to be honest, I had this funny picture of me in the strange dutch stairway and the phrase ‘further down the spiral’ came to my mind. things are depressing for me somehow. I wrote about being difficult situations of taking care and doing everything for solving issues but I feel that this is not coming to en end. the issues just come up like bubbles in a whirlpool, apart from understanding issues or being able to rate its relevance I have to settle it. one part of my brain is always somewhere else which is driving me insane. I try to be positive setting sail for positive events, I try to come up with stuff that makes the world a better, more entertaining or friendly place, but I realize a lot of focus on negative things around me. and it is true: the world has changed, we are facing crisis, war and stupidity.

I am desperate like everybody else. and then you find a picture of your younger self and suddenly you get aware of the problems you had at that time and realize how naïve and misled you might have been and how you wasted your time with problems which appeared to be ridiculous in retrospective. without denying all the problems, personal and global ones, I feel the gravity of the abyss – like everyone else – but from the bottom of black hole there is just hope left – or a vision of what you want it to be instead. try to imagine a future you would like to have and be aware if you make it happen (and be moderately disappointed if things turn out completely differently).


this is a quite funny and non-dramatic example of disappointment: as I did a seminar for students last friday in krefeld I thought I could step over to venlo to get some new sneakers. it was like a comedy scene. I discovered some exclusive adidas superstars a year ago and I thought it could be cool to return and check if there are more and new exclusive sneakers to get. when I approached through the pouring rain I realized the empty shopping windows. I could hear myself saying: ‘that´s a joke!’. I did not have fish, did not buy a vinyl but I enjoyed driving home listening to my music. however, sometimes an imagined future collides with reality. the joke is on you, but nevertheless worth laughing about.


back in spring 2023 I discovered ’frühling in frohnhausen’ by chris clavinova feat. mogaik. I knew I know this guy by sight and after rediscovering the song in 2024 I finaly contacted christian (the guy behind the song) via facebook. he invited me to a gig by his band cuba comet imperial at café mudgerecht – the venue where I want to come up with my third glitch hop hdj set. christian turned out as a decent performer and fromtman. however, I was surprosed when he came up with this song as encore. christian singing ‘frühling in frohnhausen’ in spring in frohnhausen is pure meta magic. how possible is in a universe to happen? I hope that the magic returns for my set.



christipher terhart premiered his visually stunning short ‘kaivalya’ to an open-minded and interested audience last thursday. I just remained in the audience among friends and collaborators matthias danberg and robin moedder. thank you for coming, this has been a long term project and I am happy that we have a premiere finally, that it is out in the world because it deserves to. so the soundtrack is also a project that is done now and I can focus on new output. I hope you like it as beat-less version of post-hiphop and that it works as an album for you. and here we go again, it has been months drafting, composing and producing it, and then there is the release and it is done. I am not disappointed but I somehow would like to have the world changed a little bit more. however, the movie will be available for streaming may 1, the soundtrack is out now!

www.christerhart.net


here is another snapshot from texel: this is what song writing looks these days. you have the drum and synth parts already programmed and finish the lyrics afterward. so now and then I sit down and write song lyrics to guitar riffs or synth programming. when it is done I can go to the studio to record guitars, bass and vocals. this is where the song turns into something different. I´ll put it on the album anyway, because you can tell after years only if it was a good or bad idea. however, now you know how song writing looks like.




‘triangle readings’ in the making, the big printer delivering ‘the grey tree after mondrian’. I wanted to come up with tis one earlier, but my phone once again faked to have lost the photo just to bring it back one week later. on display at galerie an der ruhr from may 5 onwards.


some weeks a go I returned to the kluse, a tiny chapel in the woods nearby. it may not be the spiritual meaning of this place, I am more impressed by the facet that it is there for 700 years (and the fact that the restaurant already surrounds it like a claw). my mother escorted me but she remained quite unimpressed (not even by the beautiful window), we lighted up some candles anyway.


I met paul, a hendrix and srv enthusiast, at various jams. we have a lot of fun playing together or even watch the other one play. I remember looking up quite irritated when paul screamed out in joy every time I hit a pinch note. we decided to have a drink together without guitars but making plans on how e could do a tiny guitar festival… I do not know how far we light come but it was fun. paul comes up with a pretty worn partscaster which he does not treat like a lady. (he breaks his heavy gauges nearly every time and even changes strings on the sidewalk, what impresses me a lot). I asked him how he got this worn look, and if it was authentic. he claims that the finish has fallen of just by hitting the strings (or body) with a thick dunlop pick. I have to believe it even if I cannot believe it.
paul gave me one of his picks as gimmick, I wanted to offer my ‘pick’ (recently a 10 cent coin) in return, which is far cheaper and heavier than any pick you can buy. paul laughed and refused as cannot imagine to play the strings with it without breaking them immediately. well, for more anecdotes from the road to come…



as you know I am fascinated by these strange and tiny staircases you´ll find in numerous dutch buildings, our texel block of rentable flats has this one, below you can see the ones I discovered and conquered back in 2018 in zoutelande. it is funny and risky, I like it.




