A part of improvised live performance @ HGB Rundgang, 9. 2. 2017.
Not edited or mastered, solely for booking purposes (& those who enjoy listening to excerpts from live improvisations :)).

Excerpt from a live improvisation

The Black Pillar deals with transition from light towards darkness and vice versa. 
It gives you a sensorial experience through manipulation of space and sound.
Acting as a parallel between two realities that we are all bound to find ourselves in, it transports you to the one of your interpretation.
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The Black Pillar
sound installation, 2017
70 cm x 70 cm x 300 cm
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Line Sattler (installation) 
Urška Preis /rouge-ah/(sound)

The Black Pillar

Field recordings are memory vessels. They contain latent energy with a potential of transportation, of instant teleportation into a different space and time. A particular sound can transfer a particular person to another location – a past situation. A possibility conditioned by the existence of a particular, often intense, memory. Perhaps, it is a virtual geopsychology of re-visitation. The oldest field recording used on this album appears as the building block of the first track. The etymology of the word “orkhestra” traces its meaning to the Greek word for the part of the theater where the chorus would dance. The introduction is an invitation to dance, a statement about the beginning of a movement, of becoming emotion.

orkhestra

Very early in her life, rouge-ah knew that the things she wanted to do were visual art and playing the harp – an ancient instrument that can be traced far back in time and found across all continents. Interestingly enough, harp playing in Latin America is associated almost exclusively with male players, whereas in European (classical western) music, the harp is largely played by women. In rouge-ah's work, this gender stereotype is subverted. “I like to work with sounds that are in contrast to the angel music cliché,” she tells me, pointing out her disdain for ornamentation palette of embellished soothing sounds most often associated with this instrument. Perhaps, this decided direction towards a more empowered sound resonates as resistance against the current state of affairs in the world. “Why is something as virtual as money so much more important than something as concrete as trees? Just imagine how many people had to feel unloved and unwanted, considering that the exertion of power and domination over others is manifested today as it is.”

things i decided against

It would not be false to say that at least the majority of this album is about pain. The bulk of the album’s tracks travel through a spectrum of negative emotions, echoing aching: fear, terror, heartbreak, sadness. The dramaturgy of the album, however, contains a declarative frame: opening and closing statements exude a willingness to fight and face the pain and darkness of the inner and outer worlds.

aching

The momentum of the last two tracks exhibits a force aiming for a breakthrough, a winning battle that would result not in victorious destruction of the opponent but in accepting the pain and attempting to discover ways of coping with the starless night. Playing an acoustic instrument, music-making, and deep listening seem such possible strategies. Music, and harp in particular, is an actual therapeutic tool. It creates a space where fragility can be explored, and since it exists in the physical space, it also offers an opportunity for perseverance. It has been said that “art is resistance”, and perhaps this musical work connects the dots between intimate expression and direct daily action. The little, immediate things do matter: “It's the way the world can and does change,” she says. “I'm not an activist, a preacher, but a feminist in the way how I approach the things and people around me.” She points at phenomena that occur in the act of communication (radio or local music scene) and highlights the influence they have on the distribution of thoughts and attitudes. These are the effective points, a source to which small-scale but continuous pressures can be applied so as to create a rupture. Without these small, ongoing, everyday changes that happen both internally as well as in relation towards our close ones and our community, “we would be left with nothing but despair”.

coping

Despite virtually nonexistent musical practice in her family, rouge-ah's formal music education started really early. Despite having opportunities to cross the borders, leaving home at 14 years of age seemed too difficult. Musical training is riddled with many obstacles, including the rigid teachers, incapable of showing sensibility in conversation, which resulted in her resistance to continue, especially in the absence of peer support. But rouge-ah was pulled back into playing the harp by being offered opportunities in the local electronic dance music scene and finally, new horizons of music creation started expanding. New connections were formed, local collaborations ensued, recordings were made, and performances played. Her lifelong passion that has been suppressed, was now released.

conversation suppressed

“For me, harp also means a relationship. Do you think the hours you spend practicing and the discipline you have to put in don't leave a permanent mark on you? It's a powerful bond you're pulled into, so powerful that you learn and grow through it. You develop a relationship that is much stronger than most of the connections you wind up in. And to play an acoustic instrument and persist with it even through the hard times... For me, there's no better way of staying sane.”

