HAPPENING Tarek Atoui the Shore / a place I'd like to be

Tarek Atoui: The Shore / a place I’d like to be is meer dan een tentoonstelling. Zij fungeert ook als klanklandschap, atelier, ontmoetingsruimte en platform voor performances en muzikale opvoeringen. Bij het openingsevenement bracht Tarek Atoui reeds een betoverende live-performance met behulp van de instrumenten in de ruimte. Bij het afsluiten van het project op 25 augustus brengen enkele getalenteerde jonge geluidsimprovisatoren en muzikanten een tweede muzikaal optreden: Yara Asmar, Mattias De Craene, Kid Fourteen (Khodor Ellaik) en Nathan Ysebaert. Met behulp van eigen instrumenten, persoonlijke interventies en gezamenlijke improvisatie gaan zij in dialoog met de aanwezige instrumenten en breiden zij de originele elektronische composities van Tarek Atoui uit tot een nieuw sonisch landschap en een unieke luisterervaring.

De artistieke praktijk van Tarek Atoui is geworteld in experiment en samenwerking. Samen met onderzoekers, ambachtslieden, muzikanten onderzoekt hij hoe geluiden op multisensoriële manieren worden ervaren, hoe zij beïnvloed worden door sociale, historische of ruimtelijke parameters en kunnen dienen als katalysator voor menselijke interactie.

Voor deze happening die verbindingen legt tussen de tentoonstelling, objecten en mensen werken Tarek Atoui en S.M.A.K. samen met Splinter vzw. Deze Gentse organisatie ondersteunt en versterkt artistieke initiatieven in diverse disciplines en media. In samenwerking met organisaties en instellingen die gedijen op creativiteit, innovatie en inclusiviteit creëren zij kansen voor uitwisselingen tussen internationale kunstenaars en lokale projecten. Gedreven door het potentieel van de artistieke expressie en de culturele uitwisseling, betrekken zij gerichte doelgroepen, stimuleren deelname en brengen zinvolle dialogen op gang. Firas El Hallak, zelf audiovisueel kunstenaar en ook artistiek directeur van Splinter vzw, selecteerde de kunstenaars en treedt op als curator van de muzikale performance.

Khodor Ellaik (Kid Fourteen) is a Lebanese composer, performer and sound artist born in 1987. His practice is at the crossroads between composition, sound research, writing, performance and the visual identity of the live act. Khodor’s musical journey started in 2010 when he formed and fronted the punk band Beirut Scum Society, drawing inspiration from the early punk movement. They went on to release numerous demo tracks but disbanded in 2013. After a short stint in New York Khodor came back to Beirut and formed another No Wave outfit called Friendly Faces with friends and ex band members. By 2015, he had grown frustrated by the band's direction and decided to go solo choosing Kid Fourteen as his moniker. His debut album 'Dream Kid Never Sleep' - an experimental pop record - Was released in 2016 by the Lebanese label 'Ruptured'. After his first record he began inviting to Beirut and collaborating with bands and artists such as the American Noise Pop outfit Xiu Xiu and the experimental musician Alex Zhang Hungtai, among others. in 2018 he released his second record 'Blood-Thick Silence' via the UK label Pinyon, in 2020/2021 his 3rd record 'Love' via Kidsplay, and in 2023 his Fourth album 'A Brief Emotional Dragon' under the same name. He toured several parts of Europe and the MENA region and released several singles and Eps in between. In 2022 he moved permanently to Paris due to the numerous catastrophes that hit Lebanon starting 2019. His latest instrumental album “Heart is a Malady”, released in 2024, is a sonic exploration of Arabic poetry.

Mattias De Craene is a Belgian musician, composer, and producer known for his innovative and atmospheric approach to music. He is a member of the band Nordmann and the frontman of the trance-inducing trio MDCIII. His work as a saxophonist is often described as cinematic, with a strong emphasis on texture and an authentic, structure-free narrative style.

In 2022, De Craene released his first solo album, Patterns for (A) Film, under his own name. This album highlighted his love for creating evocative soundscapes that blur the lines between music and storytelling. In October 2024, he is set to release a new album on Viernulvier Records, in collaboration with Filmfest Gent/Videodroom, further exploring the intersection of music and film.

De Craene's work is deeply rooted in a passion for creating immersive auditory experiences, often drawing listeners into a world where the boundaries between sound, texture, and narrative dissolve.

Acclaimed Lebanese multi-instrumentalist, video artist, and puppeteer Yara Asmar is set to mesmerise listeners in the flesh. Her recent releases ‘Synth Waltzes & Accordion Laments’ (2024) & Home Recordings 2018-2021’ (2022) showcase raw, lo fi, intimate glances into Asmar’s world. Vulnerable, intimate and moving, these were recorded at home, in Beirut, using lo-fi recording processes, cassettes and a mobile phone. Her field-recordings of hymns sung in churches around Lebanon, turned into waltzes, can also be heard. Focus has widened more recently on synth work and the warm drone of her grandmother’s characterful Hohner Marchesa accordion.

Some of her earliest influences are computer games & soundtracks from ‘Zelda’, ‘Jet Set Radio’, ‘Omori’ and ‘Undertale’, as well as movie directors such as Shūji Terayama. Asmar’s melodic works contain recognizable elements of classical music wrapped in layers of tape hiss, synth wash, reverb, delay and disturbed by the metallic percussive sounds of the dissembled music boxes. The atmosphere of melancholy that pervades the album should be familiar to anyone living in the 21st century.

Yara Asmar has appeared on the programming of Berlin’s Kiezsalon, Jazzwerkstatt Festival, Irtijal Festival, Le Guess Who Festival and Bozar. She collaborates and has performed with George Nassar as part of Apartment 52; with Cocorosie’s Bianca Cassidy; Olga Maximova & Piotr Kurek and The Happy Birthdaze’ Band. She started a series of improv performances called ‘Music for Corridors (and other in-between places)’ and exhibited at Cremisan valley, Palestine; the Grigor Prlichev Cultural Center – Ohrid, Macedonia; 421 Abu Dhabi, UAE; the Vogelklang – Black Forest, Germany…

Nathan Ysebaert (°1994, Belgium) is a Ghent based guitarist. He studied guitar at KASK & Conservatory Ghent, where he got his master’s degree in Guitar Jazz/Pop/Rock. He has been active in bands like Shht, Vito, Dressed Like Boys, The Wild Classical Music Ensemble and Blue Gene.