sven piayda | the impossibility to take pictures of the present
FRAGMENTS OF INTERESTS
poma / mestský park košice, košice, slovakia
2024-05-16 – 2024-06-06

facebook event
instagram.com/poma_2023

poma video panel
mestský park košice
košice, slovakia



sven piayda | triangle readings
BEGEGNUNGEN
galerie an der ruhr, mülheim an der ruhr
2024-05-05 – 2024-05-26, opening 2024-05-05, 4 pm
asb wünschewagen charity auction 2024-05-25, 3 pm (to be updated)

galerie-an-der-ruhr.de

galerie an der ruhr
ruhrstraße 3,
45468 mülheim an der ruhr




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

the last weeks have been stressful, you only realize that it enough if you get to know physically, migraine strikes again, after a pause of a decade. even stuff that you are not familiar with falls down on you. my hi-fi system is completely broken, so it is not possible to listen to music which would help to relax like usually. as we had some time off around easter we needed to get out, but you cannot go to the same spot again and again but you are not open for something completely new as you are fed up with everything anyway. as michi believes that it feels more like holiday when you are on an island and the recreation starts when you are on the ferry (I do not get it), we returned to texel, like in 2017 – the year, I was ‘the man who fell to earth (and broke a leg)`.

as it is usually not a good idea to come up with laptops on holidays as you do not want to hang out on facebook as usually instead of gazing the horizon over the sea, we decided to come up with some stuff I use to expand my creativity. as I am working on songs for a third architects of utter destruction album, I have already written riffs and arrangements, I even finished the programming and have a guy working on a saxophone solo, all I need to do is to write lyrics. I had an afternoon sitting down writing for three songs… still some songs to go.

also, I started a tune called ‘texels track’ and another one called ‘anticipation for returnal’. both appear to as a mixture of boards of canada and oneothrix point never – well, it could be worse. in advance, as we were looking for apartments to book, I did the track ‘ugly furniture and maritime view’ as inspired by the rooms we ended up in. all in all, texel did not really work for us. it is quite remarkable that we could not remember of much of our first common visit (there must have been not much remarkable apart from visiting exomare, a station recovering young seals). the island has nice spots, beautiful land- and seascapes as well as great opportunities four hungry tourists like us. summing it up, texel appears quite exclusively, a little bit more expensive but not better in quality, however, zeeland pushes to the stronger dutch experience. there must be some more fried magic on this continental finger…


the lovely town of de koog stole our hearts, we remember the red light decoration of the hairdresser, we have now discovered the beauty of the little church – and the fish restaurant opposite to it.


the beautiful beach of texel, even more beautiful in the dusk. however, I miss zouteland when I walk a long, what´s wrong with me here?


and a beautiful view over the island and the town of de koog, here staged into the red light of the sinking sun.


in germany we joke about the dutch for starting a can museum because of having two cans. the netherlands are full of tiny museums exhibiting whatever stuff as is offers great tax relief to do so. so it was no surprise to find a sheep museum in an old shed. what looks like a damien hirst sculpture in first glance turns out to be educative, well, not to much actually. the farm mainly deals with production and selling of goat, sheep and cow cheese, and we imported a lot.


this is an actual picture of me in the texel apartment, late at night with the headphones on, pushing samples from one side to the other. it is a kind of magic when you find yourself alone in a random place doing what you are doing. this magic door into creativity and production or even flow can open every where, it distracts you from time and space. nevertheless it is even more special to do it there. so an upcoming record of tides album was partly made here and it somehow closes a circle: the project name even illustrates my fascination for and inspiration from the sea, you can tell by rediscovering my debut under this stage name entitled ‘timber’ which will turn 20 in august.


after a quite boring visit of (I guess it was) den burg, we drove to a more northern part of the west coast. it was extremely windy, extremely cold and extremely bright. I put on everything I had to protect myself like two pair of glasses, two shirts, a pullover, a hoodie and a jacket as well as two beanies. well, I truly felt like an astronaut on mars. the picture above is just a merged and colour edited mash-up. a place so uncomfortable but beautiful fells so strange and yourself like an alien. If there is water on other planets, are there mussels as well?


a last view from our lovely but also strangely drafted apartment, we had a perfect view on the town, the dunes and the sea and experienced all the wheatear changes here. a perfect view!


out way back was quite long, getting the ferry, passing by the submarine and not going through the ‘the 36th roundabout of shaolin’ as we expected from last time. we checked the shows in museums along our way home and found a prefect match in kunsthal kade in amersfoort combining their classic collection with the hyper-realistic grey sculptures of hans op de beeck.