you think you're so much better

Her hometown, Ljubljana, is a city where all the concert venues are accessible either by walking or biking. While nobody at home played an instrument, next door to her place was a legendary pub dedicated to music. “And I had a father who would buy me tickets for any concert I wanted to see.” Seeing numerous concert performances covering a wide range of genres, “you can't look back and say it wasn’t formative to a quite crucial extent!”

biking, i look back

However, don't be too quick to think that this music comes only from this one city in a tiny little country. Studying in Reykjavík, Iceland, has brought an important expansion of horizons in terms of artistic creativity, musical genres, contexts of sound-making and deep listening, as well as more concerts and an interdisciplinary, historically-grounded thinking about music. Another international exploration that took place in Leipzig, Copenhagen, and Berlin can tell a story of the formation of rouge-ah's solo expression, equipped with abundant music production knowledge and noise-making tricks, a computer, and instruments. “It all gave me a better understanding of what I would like to create and express through my art”.

don't tell me what i like

The final context of these nine compositions is deeply personal. It's a sonic self-image that has arisen out of written notes and some field recordings. The latter possibly won't work for everyone, perhaps anyone, in the ways they work for the author. However, subjective and intimate, these compositions are firmly grounded in affective materiality of emotions, specific written fragments and stories, from which moods, vibrations, and ambiances took their shapes. Fixed as recordings, they are now free and out in the open for interpretation and resistance. Forming a personal disclosure signaling that voice is not enclosed anymore, a sonic self-portrait of this kind is an act of laying bare, an opening of the flesh, and a contribution to the world for anyone to relate, create, and resist.

