Koenraad Ecker is a belgian sound artist based in Berlin.
He is fascinated by the dialectic interplay between the acoustic environment and the social relations contained within it ;
by the magic of the ordinary and the ordinariness of magic.
Characterised by an unorthodox use of foley, extensive field recording and a love for electro-acoustic hybrids,
his work attempts to make the empty spaces in between things heard & felt, and to find a delicate balance between the fragile and the visceral.
As a composer and sound designer, his work has been heard at leading music festivals (CTM Berlin, MUTEK Mexico & Montreal) ; in squats and techno temples ; at renowned art institutions such as ZKM (Karlsruhe) and Akademie der Künste (Berlin) ; in series like Black Mirror (Netflix), on music labels like Subtext & Opal Tapes ; and during residencies in Kampala (Nyege Nyege), Beijing (Sivenlu Media Studios), Oslo (Zero Visibility Dance Corp) and Brussels (iMal).
His work has been nominated for the Ars Electronica prize (2016) and won the Radiophrenia Prize for Radio Works (2021).
He has taught or given workshops at the Universität der Künste (Berlin), Liszt Academy (Hungary), Nyege Nyege Studios (Kampala) and KHM (Köln).
Since 2021, his work has been moving towards what might be called sonic archaeology: together with Rey Sapienz and Haldi Okudheyo, he is working intensively on a long-term artistic research project focusing on the vernacular oral history of the belgian colonisation of north-east Congo, in collaboration with the MRAC (Africa Museum, BE), INMC (Institut des Musées Nationaux du Congo, DRC) and Nyege Nyege (Kampala, UG).
Selected Talks & Presentations
2016 “Points on the Curve”, ZKM Karlsruhe, DE
2016 “Spatial audio composition”, Liszt Academy of Music Budapest. HU
2019 “Field recording” Interflugs, Universitat der Kunste, Berlin DE
2021 Field recording workshop @ Nyege Nyege Studios, Kampala, UG
2022 ICTM Study Group on Historical Sources, Brussels, BE
2023 Sound Design strategies @ KHM, Köln, DE
2023 (Re)appropriation : Artists and Archives @ Africamuseum, Tervuren, BE
Selected Awards & Grants
2017 Prix Ars Electronica nomination for „..and a spark lit the blaze“ (commissioned by ZKM Karlsruhe)
2018 Research stipend for “Contre-Feux”, Flemish Ministry for Culture & Heritage
2019 “Radiophrenia” 1st prize for radio works for the composition “Tantalum River”
2021 Exchange stipend (Uganda & DRCongo), Berliner Senat für Kultur
2022 Research funding for “Contested Soils” fieldwork, Flemish Ministry for Culture & Heritage
Selected Works
2014-2017 various composition commissions for contemporary dance
Göteborgs Danskompani (link) & Zero Visibility
2016 „...and a spark lit the blaze“, spatial audio composition, ZKM / 4Dsound, Karlsruhe, Germany (link)
2016 Sound Design for Black Mirror “Men Against Fire”
2018 "Tantalum River", a 3-hour hörspiel commissioned by Gernot Centre, Prague
2018 "The Heart of A Stone", commissioned by Cristian Vogel for Sentralen Oslo /EAU
2018 “Contre-Feux”, a dance performance with Emma Daniel, commissioned by Korzo Theatre, NL
2019 "Transparent Bodies, Submarine Roots", commissioned by Cristian Vogel for Audiorama, Stockholm (link)
2019 “Carbon” with and Ecker/Meulyzer , album released on Subtext Recordings
2021 “Eavesdropping on frail Giants”, Open Source Art Festival, Sopot, PL
2022 “Rien ne se perd, rien ne se gagne”, mutichannel audio installation, Kolonyia Artystow, Gdansk, PL
2021-2023 4Dsound retrospective @ Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Stone Nest (London), Monom (Berlin)
Past performances
ZKM Karlsruhe (DE), Gaudeamus Festival (NL), Göteborg Opera (SWE), STEIM (Amsterdam, NL), De Singel (BE), Bozar Electronic Arts Festival (BE), SOUP (Tokyo, JP), Constant Value (Seoul, Korea), Muziekgebouw aan het IJ (NL), Spatial Sound Institute (Budapest, HU), MUTEK Mexico & Montréal, CTM Festival (DE), Berlin Atonal (DE), Berghain Kantine (DE), Islington Mill (UK), Node festival (IT), Dansens Hus (Oslo, NO), Lunchmeat Festival (Prague, CZ)
Artistic residencies
2013 IPEM, Ghent, BE
2014 Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE
2015 iMAL, Brussels, BE
2016 Sivenlu New Media Studio, Beijing, China
2016 ZKM, Karlsruhe, DE
2018 IMAL, Brussels, BE
2018 Akademie der Künste, Berlin
2021 Nyege Nyege Studios, Kampala, Uganda
2022 Nyege Nyege Studios, Kampala, Uganda
photo : Geert Goiris