his work s fascinating and somehow remind us of david claerbout. are these sculptures just big 3d-prints of 3d-scans? how did he do this even I know how stupid this question is in understanding and experiencing art. his protagonists, postures and arrangements are well chosen, appearing calm with a loud echo. the most impressing piece of this show is of course the roundabout enjoyed by well-dressed skeletons and their wild animals. is all human existence just a macabre joke?


the even more impressive and even more claerboutesque installation can be found in a former church nearby. a flat water pool with stones and reeds in front of the sun at dusk. an impressive installation without any doubt. what actually creates the magic (and might bring up some emotional tears) is the sun´s reflection of a slightly wavy water surface.


no sound, not much colour, just some people looking into this artificial landscape in silence, calming down and sharing an experience. I can say that I am more and more attracted by places like these or even churches in general. it has been tricky to find a ‘space for entire retreat’, apart from the question of religion, churches are great places for art, performance, remembering, thinking, praying and stepping out of the regular world for a minute. this work is the perfect piece to point into the same direction.


a former cigarette vending machine turned into a tiny and surprising art gallery is not new to us, it can sometimes be quite disappointing. but the dutch have such an elegant way to do it, even if you present global superstars you come up with the local heroes in the former cigarette vending machine as placed in a corner of the café. michi invested four euros to receive a beautiful piece by bianca pauline. it must end up on our wall.


before I went to the island I returned to the cathedral of neviges. I have developed a stage fascination for this building, the brutalist church looks more like a mountain on the outside, more like a cave on the inside. I wanted to calm down a little an sit in silence, surprisingly we discovered a an indian catholic ceremony, so it was not the right opportunity to find inner peace. neviges nevertheless has a fascination for me. the town is sat in a little valley, it reminds a little bit of luxembourg and also feels like it was frozen in the sixties. a strange discovery, again and again.


and another church: yesterday I finally returned to xanten spending a day off with my mother. visiting the city over the last decades for professional and later for private reasons I have developed a strong fascination for the cathedral, especially when there are flags on the towers. the inside is beautifully arranged, it features outstanding sculptural work and is a great place to find a moment of quietness and peace. we even visited the crypt which is a mixture of ‘grave place’, information center and spiritual place itself.



as I have mentioned before I stared (and finished) a new record of tides album in the winter of 2024. michael schreiber (a.k.a. primal scapes) did the mastering once again. as I wanted to have a feature by andreas hilburg on my record I asked him to do a melodeon solo improvisation for a track. the result is stunning, the his melodic approach leaves the grid and makes it more vivid, I edited and folded it a little bit and it even inspired me to add some drums and melodic ambience lines. however, the there of us were back in studio together (even if these were three studios at three times) and we recorded once again after starting our common sound for ‘despedida’, an instrumental from primal scapes´’macrocosm’ album, written and produced by michael featuring melodeon by andreas and guitar by me. you can/should listen to the track over here. the record of tides album featuring the here of us is supposed to come up in summer.


o.s.cilliator a.k.a. oliver schupp is well-known for his all-live jammed electronic performances on youtube and the electric café, especially the outstanding performance in january 2023. next to that, oliver is also a rock musician, a decent supporter and a great guy to hang out with, so it was just an inevitable consequence to request a collaboration. it would just be great to have this guy in my universe. oliver supplied much material to chose from, so I did and got a great idea. the track holds his industrial scent but opens to aestival urban post hip hop. there is another record to come, and to be excited for…

oliverschupp.de


matthias and me made it to meet up at our classic isenberg ritual after my cancellation due stress and health issues last time. I gave up solving problems and move on, I just keep caring for whatever all the time. but it is amazing, set up as burger and beer experience focussing on the mysteries of art and women we actually do a lot of self-reflection and appear to come up with lines that create an echo – long enough to influence decisions. we get older and change as our topics change. however, matthias puts on a sceptical dr freud look and I guess that I obviously deserve it.


on 18 april, christopher terhart's visually stunning short film ‘kaivalya’ celebrates its premiere at südbahnhof krefeld. I highly recommend this film - and not just because I was allowed to contribute the music to this immersive work. terhart wanted beatless post-hiphop, the result are beatless and/or stretched versions of previously released tracks. the album was once again mastered by michael schreiber, who always gives the sound transparency and punch. the film and soundtrack will be available for streaming and download on 19 april. the premiere will be accompanied by two other short films, the directors and I plan to be present. seeya!

