About neuMERZ

neuMERZ GbR is a new music and media collective originally founded in Hannover, Germany and run by the composers-multimedia artists Philipp Henkel and Rachel C. Walker. Together, we take a critical, research-approach to composition and apply it to various projects: curating installations, multimedia concerts, and film, paying special attention to presenting innovative formats and perspectives on the contemporary music scene.

Our project draws on each of our combined strengths: acoustic and electroacoustic composition, visual rendering (Blender, Unity), instrument design and experimentation, historical research, and programming. Bringing these skill sets into direct dialogue with one another leads to artistic results with both theoretical and experimental gains.

neuMERZ has realized projects in collaboration with Musik21 Niedersachsen (Disrupted Chronologies – Jahresthema 2022: Radikale), the Deutscher Musikrat (Radiant8 Ensemble), Stiftung-Niedersachsen (Panopticon), Musikland Niedersachsen, and others. Recent projects include the 2022 concert season and tour of the Radiant8 Ensemble; Disrupted Chronologies, a multimedia concert and documentary project; and KOPFGERÄUSCHE, a concert tour of new works with a performance by the Berlin Japanese noise-improv duo Momose/Ishikawa.

In 2023, neuMERZ presents the dialogue-concert „al’thalj“ at the Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart in collaboration with the Austrian ensemble airborne extended and places a continued focus is placed on the development of several ongoing curation projects: a long-term interdisciplinary collaboration spanning music, literature and film, connected to the life of the 20th century Taiwanese travel writer San Mao; and OPTIKS: An Interactive Memory Factory.

Recent Events

Gesprächskonzert „al’thalj“

13.06.2023 | 19:30 Uhr

Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart

Am 13. Juni wird das Gesprächskonzert „al’thalj“ vom deutschen Kunstkollektiv neuMERZ und dem österreichischen Ensemble für zeitgenössische Musik airborne extended im Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart präsentiert. Das gleichnamige Stück der amerikanischen Komponistin Rachel C. Walker wurde während ihres Aufenthaltsstipendiums an der Akademie Schloss Solitude im Jahr 2022 komponiert. Ausgehend von ihrer Zusammenarbeit mit dem irakischen Dichter Nadeem Al-Aloosi ist dieses neue großformatige Werk für das Quartett aus dem Prozess der Übersetzung und Transkription von Al-Aloosis Gedichten entstanden. Die deutsche Erstaufführung von „al’thalj“ wird während des Konzerts zweimal gespielt. Zwischen den Aufführungen findet eine moderierte Diskussion mit der Komponistin und Martina Seeber vom SWR statt.

On June 13, the dialogue-concert "al'thalj" will be presented by the German art collective neuMERZ and the Austrian contemporary music ensemble airborne extended at Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart. The eponymous piece by American composer Rachel C. Walker was composed during her residency at Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2022. Based on her collaboration with Iraqi poet Nadeem Al-Aloosi, this new large-scale work for the quartet emerged from the process of translating and transcribing Al-Aloosi's poetry. The German premiere of "al'thalj" will be played twice during the concert. Between the performances there will be a moderated discussion with the composer and Martina Seeber from the SWR.