“Kotti Island Disc” is a collaborative concept album which provides a foundation for the overall project “Kotti Island”, a multimedia exhibition at Kottbusser Tor in Berlin in January 2023. In collaboration with ten artists, various conceptual tracks were produced that are inspired by Kottbusser Tor. The multifaceted environment of “Kotti”, as it is locally known, offers an ideal surface upon which to play with and emphasize auditory details that can stimulate the way we imagine what this place means.
This exploration of Kottbusser Tor began with a series of field recordings made by the musician Cecilia Tosh, who is also the artistic director of “Kotti Island”. These field recordings, which create space in between extremes, form the basis of the album. They are collected snapshots, some of which have been sonically de-contextualised, while others directly reproduce what was recorded—sometimes interpreting, sometimes documenting. The result is a sample pack composed of ambient recordings (which have been barely edited), edited recordings (which have been re-worked), shorter loops (percussive to melodic elements and basses) and vocalists (newspaper articles, online reports, Wikipedia entries and the artist’s own texts).
The composition of each track was preceded by a meeting with Cecilia Tosh at Kottbusser Tor, where the space was analysed in both auditory and visual terms and the atmosphere was absorbed. Afterwards, each participating artist received an individual sample pack with the field recordings as well as video clips depicting everyday situations at Kottbusser Tor made by Juma Hamdo and Jaś Miszewski. While the sample pack was meant as an inspiration, each artist was also required to use at least one element from it when composing.
“Kotti Island Disc” includes ten musical interpretations that show Kotti as a diverse and lively place. The project is intended as an artistic snapshot of a place in a constant state of flux. It is, furthermore, an invitation to participate in an auditory journey through Kottbusser Tor accompanied by ten very different artists.
PARTICIPANTS
Zettka, Ray Kajioka, Cecilia Tosh, Philipp Gorbachev, Jon Hester, Sofie Superflyin Jackson, .VRIL, Kat Davids, Rocko Garoni, Solid Traveller
SAMPLE PACK
Barış Aydınlı, Cecilia Tosh, Nicola Sangs