'kaivalya' available for streaming on youtube

all info on christopher terhart and the project over at christerhart.net

zany-music.com
recordoftides.com


don´t forgot: we all were quite surprised to learn about the reopening of teh kunstmuseum mülheim to be scheduled for may 25. well, I am so curious and I like to see all the cultural people once again. hope to see you there!

kunstmuseum-muelheim.de




sven piayda | the impossibility to take pictures of the present
FRAGMENTS OF INTERESTS
poma / mestský park košice, košice, slovakia
2024-05-16 – 2024-06-06

facebook event
instagram.com/poma_2023

poma video panel
mestský park košice
košice, slovakia



sven piayda | triangle readings
BEGEGNUNGEN
galerie an der ruhr, mülheim an der ruhr
2024-05-05 – 2024-05-26, opening 2024-05-05, 3 pm (to be updated)
asb wünschewagen charity auction 2024-05-25, 3 pm (to be updated)

galerie-an-der-ruhr.de

galerie an der ruhr
ruhrstraße 3,
45468 mülheim an der ruhr




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

last sunday the ludwiggalerie schloss oberhausen invited for a cover design panel discussion with fabian elsäßer and me in conversation as hosted by dr. sarah hülsewig escorting ‘hipgnosis.breathe - album cover art und photo design by aubrey powell & storm thorgerson, celebrating 50 years the dark side of the moon’. I can say that it was great to be requested, to be invited as an expert worth to be listened to. fabian and me have been pretty nervous but we did a proper job, sarah and everyone at the museum have been very professional, caring and supportive. I can say that it is great fun be involved into cultural context and taking a larger stage, but it is also pretty stressful, so it is cool to withdraw from that context again.

the event just takes an hour but we have scheduled and prepared it for months. four months ago when I was requested to join for an event I was into a very horrible episode in my life. when you are down it is hope that helps go thought it. in these days I realized more than ever that I need more than hope for a change coming for whatever reason, I needed to imagine a future that was supposed to be. over the last months I realized that I can create a good future, if I can imagine or visualize it clearly I can make it happen. the panel talk was just one little thing we drafted next to numerous other, even more serious things. it somehow feels like experiencing the future I have imagined before. things appear to be as they are supposed to be.

the upcoming spring makes me euphoric, even if I drown in never ending duties I have to take care of. so it it like a drama, it is comedy and tragedy, usually changing, but recently it changes so quickly that it feels like oscillation. what is happening, is this good, is it bad, is it funny, is it sad? I´m just a kite in a twister…



and here are some more pictures from the talk and some funny promo pictures taken in the hipgnosos exhibition. sarah, fabian and me had a good time together, and we were all a little giddy as we finished the talk successfully. photos have been deliverd by lena elster and michaela best.

instagram.com/LUDWIGGALERIE


last saturday we met up with the boys in frohnhausen, after partying in luxembourg, spending nye in leeuwarden and making a comedy short, we just met up for dinner. I have been at the hummelbude before for coffee and cake, it must have been in the afternoon when I found myself realizing that there wont be fish or beef. we expected great quality but all of us were surprised that everything was over the top and no mart or dairy products have been missing. chapeau!
the friendly waitress adviced us to check out the frohnhauser sudwerkstatt. It turned out that this is the pub opening I have been waiting for years before giving up. sudwerk head peter van der meer served some of his beer for free at clowns & pferde about three of four years ago and told about his plans. I replied that this is it (frohnhausen is the place to be anyway) and I was truly waiting for it and checked the intended venue frequently. I must have given up waiting, so I was even more surprised that van der meer has actually opened his brewery & pub featuring his own beer. how did I not get it? however, this is us in the sudwerk, this is us in the cool place of frohnhausen. to be enjoyed, to be supported!

hummelbude.com
frohnhauser-sudwerkstatt.de


the lehmbruck museum has postponed and then cancelled the artist talk with alicja kwade for a friday in february friday, so we did a short classic meet up. straight from the goldbar, here we go!


fortunately I returned to the makroscope for the freispiel jam session as opened by otho. I am thrilled by great musicians and it always teases me to form a band. on the other hand I can see these extremely talented people not getting a bigger audience than me. it is I finding I have to repeat as often as I can: we only do it for ourselves an this is more than enough. band leader blake wilder is a fantastic guitar player, singer and even has an idea for the visual appearance of the band. this group is recommended to be experienced live!


the makroscope hosted the electric café once again. I was looking forward to it and it was pure fun. it is like meeting old classmates and friends on the one hand and it is about discovering great electronic performances on the other. everything is possible, nothing is too strange impressed. the scene has emerged a fantastic series of events that is true culture, from the people for the people. it is not about money or prestige, it is actually about what it is supposed to be. it was great to meat michael and andreas (among others) and to make plans to play live in this context again.


as I wanted to spend a day with old colleagues (who turned out to be supporting friends) I set a date at the museum folkwang. we watched the ‘we are future’ show dealing with out-dated visions for the future. as we walked through the show, I realized that we do not have any great visions for the future recently, we are more into dystopia scenarios. as I have been facing a lot of change within the last months, I realized that many things turned out just the way I imagined them. sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I would not have been creative and decisive enough to bring up a future? maybe we can take this finding and scale it up, maybe we can imagine a future to make it happen. of course we will have to work for it, too. however, dietmar and me ended up at isebergplatz, where I end up with every good friend. so this is his view on the magic place.


