scenes & networks, traditions, and sociopolitical climates? Does their local experience and heritage influence their music practice? What kind of cultural or historical connections exist throughout the South East Asian region?

The Nusasonic initiative takes its title from “Nusantara,” an ancient Javanese term which is nowadays used to address the multiple connections between Southeast Asian countries. Adopting a multi-perspective approach, the project is collaboratively created by Yes No Klub (Yogyakarta), WSK Festival of the Recently Possible (Manila), Playfreely/BlackKaji (Singapore), and CTM Festival for Adventurous Music & Art (Berlin). It is an initiative of the Goethe-Institute.