won't work for free anymore

Member of II/III, blush, Sujevera, Zhlehtet.
Solo artist. Part of Ophelia's Got Talent by Florentina Holzinger.
Always open for collaboration.
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Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns2P_X-zcDI
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upcoming shows with Ophelia's Got Talent
September @ Geneve
October, November @ Berlin
December @ Ludwigshafen
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15. & 16. 08. 2024: Blockheide Leuchtet, Gmünd, Austria
03. 08. 2024: WHOLE Festival, Berlin
20. 07. 2024: TBA
09. 06. 2024: Summermarket, Haubentaucher, Berlin
02. 06. 2024: Q3Ambientfest, Potsdam
31. 05. 2024: Stellar Systems, Club der Visionäre, Berlin
18. 05. 2024: as Zhlehtet, Jazz Cerkno, Slovenia
22. 05 2024: as Zhlehtet, Močvara, Zagreb, Croatia
23. 05. 2024: as Zhlehtet, KRAK centar, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20. 04. 2024: w/ Bridget Ferrill & Pixel Bambi following a SONICA / SHAPE residency, Klub CD, Ljubljana, Slovenia
12., 13. & 14. 04. 2024: performances with a performance project Fears & Affections, following a residency at Gessneralle, Zürich, Switzerland
26. 03. 2024: WestGermany, Berlin
23. 11. 2023: New Adits Festival, Klagnefurt
29. 10. 2023: Autobahn, Berlin
18. 10. 2023: as Sujevera, livestream from Radio Terminal, Ljubljana
14. 10. 2023: Micro Festival Tenzije, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia
13. 10. 2023: as Zhlehtet, Prulček, Ljubljana, Slovenia
11. 10. 2023: as Sujevera, Changeover Festival, Belgrade, Serbia
04. 10. 2023: Intermedia grill 016, livestream from Radio Terminal, Ljubljana
30. 09. 2023: Betrib Festival, Idrija, Slovenia
16. 09. 2023: part of fashion performance '13' by Francesca Zangrillo @ MaHalla Open, Berlin Art Week
10. 09. 2023: as blush (duo debut with Gwenan) @ Aether, MaHalla, Berlin, Germany
03. 09. 2023: Sanctum of Sound @ MaHalla, Berlin, Germany
13. 07. 2023: as II/III, 3537, Paris, France
08. 07. 2023: NOSTROMO, France
20. 05. 2023: MaHalla Fetzenmarkt, Berlin, Germany
05. 05. 2023: as II/III, KRAK, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
28. 04. 2023: as Zhlehtet, Prulček, Ljubljana, Slovenia
20. 04. 2023: SONICA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
06. 04. 2023: Kantine am Berghain, Berlin, Germany
22. 03. 2023: with Sofia Salvo & Lara Alarcon, Loophole, Berlin, Germany
21. 01. 2023: Odyssey #4, Anagram Space, Berlin, Germany
29. 11. 2022: as II/III, Stellar Systems, Hoppetosse, Berlin, Germany
20. 10. 2022: TrxxtR, Berlin, Germany
05. 10. 2022: Indigo Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
04. 10. 2022: Cankarjevi torki, Jazz Club CD, Ljubljana, Slovenia
20. 08. 2022: madness #14, ZW-B, Zürich, Switzerland
23. 07. 2022: Club der Visionaere, Berlin, Germany
08. 07. 2022: closing of Dvocikel x Kaos Festival residency with Alja Košar
18. 06. 2022: with Fire Orchestra, Ljubljana Jazz Festival, Slovenia
10. 06. 2022: with Fraw Blanka, Ment Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
07. 05. 2022: Stellar Systems #2, Crack Bellmer, Berlin, Germany
23. 04. 2022: SHARPE Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia
20. 11. 2021: Found in Translation, interpretation of graphic notations of Alja Košar, festival Gustart, MC Pekarna, Maribor
16. 10. 2021: as Sujevera, Tenzije, Rijeka
15. 10. 2021: as Sujevera, INDIGO festival, Ljubljana
14. 10. 2021: as Sujevera, ZEZ festival, KSET, Zagreb
01. 10. 2021: w/ James Ginzburg, SONICA, Klub CD, Ljubljana
30. 09. 2021: performer at Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec: Brati (kot) telesa / Reading (as) Bodies, Cirkulacija2, Ljubljana
23. 09. 2021: Ventil Records x SONICA, Das Werk, Vienna
07. 09. 2021: Sound Explicit, Ljubljana
03. 09. 2021: Improbiro x Multiversal Summer Retreat in Nova Gorica, Slovenia
13. 08. 2021: Multiversal Summer Retreat in Besançon, France
11. 08. 2021: Kamfest, Kamnik
17. 06. 2021: as II/III, LIFE Libertas festival, Skladišče/Magazzino, Koper
17. 06. 2021: as II/III, Zvočni lišp, Železniški muzej, Ljubljana
16. 06. 2021: 26. Slovenski dnevi knjige, Vrt Lily Novy, Ljubljana
06. 06. 2021: MENT x Senzorama, Mestni muzej, Ljubljana
29. 05. 2021: IGNOR online festival, 5th event, stream from Klub Gromka, Ljubljana
24. 04. 2021: livestream from ŠKUC, Ljubljana
08. 04. 2021: as II/III, Science Conference :: Cosmic Anarchism, stream from Channel 0, Ljubljana
28. 03. 2021: IGNOR online festival, 3rd event, stream from Klub Gromka, Ljubljana
24. 01. 2021: IGNOR online festival, 1rd event, stream from Klub Gromka, Ljubljana
03. 12. 2021: as II/III, Intermedia grill 004, livestream from Radio Terminal, Ljubljana
30. 10. 2020: with Kikimore, closing of Dvocikel residency, livestream from Layerjeva hiša, Kranj
14. 10. 2020: FriForma: Zlatko Baracskai / Urška Preis / Boris Janje / Jaka Berger, livestream from osmo/za, Ljubljana
31. 08. 2020: with poet Aljaž Koprivnikar, ŠKUC, Ljubljana
27. 08. 2020: Gromka, Trg brez zgodovinskega spomina, Ljubljana
14. 08. 2020: as Zhlehtet, Sajeta, Tolmin
27. 07. 2020: as II/III, Intimno, Gala Hala, Ljubljana
08. 07. 2020: as Zhlehtet, Gala Hala, Ljubljana
CORONA CANCELLINGS -.-
07. 02. 2020: as II/III, Festival MENT, Ljubljana
05. 02. 2020: Defonija, Klub Gromka, Ljubljana
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Excerpt from a live performance @ Rundgang HGB Leipzig, 9. 2. 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPcHzEfWOhc&feature=youtu.be
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Photo credits: Katja Goljat.

rouge-ah

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