I swear that I am a decent driver, however I take a picture once in a while. I have a collection of ‘federal paparazzi attacks’ and I usually joke that I have enough for a flipbook. I swear I did not see the tempo limit sign, it must have been different to the one in the navigation system. sometimes you are rolling faster tan you think. however, I look pretty good and relaxed, I thought I should share it with you.




here is another beautiful picture of the fog I wanted to share, it looks like an alien invasion but it is just the water tower nearby…


I almost forgot: we all were quite surprised to learn about the reopening of teh kunstmuseum mülheim to be scheduled for may 25. well, I am so curious and i like to see all the cultural people once again. hope to see you there!

kunstmuseum-muelheim.de



sven piayda | triangle readings
BEGEGNUNGEN
galerie an der ruhr, mülheim an der ruhr
2024-05-05 – 2024-05-26, opening 2024-05-05, 3 pm (to be updated)
asb wünschewagen charity auction 2024-05-25, 3 pm (to be updated)

galerie-an-der-ruhr.de

galerie an der ruhr
ruhrstraße 3,
45468 mülheim an der ruhr




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

it is an annual routine, my friends and colleagues already know about it. while some of us are into carnival (my refusal has been replaced by respect over the years) it appears as an unwritten law that we use the time to escape to the netherlands. just a short trip with all it´s standards, and yes, it feels like fan service to hunt down for the classic moments that feel like relaxing. pretty weird but working. it is a dilemma, why would you do the same thing again and again while dreaming of something new…well, you now it works. nevertheless there are first times within the routines, while creating a pattern you will realize the non-fitting element immediately.
above you see me at ‘the grey tree’. when we decided to do a walk from oostkapelle down to domburg we entered the woods with the tree in it and it is impossible for us to not visit it (... if we find it). we have already visited it in autumn 2023 with my mother but I did not find time to blog about afterwards. the tree has a funny meaning for us, we discovered it back in 2011 and we fell in love in it. as it was gated we also learned about it´s historical meaning and the connection to mondrian. this tree, mondrian´s approach and my adaptation of it will hopefully be part of my contribution to the klaus wiesel curated galerie an der ruhr group show ‘begegnungen’ scheduled for opening on may 5. it is going to be very conceptual, I will have to produce a reader and some works of the portfolio which have not been on display so far. cross your fingers!


the sculpture at the car park behind the dunes. this place is somehow magic as it feels like the end of the world but also cozy. we already had a stay in 2016 in oostkapelle, this is the update.


when we go to the sea, we need to see it and go for a walk… this time the sky was clouded covering everything into surreal light. looking back to domburg the beach appeared in strange colours, it somehow looks like a record cover by hipgnosis, meaningful, maybe melancholy, I can hear david gilmour´s guitar in my head… is this an omen?


these are our domburg standards, michi likes to brunch at the bier en melksalon (and so do I as I appreciate vegan and bio food more and more) while I love to sit outside in the cafe verdi, have a coffee and watch the people sauntering. when you leave, everyone watches you as dull as you did before. it is simple give and take.


and this is me dressed for the stormy (well, not this time) beach, I often feel like an astronaut discovering a far away planet with fauna on it. long trousers and flip-flops are probably the most stylish way to express a day-off feeling.


just another routine: we had a ‘toilet situation’ again. this is probably number four in in endless line of architectural solutions of embedding a cloakroom. or as like to call it: ‘it is no real holiday unless someone watches me while pooping.’ needless to say that this is definitely not my (sexual) preference, but it happens to us again and again. it looks like the toilet and shower are in a wardrobe, well the tiny kitchen is set into the right side. it was useful, cozy and nice, but strange as always.



this is our collection of ‘toilet situations’ through the years and countries… more to come.


our favourite restaurant at the zoutelande promenade de fiets was closed – and michi was shocked… I could not tell if this was just renovation or breaking down, the website tells it is ‘gesloten wegens verbouwing’ which calms us down a bot and makes a return possible. as you see, the beer taps are glowing already, we need to schedule our next return.


over the years (and especially after the corona lockdowns) we realized a wave of tourists coming in, everything was crowded and the towns across the beach tray to copy domburg as good as possibly with offering multiple options for buying cloths and bikes or consuming bear, coffee and fried fish. in the end, everything looks the same. to our surprise, it was not that crowded this time, maybe we came up so early this year while the weather was already sunny and warm. however, we wanted to close our trip with a coffee in the sun. unfortunatly we were not served, so we got our perfect place in the sun for free.


in 2010 we spend our summer holiday in a tiny house in biggekerke, it was cosy but actually not really comfortable, you had to climb a ladder to get into the attic where the beds were. it was also scary at night, when the storms appeared to tear the roof apart. also it had a tiny shower which you had to pass through when entering the toilet. it was tiny and strange, we nicknamed it the ‘doghouse’. I remember lying in bed in the attic taking pictures of the housed on the other side of the road. this is how the photographs which ended up in ‘insomnia’ had been produced. over the years – whenever we visited zeeland – we drove to the ‘doghouse’ and took a picture, especially in the last years. we were quite surprised and shocked to see that the ‘doghouse’ had been demolished. even the tree next to it had vanished giving space for the new foundation. it is strange to see that it is gone, like something of you past is supposed to be erased. with this story around it, ‘insomnia’ gets a new meaning and may become part of the ‘begegnungen’ show. we will see, it is a strong constellation anyway.



