"War is shit. But the sound is awesome"

How do war and music go together? Or rather: Why do war and music go so well together? In war propaganda and incitement of war, and most recently in the soundtrack of brutal murder videos, music plays a crucial role. On the other hand, there are many types of music that evoke peace and nonviolence, and serve as a form of musical mourning. The festival "Singing War" at the Berlin Haus der Kulturen der Welt from January 14 to 17 picks up on these two narrative strands and relates them to each other. Building on the HKW programs Telling War (February 2014) and Evil Music (October 2013), the emotional charge of the themes of war and peace through the use of music will be presented and explored through performances, concerts, installations, workshops, and expert discussions. And: it's about how warlike music is nowadays, even though substantial elements of recording, playback, and transmission technology - from radio to magnetic tape to vocoder - were originally developed for military purposes.

Featuring Laibach (pictured above: in North Korea), Milo Rau, Songhoy Blues, Tobago Crusoe and The Kalypso Katz, zeitkratzer with Svetlana Spajić & Friends, Rayess Bek, Doan Tri Minh, Victor Gama, FM Einheit with Andreas Ammer and Alexander Hacke, wittmann/zeitblom, the Chorus of the World Cultures feat. Ari Benjamin Meyers & Hauschka among others. Curated by Holger Schulze and Detlef Diederichsen

"Singing War" takes place as part of 100 Years Present. Concerts, performances, installations, expert discussions, workshops, films, Thu, January 14, 2016 - Sun, January 17, 2016. All information: Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin