Ausland (Berlin) Explained

Ausland (Berlin) should not be confused with Ausland, Norway.

ausland
Address:Lychener Str. 60, 10437
City:Berlin
Country:Germany
Coordinates:52.5448°N 13.4195°W
Opened:2002

Ausland (customarily stylised in lowercase as ausland) is a concert venue and arts location in Berlin, Germany. The venue is well-known as a hub for experimental and improvised music, alongside many other styles, genres, and artistic approaches.

Ausland describes itself as “an independent venue for music, film, literature, performance, and other artistic endeavours,” and for many years it summarised its aims with the tagline that it is a “territory for arts and collateral damage.” Organisationally, it is independent, non-commercial, and run by a collective.[1] [2]

History

Ausland opened in 2002, having emerged from the Berlin squat scene of the 1990s that came to prominence after the fall of the Berlin wall. The venue was formerly the site of the collective housing project and experimental arts venue Lychi 60, and the building in which it is situated underwent comprehensive renovations prior to reopening as ausland.[3] [4]

The name of the venue emerged from the members of the collective running the space, as an evocative encapsulation of their artistic intentions. The word “ausland” — correlating with ideas such as “abroad,” “overseas,” or “away from home” — demonstrated a readiness to engage with unfamiliar or strange sounds and ideas.[5]

The venue has continued to operate as a non-commercial independent venue since it began, and in 2022 it celebrated its twentieth anniversary.[6]

Milieu

Ausland is renowned as a centre for free improvisation and related forms of music, and has come to be associated with the Echtzeitmusik scene of Berlin.[7] The concert series biegungen im ausland has been one of the predominant frames for music and sound of this kind at the venue. This series has been ongoing since ausland opened, summarising its approach with the slogan “outlandish sounds for outspoken ears.”[8] [9] [10]

At the same time, ausland presents a wide variety of events, not just improvised or experimental sounds. It has hosted installations, film showings, drag shows, pop festivals, dance and choreographic work, performance art, lectures, durational and overnight events, and more. The organising collective of the venue has several sub-groups which run particular event series, resulting in this diverse programming approach.[11]

In 2020, in an interview as part of transmediale’s reSource series, Gregor Hotz, one of the founding members of the ausland collective, described the venue as “very eclectic and hybrid; it is very difficult to define it in a specific way, even if we come from that scene that was usually named Echtzeit[musik]. It is related to experimental, minimalist, noise and ‘improvised music’. But the programme is very diverse, and we combine performances, concerts, improvisations, and lectures.”[12]

The main room of ausland has also been used as a recording venue for over seventy records — both through being used a studio space and also through the release of live recordings made at events at the venue.[13] This room has also been used for rehearsals, workshops, residencies, and other artistic projects.[14]

For many years, the ausland mailing list was also renowned for droll jokes regarding German and world news and politics.[15]

References

  1. Web site: About ausland . 2024-05-11 . ausland berlin . en.
  2. Web site: ausland — Territory for arts and collateral damage . 2024-05-12 . Berlin Bühnen.
  3. News: Hartmann . Andreas . 2002-12-12 . Alles auf früher . 2024-05-12 . Die Tageszeitung . 27 . de . 0931-9085 . Der neu eröffnete Club „Ausland“ befindet sich genau dort, wo früher der legendäre Laden „Lychi 60“ zu Hause war, seinerzeit ein Ort für experimentelle Kunst und Musik mit Hausbesetzertradition. . “The newly opened club “Ausland” is located exactly where the legendary shop “Lychi 60” used to be, which in its time was a place for experimental art and music from the squatter tradition.”.
  4. News: Cold . Gyde . Berlin: "Projekt Archiv": Ausland in Prenzlauer Berg . 2024-05-12 . Der Tagesspiegel . de-DE . 1865-2263 . Um das ‘Ausland’ zu legalisieren, muss der Kellerraum umgebaut werden. . “In order to legalize ‘Ausland,’ the basement room must be converted.”.
  5. Web site: 2000-04-19 . Der Club "Ausland" feiert ein "Festival in Zimmerlautstärke" mit Disco, Theater und Performances: Gezappel unter Kopfhörern . 2024-05-12 . Berliner Zeitung . de . Wer sagt, ‘Ich gehe ins Ausland,’ zeige damit seine Bereitschaft, sich auf Fremdes einzulassen, auf andere Sprachen und Kulturen . “Those who say, ‘I’m going abroad’ show their willingness to be involved with the unfamiliar, with other languages and cultures.”.
  6. Web site: ausland 20 years! . 2024-05-12 . ausland berlin . en, de.
  7. Eichmann . Dietrich . 2005 . Orte, Musiker, Ästhetiken: Die Berliner Szene . Places, musicians, aesthetics: the Berlin scene . Positionen: Texte zur Aktuellen Musik . de . 62 . 21 . Hier begann sich der Begriff ‘echtzeitmusik’ mit Leben zu erfüllen. . “This is where the term ‘echtzeitmusik’ began to come to life.”.
  8. Web site: biegungen im ausland . 2024-05-12 . field notes Zeitgenössische Musik in Berlin . en, de . biegungen im ausland, one of the oldest existing series for experimental and improvising music in Berlin, has a special, but not exclusive, focus on Berlin’s Echzeitmusik community..
  9. Web site: biegungen im ausland . 2024-05-12 . ausland berlin . en, de.
  10. Eichmann . Dietrich . 2005 . Orte, Musiker, Ästhetiken: Die Berliner Szene . Places, musicians, aesthetics: the Berlin scene . Positionen: Texte zur Aktuellen Musik . de . 62 . 21 . Das heute lebendigste und vielseitigste Forum der freien Berliner Szene aber ist das ausland. . “But the most lively and diverse forum in the independent Berlin scene today is ausland.”.
  11. Arthurs . Tom . 2015 . The Secret Gardeners: An Ethnography of Improvised Music in Berlin (2012-13) . PhD [Music] . A non-commercially run venue in Berlin for music and performance and related public and non-public events... the focus clearly is on experimental, non-mainstream, demanding, kind of weird stuff which either makes you comfortable or makes you leave the place before you’ve even finished your first (cheap) drink. . The University of Edinburgh . 98.
  12. reSource Chat with Gregor Hotz, ausland . ReSource . transmediale.
  13. Web site: Ausland . 2024-05-13 . Discogs.
  14. Web site: ausland . 2024-05-12 . field notes Zeitgenössische Musik in Berlin . de . ausland kann für Veranstaltungen, Proben, Aufnahmen, Workshops, Residenzen und andere künstlerische Projekte genutzt werden. . “ausland can be used for events, rehearsals, recordings, workshops, residencies and other artistic projects.”.
  15. reSource Chat with Gregor Hotz, ausland . ReSource . transmediale . Felix is the guy who writes our newsletter, which is very funny if you understand German. Some people hate it as well, [but] these people have no sense of humour..

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