and here are some collected shots of the ‘doghouse’ as we were passing by on our way home. maybe we should document the new house coming up…?




update 2024-02-15: as we checked the portfolio today to find works with stones in it, Irealized how many tableaus are based upon photography I have taken from the inside of the 'doghouse'. 'insomnia' (2010) might be the most prominent one, but I have picked up the material again and again and created 'k-balls' in 2015. there are no pictures from the interior of the 'doghouse' but you can see the reflection of teh attic (with the beds in it) in 'wanderlust' (2014). also you can see the pre-demolition chaos inside as documented durning our crontrolling visits back in 2019.




and here is another shot of me at the grey tree back in october 2023. I will come up with the whole collection soon. and there will be updated to this classic motif.


update 2024-02-15: as I am heading to attend the museum folkwang with (ex-)colleagues we did a short visit of the museum yesterday. when you need to get out but the weather does not allow to go for a walk, these modern halls are a great alternative. this building somehow appears like a cathedral to me, it makes me clam down and feel safe. It is a contradictive place anyway. the basement is traditionally the space for recently graduated photography students, the presented works and positions are often pretty good and have a range. I was surprised to seen an multiple screen installation by anna traskaliková, we have met coincidently on numerous openings within the past years, and it is great to find a familiar name among the exhibited photographers. her work combines ai-generated images to all new compositions. well, I´ll return with my colleagues!


update 2024-02-15: as the alicja kwade artist talk was postponed to next week, matthias danberg and me spontaneously decided to attend the opening of the tim berresheim show at nrw forum düsseldorf. going to düsseldorf is strange, everything is big, chic and stressful. all the time you have to wonder if you like or hate it. however, you cannot really enjoy a show during the opening it is more a party where you meet numerous people. I have met an ex-student of mine, she graduated 15 years ago. does this make me feel old? yes, but only in an extreme way. it was great to meet beatrice richter again, we have a long artist friendship for years but also haven’t met for years. it was great to hang out and attend the sneaker exhibition together. and we had to do a sneaker selfie, well here it is…




update 2024-02-18: I have been invited to a private jam last night which was a nice but also weird experience. as there is no audience, you just play without working on a song or progression. as I like to say that people play the way they are, I can say that this was true for myself. as I did not feel as comfortable as is wanted to, I hit surprisingly many false notes and realized a certain lack of tightness. I am not blaming anyone, but I have also realized that I can only play properly and reliable if others do so. I am not sure if this concept of making music works for me. I have to put out the second architects of utter destruction album and then record the next one! hope to see you at the jams!


update 2024-02-18: today I have quickly visited the galerie an der ruhr to talk with curator klaus wiesel about my contribution for the ‘begenungen’ group show. I will be in the room in which I have already exhibited 'future perfect (lvb#10)' in 2020. the upcoming assembly is drafted as ‘triangle readings’ and may feature two videos, but definitely one next to prints in different production techniques. the galerie an der ruhr is presenting art on different levels, from different decades and sources. I am impressed by the power and constant announcements of shows and events, which is sometimes irritating. I am not into everything that is happing in the rooms but as the museum mülheim is still closed, this appears to me as the only active (off-)space presenting art in this city. I do not expect to sell art but I hope for a great show, I can develop a kind of show within a show with stuff that I am in and we will hopefully have a great opening on may 5. above all, I like klaus wiesel a lot as he is a very interested and gifted artist and curator. I was even more impressed as I discovered his installation which criticises capitalism. having worked for big companies in the past, wiesel knows what he is talking about, mixing up critic headlines with inflationary bank notes. the coin-filled sacks may remind you, that profits are an abstract good which becomes meaningless when rising profits are based upon exploitation. unfortunately the installation is supposed to vanish soon but it is hitting the point of our days. all the discontent, anger and violence must have an origin in the feeling of having less than others. maybe money cannot solve this problem, maybe we should head for visions instead of tax reliefs (and other populism)…




update 2024-02-18: above you see me performing at electric café in eisenheim, oberhausen back in 2018, the bootleg is still available from here. the makroskope will present the electric café ruhr next saturday and I am looking forward to meet my electric mates. also I am working on finishing production which might work in a live context, well, I really like the idea of coming up live again with record of tides. also I am working on new glitch hop hdj sets again. something might be coming up! however, i´d like to see you all next saturday!

