Anthology for Listening Vol. II – Live-version I
Anthology for Listening Vol. II – Live-version I
The first live-version took place after the very launch of the anthology:
Date: 23rd of January
Time: 17.00 – 20.00
Place: KoncertKirken (The Concert Church) / Blågårds Pl. 6A, 2200 København
Presenters: Sascha Olsen, Alicia Riofrío, Marie Thams, Morten Poulsen, Claudia Lomoschitz, Nana Francisca Schottländer, Tjelle Esrom.
—

We are very grateful to all who came and to took part the first version – both the presenting artists as well as the audience!
(As we are dealing with a live format we will only include fragments of documentation – as it is difficult here on the website to communicate the fun, care, engagement, excitement, unrest, small-talk, social encounters, acoustics, cleaning etc. which also constituted the live-version.)

—
An ongoing screen of Sascha Olsen’s video work ‘.. …‘ was installed in the room for the duration of the evening.


Through Alicia Riofrío’s audio ‘Transformative Ears’ we were able to calibrate our listening by playing the file on repeat (4 times) and lean into the layers of the words, acoustics, our own self-reflections and the new details appearing within the work of repetition:
—
Marie Thams offered an extend and captivating live-performance of her piece ‘A Tone or Two‘.
Video excerpt from a ca. 10 minutes performance:
—
Morten Poulsen offered a reading of his text ‘Listening through a genocide‘ combined with the ‘background noise’ of a field recording from a pro-palestine demonstration.
The video excerpt of a ca. 10 minutes performance.
—
While Andrea Gunnlaugsdóttir and Claudia Lomoschitz weren’t able to join the live-version physically, they sent us a specially edited version of their audio work ‘Listening to the Sky – Culumus’ for the occasion – while designed for being outside, we sat inside in the former church with high ceilings and imagine a possible sky…:
—
Together with two members of Bureau for Listening, Randi and Amalie, Nana Francisca Schottländer arranged for the audience a slow reading with simple instructions to embody the text:
(Instruction 1
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, where you can relax. Take a deep breath – or a few. Close your eyes. Allow sounds to fall, unfiltered, into you – into your ears, your mind, your flesh. And listen.)
This is species (r)evolutionary training
By training our abilities to attune our bodies to sense and respond, we develop our response-ability. We store new forms of knowing and other ways of being-with all that is here with us in the fleshy archives of our bodies. Experiences and embodied realizations forming part of the continuous (r)evolution of our own cultural-natural bodies and the interconnections between them, forming our local and global collective body/ies.
By letting these experiences, realizations and ways of knowing resonate into our flesh, we transmit them to and share them with other bodies, human and more, through our reverberating, resonant encounters. And thus, our species will evolve in intra-active exchanges that reshape our ways of being in and with the world, and this will travel on as genetic imprints, passed on to future generations.
(Instruction 2:
Open your eyes. Find something close to you that attracts your attention. Focus on it. Perhaps you can touch it or stroke it lovingly? Give yourselv to the connection with it and imagine that your bodies are extensions of each other.)
The entry-point into this training is anytime, anywhere. We train our abilities to enter resonant, reciprocal encounters and exchanges with that, which is right here, right now — against all (capitalistic) odds, that tell us, that the right time/way/place is always sometime/someplace/ somehow different; that it is something we must earn through our commitment to the production/ consumption/growth/optimization wheel.
But even within these structures, the staying-with what is right here, right now, inside and outside, can be an entry point to a tangent of awareness and sensuous re-calibration, that breaks this cycle and opens a different trajectory.
(Instruction 3:
Give thanks to that, which you connected with. Keep the imprint of your encounter stored in the fleshy archive of your body.)
The training is humble, ongoing, curious and deeply revolutionary.
Preparing us for another world, which we are already encountering and creating as we train for it. Do not underestimate the deeply transformative potential of an intimate encounter with a pile of trash, the tarmac beneath your feet, a stone, a shard of glass, a leaf of grass, a crumbling building, and the resonances from this, traveling on through the individual and collective flesh of the world.
—
Tjelle Esrom expanded his contribution to the printed version of the anthology with a statement by Eurovision to be read out loud announcing the end of Eurovision, due to among others a lack of ethical commitment.
The reading was concluded by the firing of a confetti-launcher wand… and the playing of the Portuguese 1974 Eurovision song by Paulo de Carvalho ‘E Depois Do Adeus’ (which lost the competition).
Statement from the European Broadcasting Union Regarding the Future of
the Eurovision Song Contest
Date: 23th of January 2025
Following the conclusion of Eurovision 2024, we, the European Broadcasting Union, announce with heavy hearts that there will be no Eurovision Song Contest this year. Last year marked the final Eurovision Song Contest. An era has come to an end.
After nearly seven decades of uniting people through music, we have made the difficult decision to end the Eurovision Song Contest. There will be no more Eurovision in the future.
This decision reflects the evolving challenges the contest has faced in today’s complex world. While Eurovision has always celebrated unity and cultural exchange, we recognize that it is time to close this chapter, honoring the incredible legacy it leaves behind. We also acknowledge that, as the European Broadcasting Union, we have fallen short of meeting the moral and ethical standards expected of us, and for this, we deeply apologize.
Looking back at last year’s contest, we recognize the public discourse and demonstrations in Malmö, where many voiced concerns about the inclusion of Israel in the competition. While our decision to include Israel aimed to promote diversity, it was perceived by many as a double standard, especially in light of the exclusion of Russia. We sincerely apologize for the distress this caused and want to assure our audience that we have listened to their concerns.
Furthermore, we regret the use of artificial applause to mask the boos directed at Israel during the live shows. While this decision was made to preserve broadcast integrity, it was perceived as an attempt to silence dissent. For this, we apologize unreservedly.
These moral misjudgments are the reason why we have decided to end Eurovision.
As we bid farewell to Eurovision, we do so with immense gratitude to everyone who has been part of its incredible journey. The memories, music, and moments of unity will remain in our hearts forever.
Thank you for your understanding and for being part of this extraordinary
adventure.
The European Broadcasting Union
—