CTM created the programme for the second edition of Music Ports, a project inaugurated in 2015 by Kreaton and the Goethe-Institute in Prague. Music Ports is an educational programme that aims to support local young electronic musicians and producers through exchange with German and Czech professionals. Music Ports provides a platform for gaining qualifications needed to operate in the field of electronic music. Workshops, seminars and lectures introduce participants into new possibilities to create sound and music, and pass on practical knowledge that is useful for musicians to develop their careers.
 
The daytime programme of workshops and seminars is complemented by a showcase of talent from Berlin and Prague. The Berlin Current club night at Prague’s Neone club features artists group A, Guido Möbius, mobilegirl, Mechatok, Opium Hum, Machine Woman, GSMTKNSTWRK and others, and is produced in collaboration by CTM Festival and Prague-based festival Lunchmeat.

Programme 16. September

10:00
Inventing Instruments: The Mind–Music Connection in Design
Lecture by Peter Kirn

The evolution of the electronic musical instrument is an inflection point in how we imagine humans relate to machines. It's intertwined with the emergence in the 20th century of our conception of robotics, of user interface, and interaction. We will consider how the human/machine model was first conceived in musical instruments, how musicians use that model to conceive their own relationship to expression, and how it might change in light of new developments in machine learning and a new conception of the role of the electronic device.

Peter Kirn is an audiovisual artist, technologist, and journalist. He is the editor of CDM (createdigitalmusic.com and createdigitalmotion.com), and co-creator of the open source MeeBlip hardware synthesizer (meeblip.com). His work ranges from teaching creative coding with open tools to making experimental live techno, and as a writer has been a hub of discussion of trends in live and interactive visuals, and the design of new music technologies. Kirn leads the MusicMaker’s Hacklab at CTM Festival, a 6-day open, collaborative environment in which participants learn about new technologies and get their hands on making their own musical inventions.

11:30 Break

12–18:00
Unstable Expression: Construct Your Own Music Machines
1-Day Musicmakers Hacklab with Peter Kirn

Miller Puckette, creator of the seminal programming-environments Max and Pure Data says his original inspiration was the musical instrument: when you create structures by drawing connections between modules, you're creating the innards of an imagined instrument.

We'll use the free and open source tool Pure Data to create your own instrument. Now, normally, these would be focused on stability and predictability, but drawing on the legacy of composers like David Tudor, we will experiment with creating unstable systems using feedback networks and other twists on the input-output model. Then, we'll connect those creations to physical controls, to experiment with performance models.

You'll leave with a finished compositional/instrumental music machine, running on your computer with external control. This is designed to be a beginner-friendly event. If you're familiar with these techniques, we'll hopefully give you a new way to approach them. And if you're new to them, we will get you started.

What you need to know:
- No previous skills needed in Pure Data or programming
- Musical ideas and some experience with making music on computers recommended

Required materials:
- Bring a computer running OS X, Windows, or Linux, on which you have reliably running audio output for music apps
- headphones
- You can also bring your own MIDI controller, joystick or game controller, Leap Motion, or other device – recommended for more fun!

Materials fee: If you desire an Arduino board, which serves a great base for all kinds of projects, the price will be 25 EUR.

Programme 17. September 

10:00
PR Basics and Strategies for Artists
Seminar by Guido Möbius

In this DIY PR-crash course for artists long term CTM PR-agent Guido Möbius will talk about the role and self understanding of a PR-agent in today’s music business. Topics will be the analysis of how journalists think, and how to make first steps to create visibility in the media. The course will be 100% orientated towards practicability, concentrating on elementary PR-basics like how to write a press release or on the importance of strong promotional photos. It will also discuss the necessity of different timings for different kinds of media, and the interaction between classical and internet-based media.

Guido Möbius is a musician, music publisher and PR agent who works and lives in Berlin. As a musician he released records on labels like dekorder, Karaoke Kalk or clapping music. His fifth longplay album “Batagur Baska” came out on Shitkatapult in April 2016. Next to his artistic work, he runs the music publishing house autopilot. Autopilot, which will turn 20 years in 2017, handles the rights of artists such as FS Blumm, the Trabant Echo Orchestra, Nicholas Bussmann or zeitkratzer. Möbius is also one of Germanys prime PR agents for leftfield music. His clients are international record companies and many of Berlin’s most interesting music events including CTM Festival.

11:30 Break

12:00
Women on Stage!
Seminar by Mo Loschelder

Mo Loschelder is a longstanding force in the Berlin electronic music scene. In her seminar, she shares her experiences as a music producer, DJ, promoter, label owner, booking agent and curator with the aim to encourage other women to forge ahead with their own practises, and to generally raise awareness of the importance of tackling gender imbalances in our music scenes. Next to sharing practical experiences, that are valuable to women and men alike, Loschelder will introduce female pioneers of electronic music since the 1940s until today. She will also provide information on useful networks and databases of and for women in today’s electronic music scenes. The seminar closes with an open discussion that will draw together the various threads relevant for the current situation of women in the field: historical developments, education, difference and sameness, wide-spread sexism, persistent conventions and clichés, new opportunities and old challenges, affirmative action, self-empowerment and networks ... and the troubles and profound satisfactions of going on stage.

Mo Loschelder studied painting with Gerhard Richter in Düsseldorf, before she moved to Berlin in 1991, where she became a central figure within Berlin`s emerging Techno-scene as a DJ and music producer, co-founder of the label Elektro Music Department, and as one of the people behind Berlin’s legendary Elektro and Panasonic clubs. Today she runs the artist agency Media Loca, and organizes thematic events, such as Perspectives festival, Continuity and Change: Energy and Society after Fukushima, or Heroines of Sound, a Berlin-based festival that focuses on women in electronic music and on female pioneers in the field.

14:00 Lunchbreak

15:00
Breaking Through the White Noise – Artist Strategies in a New Digital Environment
Seminar by Michail Stangl.

With the rise and growing importance of online broadcasting and the diversification of social media channels, artist have to navigate a more complex landscape of media channels than ever before, each coming with its own set of formats, requirements and opportunities. The workshop aims at providing an overview about the digital current environment and deliver an insight into various strategies that can be applied to shape ones career and digital presence.

Michail Stangl has founded Boiler Room’s Berlin department and is one of the main organizers behind the world’s largest underground online live music platform. He is also a co-curator of CTM Festival, and co-organizer of Berghain’s Leisure System parties, and an all round progressive force on the Berlin club scene. As a DJ he goes under the name Opium Hum.

 

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Enabled by Goethe-Institut Prag in collaboration with Kreaton. Media partner: Radio Wave. Supported by Musicboard Berlin.