HIPGNOSIS | BREATHE
album cover art und photo design by aubrey powell & storm thorgerson
celebrating 50 years THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

sunday, 17 march 2024, 4 pm
crossing boundaries: the connection between music and cover designpanel discussion with fabian elsäßer (cultural journalist deutschlandfunk/swr) and sven piayda (artist/musician), hosted by dr. sarah hülsewig (ludwiggalerie)

LUDWIGGALERIE schloss oberhausen
konrad-adenauer-allee 46
46049 oberhausen




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

this year begins somehow different, I fell that certain things are different. my january was tough, going back to work and taking care of issues, my ones and the ones of others. I went through extreme ups and downs and I experience post-traumatic stress (next to the current stress), sometimes I cannot trust myself. however, there is hope in it. over the last months I have also experienced that I can create a future that I can clearly imagine.
for the first time in my life I feel old sometimes, I experience myself as grown-up, sometimes I feel like the only grown-up in the room. and even more, I sometimes feel like a wizard, people confront me with the weirdest things to solve, actually impossible for me - but nevertheless - I do it. there is hope in it, for all of us.
above you see me doing a spontaneous kirchberg posture picture in kettwig. this place has become a magic one for me as I had to register a change in address for my mother here. it was like a victory to see the name of the city of essen on her identity card. the picture was taken on the (probably) first non-rainy day this year. I need to go back to luxembourg, but I do not know when and why, maybe we need some beach first.


and here is the town hall in kettwig. I do not want to romanticize everything, but it is somehow my statue of liberty, I feel like a migrant to a better world, which is demanding more beauty, tradition and concept of the self. anyway, a better place to be. yesterday I even visited this place with my mother on a very rainy day. it felt like rainy day off in a beautiful place, we love it.


as spring comes in slowly, the cats visit us again. michi is in live with the black and white one, this one is quite self-confident. she likes to check out our rooms and we have to keep her out, bus as you see she likes to chill at our place quite unimpressed of our opinions. cats can teach you a lot.


being part of the ‘einsicht’ group show at forum kunst und architektur in essen was great. the show ends today and feel happy with it. making shows has become fun. above you can compare my appearances at the openings from last and this year. it is crazy how quickly a year passes by in retrospective. who wore better?


update 2024-02-06: and here is another picture of me at the closing the ‘einsicht’ group show at forum kunst und architektur in essen. being part o fit feels good and relaxed. we quickly uninstalled the piece and had some ramen. the same night curator klaus wiesel called me to confess my participation at the ‘begegnungen’ group show at galerie an der ruhr. I want to bring up this video piece once again, but as I will have my own room, I need to come up with some more works, old and new ones. I even think about sound but I am not sure… watch out, show coming up in may 2024.


I am booked to be part of the cover design panel discussion at ludwiggalere schloss oberhausen with fabian elsäßer (cultural journalist for deutschlandfunk/swr) as hosted by dr. sarah hülsewig, curator of the ludwiggalerie, as part of the ‘hipgnosis | breathe’ art show exploring album cover art und photo design by aubrey powell and storm thorgerson. the museum invited me to the show opening and as I am part of it somehow I thought I should go there. it was a fantastic opening actually, meeting olad friends. I was not really a fan of hipgonisis, but I was afterwards actually. the team came up with brilliant ideas concerning cover design which I knew from the designers republic, but these ideas obviously appear a lot older… aubrey powell attended the opening and came up with brilliant anecdotes on paul mccartney, black sabbath and robert plant. a brilliant show that attracts music nerds (like me) as well as artists and designers (like me) and is a door opener to the hipgnosis universe.


when we attended to the hipgnosis show opening the museum was extreme crowded. as I was invited to join the museum had booked seats for me. these are the few moments when you feel important as you can push through the crowd getting to your extra bit. feels funny and does not happen often. well, see you to our cover design discussion on march 17!


returning to the anyway jam in january was pure magic. a lot of guys that usually play at stadtkrug came up ad we had a good time. even if you meet these guys not regularly there is a lot of brotherhood and goodwill among all of us. it sometimes feels like the ‘fight club’, every night you´ll die and you´ll get resurrected. this makes me thankful and happy. I am looking forward to the next jam!




update 2024-02-06: the makroscope will host the electric café on february 24. I really look forward to this date, I do not want to play but I really enjoy the performance and the people. on the same day, just at afternoon, the trinkhalle in gelsenkirchen will present the vinyl lounge, a perfect thing for vinyl addicts. I hope to see you there. I am recently thinking about to return live, maybe with the electric café context next time. as I am coming up with a new record of tides album and am about to finish another one, there might be cool stuff to play live again. I just keep the options and do it in a context that is most fun for myself. maybe we can share it…


in the middle of january we also joined a demonstration against racism and rediscovered deportation fantasies of certain political parties. it is great to see that a big majority is taking the streets to make a simple statement. it great to see that we are may, but is is not the point. we cannot discuss hate as political opinion, no matter how many people agree or disagree. we have to fight for solutions that work for everyone involved and we have to talk about issues that make people sympathize for extreme parties. there is no simple solution, and there is no need to turn history in a farce.

