Finding a safe place in the Berliner Dom

Berlin today, and a climb to the top of the Berliner Dom, an iconic building in that great German city. Today’s artist is Christina Dennaoui, an experimental electronic musician and producer based in Chicago, Illinois who performs under the name Volutes. She sent us this field recording taken between the sixth and seventh floors of the Dom, people climbing and descending. The cards we dealt for her were Be less critical and Find a safe part and use it as an anchor.

Here, Christina explains her approach:

“The two cards I had were “Be Less Critical” and “Find a Safe Part and Use it as An Anchor.” The first card I used as permission to trust my initial impulses with the piece. I created the piece in one take, using the original field recording throughout most of the writing process. Nearly 90% of the piece, including the main drones and glitchy percussive parts, was created using the original recording.”

“For me, a drone is a “safe part” of a piece. I use drones in my music as a foundational element: they’re the glue hold my tracks together. The drone in this piece is both the safe part and the anchor that creates a world out of and around the original recording.”

City version:

Memory version: