zweikommasieben: #16

To what extent can we imagine community, exchange, and collective projects that no longer fall back on the dominant narratives of nation, fatherland, and family? This is the question posed by Terre Thaemlitz in a detailed exchange featured in the 16th edition of zweikommasieben. Throughout this issue of the magazine, similar questions are asked; the artists and musicians featured seem to be looking for a progressive reaction to the feeling of disintegration that not only can be witnessed in the larger society but in the music scene as well. The questions are subliminally present in the contribution about the independent collective and venue called Macao, or in interviews with musicians such as NON's Farai or American experimentalist Steve Hauschildt. The answers often remain ambivalent; ultimately there won't be any utopias. "There's a sun in the sky," as Laurel Halo points out in the magazine, "but it's burning ever hotter." Includes interviews with DVA Damas, Farai, Laurel Halo, Mechatok, Parrish Smith, Steve Hauschildt; portraits on Golden Pudel's/V I S's Nina as well as Evil Grimace and Von Bikräv from Casual Gabberz; essays on "Late-Phase Identity Politics" (with Terre Thaemlitz) and "A Short History of the Aesthetics of Excess in Hip Hop"; columns on the oral history in reggae ("Basslines"), Black Sweat Records ("From Here Till Now"); pictures from Georg Gatsas ("We Are Time") and Nadja Stäubli (about Red Bull Music Academy Weekender 2016 in Zürich‎) as well as poetry with "Sound Texts"; Contributions by Das Ding, Macao, Laraaji, and German Army. Co-published with Motto Books. Bilingual: English/Deutsch; 152 pages; size: 190x 280mm; Edition of 2000.