HIPGNOSIS | BREATHE
album cover art und photo design by aubrey powell & storm thorgerson
celebrating 50 years THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

sunday, 17 march 2024, 4 pm
crossing boundaries: the connection between music and cover designpanel discussion with fabian elsäßer (cultural journalist deutschlandfunk/swr) and sven piayda (artist/musician), hosted by dr. sarah hülsewig (ludwiggalerie)

LUDWIGGALERIE schloss oberhausen
konrad-adenauer-allee 46
46049 oberhausen




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

here we go again, the fascination of the new year has vanished over the years. our new years eve was a lame classic for us featuring dinner, cinema and non-alcoholic sparkling wine. it must have been the first nye in 30 years on which I did not drink any alcohol. I also didn´t do it the days afterwards, I´d like to report that I feel better but I don't. we let the far neighbours do the fireworks and their did take it seriously, obviously. the last year has taken a lot from me and changed me a lot. I still need to get away from certain issues and emotions that remain of echoes of that situation. also I am trying to get back to normal life, whatever that my mean. so I am forcing myself to go out and make sports again. I feel like an empty shell, it is hard to motivate myself and allow a good time.

more or less accidently I started a new record of tides album and have already finished 12 tracks already. it just happens when I hang out with different laptops on the couch, layering samples to a weird post-whatever sound. it just happens. (no, it is not 'playground magrathea', the album is finished for months, it is already the album beyond it...)

there are also projects coming in, exhibitions and options to play live, even anticipated releases, I am starting slowly and need to keep it on the comfortable level. if you are to old (as well as your friends) to party hard, you prefer a calm night and a great new years day in return. it has become a luxembourgish tradition – or lets just say an option – to spend the day in the museum. as the mudam was a little too far away and has nothing great on display we agreed on the lehmbruck museum in duisburg. alicja kwade is always entertaining, surprising and even questioning our reality and beliefs.


the cars of ‘parallelwelt’ are a contemporary classic. yeah, it is a flat joke as well, but she makes you gaze and wonder.




next to her sculptures kwade delivers exquisite video and sound works. a big room features humming speakers pointing to concave plates, while you walk between the plates the reflected sound changes and modulates. maybe perception is always based upon modulated echoes?


the room also featured spinning clocks as well as a broken on and a led clock. the plate on the wall also mentioned a bronze sculpture entitles ‘sun’. I checked the walls and the floor again and again, but there was no work fitting to the title. when I looked up I finally realized the sun. actually a bronze replica of a melon placed under the ceiling. maybe this is what the piece is all about, realizing the own behaviour. why would you look for the sun without looking up?


more or less to do the complete round we checked the hall of the lehmbruck sculptures, which has also made it as motif for a gursky tableau. michi had a strong dislike for the hall which is undecided if it wants to be a cave or pretending to be outside, the dark ceiling as well as lehmbruck´s depressive postures give you a hard time. only one piece developed a certain gravity, drapery in life-size needed us to look closer. I started joking that this is a spook and I was not completely wrong: even here kwade presents a ‘self-portrait as ghost’ hiding in perfect sculptural drapery.


as we had great spotlights in the dark exhibition spaces, we needed to take some pictures. well, it ended up like my version of 'parallelwelt’.


we did not see much art in the last months so we decided to use the days to do something and ended up in the museum unter tage in bochum. the underground space featured a group show on urbanity as well as on landscape. surprisingly we remained quite uninspired. even if there are great works on the wall, you do not get what it is all about. presenting and observing only does not hand over any kind of emotion or finding. In the end, this visit was quite disappointing.


next to the museum unter tage you can find the café which is build into (onto?) the ruins of an old castle. well, this is somehow the perfect image for the start into this year build in stone. My mobile shot of it appears as dark and uncanny as old masters approaches to landscapes. 2024 here we go, be kind, I am leery anyway.


sven piayda | skull and fish
E I N S I C H T
forum kunst und architektur, essen
2024-01-14 – 2024-02-04, opening 2023-01-14, 3 pm

forumkunstarchitektur.de

forum kunst und architektur
kopstadtplatz 12
45127 essen

HIPGNOSIS | BREATHE
album cover art und photo design by aubrey powell & storm thorgerson
celebrating 50 years THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

sunday, 17 march 2024, 4 pm
crossing boundaries: the connection between music and cover designpanel discussion with fabian elsäßer (cultural journalist deutschlandfunk/swr) and sven piayda (artist/musician), hosted by dr. sarah hülsewig (ludwiggalerie)

LUDWIGGALERIE schloss oberhausen
konrad-adenauer-allee 46
46049 oberhausen




sven piayda | aftermath
KURZstummfilmfestival
zeche carl, essen / youtube, worldwide
2020-09-26, 3pm at zeche carl
2020-09-25 on youtube

kurz-stumm-filmfestival.de
'aftermath' on youtube
youtube.com
facebook.de/kurzstummfilmfestival
facebook event



questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here