Brainwaves, Hyper-organs, DJ sets & Opposites

Franz Danksagmüller has had a densely packed fall 2024 concert season of hyper-organ plus Kyma performances in London, Köln, Helsinki, Lübeck and Berlin.

Between October performances of Nosferatu with his students from the Royal Academy of Music in London, Franz Danksagmüller traveled to Cologne to perform a concert with Kyma and the Hyper-organ at Kunst-Station St. Peter in Cologne on 18 October 2024. Here are some photos from Cologne including one taken from inside the organ (placing the mics for live Kyma input can be a risky business!)

Franz Danksagmüller placing mics inside the organ at Kulturstation St. Peter, Cologne (narrow and treacherous paths…)

Cologne, Kunststation St. Peter (which despite it’s name is a functioning church with a congregation and services) – looking down from the balcony to the mobile organ console.

Cologne, Kunststation St. Peter organ console with Franz Danksagmüller’s Glove controller and Muse EEG scanner

Cologne, Kunststation St. Peter, the horizontal trumpets…

Cologne, Kunststation St. Peter with paper score & iPad running Kyma Control

After the film festival at St Albans in London, it was on to Helsinki for Danksagmüller, where he performed with Kyma and the new hyper-organ at the Musiikkitalo on 11 November 2024 — the first time that this organ was played with live-electronics and video! Danksagmüller performed his new composition there is no free will for EEG scanner and Kyma and a live-electronics “remix” of a prelude by D. Buxtehude.

Helsinki, Musiikkitalo, view from the stage of the organ console

Helsinki, Musiikkitalo, Franz Danksagmüller featured on a sign outside the concert hall

Helsinki Musiikkitalo; the entire organ is in a swell box with wooden shutters (in addition to the individual swell boxes) for dynamics. The twisted organ pipes are fully functional!

Helsinki organ console with laptop and Kyma Control on iPad

Following the Helsinki performance, Danksagmüller returned to Lübeck to perform an hour-long DJ set with Kyma and variety of controllers for an after party following a concert at the Kunsttankstelle Lübeck.

Lübeck, Kunsttankstelle, Franz Danksagmüller’s live DJ setup

Kulturtankstelle Lübeck; the first part of the performance (Danksagmüller joined at the end of their first part and played the last part)

And the busy concert season is not over yet! Danksagmüller’s students are performing their own compositions for hyper-organ and Kyma at the Musikhochschule Lübeck on 8 December, and Franz will perform with organ and Kyma in Berlin on Friday the 13th at the Zum Heilbronnen church on their Opposites Attract series. Danksagmüller’s “Light and Shadow” — featuring music by W. Byrd, J. S. Bach and F. Danksagmüller — is framed by other concerts on themes like “Fire and Water”, “Life and Death”, “Beginnings and Endings”, and other evocative opposite-pairings.