Kalas Liebfried (Ed.), Beni Brachtel (Ed.)
In file systems, defragmentation refers to reorganising scattered fragments into contiguous regions, reducing disorder and creating a smoother flow. This 12” vinyl adopts that concept, presenting a unified soundscape built from the 24 commissioned works of Fragments of Sonic Extinction* (FOSE), spanning its first three editions from 2022 to 2024. Edited by FOSE founder Kalas Liebfried and long-time collaborator Beni Brachtel, this release envisions all contributions as interconnected fragments within a defragmented sonic terrain.
These fragments form layers of a sprawling auditory landscape, or perhaps uncover tectonic movements beneath it. Some overlap and harmonise; others stand alone. The interplay between focus and abstraction creates an evolving image – sharp at times, blurred at others. This vinyl explores not only the overlaps but also the negative spaces: the silences, tensions, and potentialities that lie between and beyond.
Rather than summarising the first three editions of FOSE, the vinyl crafts a “third space” – an untethered, non-temporal realm where the ecological and social themes explored by FOSE expand in new directions. Each side of the record offers a variation on this journey, mapping different pathways through the landscape.
The vinyl itself, with its flat, circular form, mirrors the physicality of a plate or terrain. It becomes a carrier for an experience that is as tactile as it is auditory, inviting listeners to traverse a surface imbued with three years of collaboration and experimentation.
This record invites listeners to reflect on the commons—collaborative efforts that bring together diverse voices and perspectives—and their potential to address the ecological and social challenges we face. It offers an expansive, non-linear mode of observation, one that encourages not only listening but imagining new possibilities.
Accompanying the vinyl is a text by Salomé Voegelin, printed on an A2 poster and included in this publication. This detachable piece is designed to be displayed in your environment, extending the landscape beyond the auditory. A QR code on the poster allows you to listen to the author’s voice, adding another layer to this defragmented exploration.
Together, the vinyl and text form an artefact of FOSE’s evolving inquiry: an invitation to engage with the ongoing processes of extinction through the auditory experience of interconnected eco-social realities.
* Fragments of Sonic Extinction (FOSE) is an ongoing project exploring extinction in the Anthropocene through the disappearance of natural sounds due to climate change and biodiversity loss. Founded in 2022 by Kalas Liebfried as an interactive website (www.sonicextinction.net), FOSE shifts the focus to ephemeral extinction and the complex, rapid transformations within the sonic spheres of our world. Employing interpretation, immersion and interaction as central characteristics, the project presents annually commissioned contributions by artists dedicated to the perilous or extinct nature of specific species and attempts to negotiate their sonic perspectives, environments and omni-directional cultural histories.
Above all, the intention is to present explicitly free, artistic sound works and compositions that are rooted in diverse geo-political and conceptual models and production techniques. The goal of this project is to create valuable impulses for the emergence of ecological awareness through the use of immersion in and sensitivity to sonic perspectives, which pay close attention to the catastrophes taking place in biospheres which have been effectively silenced as myriad species and their habitats are rendered extinct. So far FOSE commissioned 24 sound pieces by international artists within three editions, encouraging the presentation and production of sustainable cultural artefacts, conducive to future interactions.
Besides the digital platform, the commissions have been presented in the forms of a festival, concerts, exhibitions, radio shows, lectures and listening sessions.
FOSE sustainably grows as a speculative encyclopaedia and archive, which maps the history, course and sound of extinction. Our purpose with each curated edition is to build an inclusive global network of interdisciplinary artists and researchers, providing an accessible and interactive archive of aesthetical knowledge and resources.
Contributors:
Aloïs Yang (Prague)
Jay Glass Dubs (Athens)
Alexander Liebermann (New York)
Mitchell Akiyama (Toronto)
Heloise Tunstall-Behrens & Auclair (London)
DAWN PHASE (Munich/Toronto)
Wild Terrier Orchestra feat. The Witches of Westend (Athens/Munich)
Tomer Baruch (Tel Aviv)
Alba Vega Mulet (Amsterdam)
Laura M. Ramsey (Toronto)
Michael Akstaller (Nuremberg)
DUMA (Kampala/Nairobi)
Kalas Liebfried feat. Rozenn le Trionnaire (Munich/Paris)
White Boy Scream (Los Angeles)
Mishka Henner (Manchester)
Lea Bertucci (New York)
Katatonic Silentio (Milan)
Pedro Oliveira (Berlin)
Jol Thoms (London)
David Goldberg (Munich)
Nursalim Yadi Anugerah (Pontianak)
Beni Brachtel (Munich)
Lia Mazzari (London)
Lisa Schonberg (New York City)
Editors: Kalas Liebfried & Beni Brachtel
Mixing and Mastering: Beni Brachtel
Essay: Salomé Voegelin
Cover Artwork & Graphic Design: Alexander Scharf
Technical Implementation (website): Maximilian Rauh
Co-curation: Laura M. Ramsey (Second Edition), Jol Thoms (Third Edition)
Supported by The Steiner Foundation Munich (ADD STEINER STIFTUNG LOGO)
Pressed by Duophonic, Augsburg
Published by Collisions.cc