The Music Folder

The Music Folder #17 Demdike Stare

Interview by Gaetano Scippa, 13/01/2025

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we are delighted to host English electronic music duo Demdike Stare, in conversation with music journalist Gaetano Scippa.

Demdike Stare share their roots and the genesis of their journey, from local folklore to their deep love for soundtracks and (Italian) library music  particularly the works of Piero Umiliani and Nora Orlandi - which are all about atmosphere. The conversation touches on their perception of music as a whole, beyond genres, during the 1990s, when they were inspired by revolutionary mixtapes from DJ Hype and Coldcut, the intersection of techno and hip-hop productions, seminal labels like Mo’ Wax and Warp, and their explorations of global sounds. Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty admit they still feel naive yet enthusiastic about discovering new music today, refusing to align with any specific movement.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. 

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #16 Shackleton

Interview by Gaetano Scippa, 5/11/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we are delighted to host English electronic producer Shackleton, in conversation with music journalist Gaetano Scippa.

This dialogue delves into the creation of psychedelic soundscapes and trance-like rituals, exploring the power of repetition and polyrhythms as elements that seep into memory. Together, they discuss the uncalculated drive to overwhelm the listener, the sound sources that have shaped Shackleton’s personal archive, and the art of sampling. The conversation also touches on the significance of collaborations, as well as the role of technology and AI in shaping the future of music.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. 

The Music Folder #15 Fennesz

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 24/9/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder we are pleased to present the Austrian producer and guitarist Christian Fennesz, in conversation with the critic Francesco Tenaglia.

The conversation explores Fennesz’s creative and compositional process, examining how the mixing phase becomes a form of sculpture. It also delves into his reworking of Gustav Mahler for a commission from the Viennese Cultural Institute in New York. Other key topics include the punk attitude of early glitch music, and the graphic design of his album covers by Jon Wozencroft, with the recurring theme of sea and water. The discussion also touches on unexpected connections, from Charli XCX to Adriano Celentano.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Ph. Carsten Nicolai.

The Music Folder #14 Nicolas Jaar

Interview by Gabriele Marino, 10/3/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts. 

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder we are pleased to present the Chilean-American electronic music producer Nicolas Jaar, in conversation with the semiotician Gabriele Marino. 

The conversation begins by tracing Jaar's unconventional artistic path and Marino's field of study, then reflects on the labels music critics attach to artists, and addresses a range of issues such as silence and sampling from a broader, sometimes political perspective. 

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Ph. Wissam Sader.

The Music Folder #13 Suzanne Ciani

Interview by Francesco Fusaro, 8/4/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode, we had the great pleasure of conversing with Suzanne Ciani, the renowned electronic music pioneer. A trailblazer in the world of modular synthesizers and sound design, Ciani's journey from a classical background to the vanguard of electronic music is discussed here with NTS Radio host, musician, and musicologist Francesco Fusaro.

Breaking the stereotype that electronic music is unfit for live performance, Ciani reminisced about her efforts to showcase electronic instruments on stage, addressed the significant topic of archiving and promoting women's contributions to music, and reflected on her initial reluctance to delve into her vault of unreleased tapes for Andy Votel's Finders Keepers label.

With a career spanning over five decades, Suzanne Ciani's pioneering work established a new paradigm. It proved electronic music's versatility in the studio and on stage and significantly shaped the landscape of modern sound. Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica.

The Music Folder #12 Jim O'Rourke

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 4/3/2024.

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode we are pleased to present the Japan-based, American composer Jim O’Rourke in a conversation with the critic Francesco Tenaglia.

The dialogue draws upon the figure of Roland Kayn, focusing on O'Rourke's effort to restore the unpublished archives of the late German composer, a project being published on Bandcamp. This initiative provides a foundation to explore the extensive themes of O'Rourke's thirty-year career.

