»ödipus, herrscher« is the debut release of berlin-based, japanese sound artist mieko suzuki on raster. it is the result of a composition commissioned by schauspielhaus bochum.
the classic, timeless material of oedipus premiered as a dark dystopia in bochum in 2021. before the first words of the play are spoken, the auditorium is filled with an immersive drone that anticipates what will later become the bleak, underlying tone of the staged material: pestilence, decay, fear and resignation. the anticipation of the plot through this drone also introduces the key role of the sound, the importance of the music for this production. mieko suzuki produces sounds by gently stroking, scratching and hitting the various elements of her self-built instruments, made from archaic materials such as wood, stone, metal, fur and clay. amplified by contact microphones, these sounds are electronically manipulated, alienated and distorted. her central concern is direct interaction; the correspondence between acting and music through improvisation. with tracks such as »disaster«, »taboo«, »pest« and »vertigo«, mieko suzuki translates scenarios and moments key to the story through a material resonance, transferring the compositional narrative of oedipus into a dark and textured sonic terrain. sonically and affectively, without illustrating it as a compositional narrative. »vertigo«, for example, features a constantly playing shepard tone, expressing the inevitability of the abyss.
in addition to this production, mieko suzuki is involved as a sound artist and musician in other theaterplays such as »hamlet« at schauspielhaus bochum and »demons« at the vienna burgtheater. she has performed at mutek.jp (tokyo), ctm festival (berlin), human club (barcelona) and e1 (london), among others, and works as a dj, a member of improvisation trio contagious and co-organizer of the berlin multidisciplinary event series kookoo at ohm.
raster would like to thank the schauspielhaus bochum for their support in realizing this release.