Known initially for his involvement with the avant-garde rock band Gastr Del Sol, O'Rourke possesses a diverse solo discography that spans from pop to electroacoustic music. His collaborative efforts include working with artists such as Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Derek Bailey, Fennesz, Wilco, John Fahey, Smog, Faust, and Tony Conrad.

The Music Folder #11 Kode9

Interview by Guglielmo Bottin, 22/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

For the 11th installment of our podcast series #TheMusicFolder we are pleased to present Kode9, electronic music artist and founder of the Hyperdub record label.

The talk realized in collaboration with Biennale Musica on the occasion of the 67th International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, is hosted by Guglielmo Bottin, PhD fellow in electronic popular music and groove theory at University of Milan, visiting scholar at Humbold University in Berlin, as well as established producer and touring dj in his own right.

The conversation investigates the motives behind the birth of the Hyperdub label, the label as an archive and the current state of digital archives, the role of ideology in the development of music scenes, sonic fiction as future world building and re-mediation of past allegories of the future, and much more.

Interview by Marco Mancuso, 22/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

For the 10th installment of our podcast series #TheMusicFolder we are pleased to present the German composer and digital artist Robert Henke.

The talk, realized in collaboration with Biennale Musica on the occasion of the 67th International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, is hosted by Marco Mancuso, critic and curator on art and technoscience, professor at Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo and University of Bologna.

The conversation revolves around Henke's artistic inspiration influenced by technology and his relationship with machinery, with a reflection on the balance between engineering aspects with the unpredictable. Among the topics, the interaction of sound and visual in the CBM 8032 AV project, the creation of instruments and a final consideration about science, research and limits within the digital arts.

In this episode of The Music Folder, we speak with pioneering sound artist Christina Kubisch, whose 1970s electroacoustic works and performances opened new possibilities for sonic experimentation with installations and environments. Her early work with electromagnetic induction also led to the acclaimed “Electrical Walks”. Today, she is interviewed by Francesco Bergamo, a scholar of representation methods in architecture, design, and sonic ecologies.

The talk explores Kubisch’s longstanding artistic interest in making audiences aware of hidden, inaudible, or invisible infrastructures of everyday life. Throughout the conversation, the focus is on topics such as questioning perceived realities, ecological consciousness, the complex relationship between technology and nature - particularly through works like Cloud, which sonically unveils the heavy, industrial realities behind the seemingly intangible digital "cloud" - and the landscape of electromagnetic sounds in contemporary urban environments. Kubisch also discusses soundwalking as an active and participatory artistic practice, her relationship with influential figures such as John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, and Annea Lockwood, and the way they have shaped her unique, critical, and exploratory approach to listening and sound art.

Interview by Francesco Bergamo, 29/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

In this episode of The Music Folder, we speak with Moritz von Oswald, widely recognized as one of the originators of dub techno. Trained in orchestral percussion, in the 80’s he was the drummer for the Neue Deutsche Welle band Palais Schaumburg, then began composing electronic music as he relocated to Berlin and worked sa producer for the record label Tresor. In the early ’90s, Von Oswald teamed up with Thomas Fehlmann under the aliases 2MB and 3MB, before co‑founding (in 1993) Basic Channel with Mark Ernestus, launching a duo and label whose minimalist, delay‑soaked sound would define dub techno as a music genre.

Over a wide-ranging conversation, art critic Francesco Tenaglia invites Moritz von Oswald to reflect on his evolving approach to composition, improvisation, and sound design. He discusses his score for Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler II, commissioned by the UFA Film Nights Festival, emphasizing his avoidance of conventional cinematic cues in favor of sparse, beatless atmospheres that allow the visuals and emotions to emerge organically. Von Oswald speaks candidly about embracing sonic “imperfections” - noises, room tone, unstable synths - as integral artistic material and a hallmark of his production style across decades. He also recounts how improvisation, particularly with the Moritz von Oswald Trio and collaborators like Juan Atkins, remains central to his evolving sonic language.

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 20/09/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.