Quarantine Questionnaire #1 Kalas Liebfried
Inspired by Max Frisch, Marcel Proust and life in isolation
Munich
11–04–2020
Collaboration by Kalas Liebfried
Due to the outspread of the coronavirus many performances and readings have been either cancelled or postponed. In order to pay attention to the work of young artists, who are affected by these circumstances, PASSE-AVANT initiated a livestream series on Instagram titled 'Sunday's Stream On', in which artists can perform on our channel. Inspired by questionnaires of Max Frisch, Marcel Proust and life in isolation, we ask all contributing artists to fill out our 'Quarantine Questionnaire'.
For the first episode, Munich based artist Kalas Liebfried did a sound performance which you can watch here. Read his recommendations and thoughts on the coronacrisis below and scroll down to listen to the beautiful playlist that he created for us.

Kalas Liebfried, Black Mesa, 2019, installation view, Haus der Kunst, Munich. Courtesy: the artist; photograph: Mathias R. Zausinger

How long have you been in quarantine?
I’m not in quarantine.
What do you miss most?
„Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive
Driving in your carI never never want to go home…“
The Smiths – There's a Light that Never Goes Out
What don’t you miss at all?
Which music helps you through the day?
A loop of Takashi Kokubo’s album „Jamaica“ is accompanying most of my time (you can find it in the playlist below). I love the mixture of calm natural sounds (waves, birds), Caribbean rhythms and Japanese new-age synth pads. The detemporalized structure of the pieces brings the currently shifting perception of time to a positive thinking space.
What was the first song that ever meant something to you?
I can’t remember the first one, but here you go with the last one:
Lena Platonos / Savina Yiannatou – Mono Ti Skia Tis
Which artwork could you devote hours to?
Regarding the lock down: If there was a high quality stream of Matthew Barney’s complete Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002) I would join for the 8 hour session and then repeat immediately.

Kalas Liebfried, Ambient for a Silent Forest, 2019, installation view, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. Courtesy: the artist; photograph: Franziska Pietsch

What is the best title for an artwork / book / film / album?
John Frusciante's album To Record Only Water for Ten Days (2001).
What will change after COVID-19?
No idea what will really change. But I can share some general hopes: rebuilding the European Union into a humanitarian and solidary community (which is deeply missed right now), a clear shift in terms of sustainability (we may all realize that we are able to live with less during the shut down). I think we will have to work through the traumatic experiences if we want changes. So a personal hope is that there will be a period of pure and vivid Dionysian hedonism as a process of self-awareness.
What will probably remain the same?
Systems are lazy. Most of the things will probably remain unchanged.

Kalas Liebfried, Black Mesa, 2019, installation view, Haus der Kunst, Munich. Courtesy: the artist; photograph: Mathias R. Zausinger

Kalas Liebfried, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 2019, installation view, Nir Altman, Munich. Courtesy: the artist and Nir Altman, Munich

Which online/virtual website or project do you recommend during quarantine days?
Radio 80000. It’s a Munich based community radio, which quickly changed its program to „Live at Home“ after they closed the broadcast studio. You can listen to it and also see a lot of great DJs and musicians playing amazing sets and live performances surrounded by huge monstera plants. Tune in here.
Why should we listen to your playlist?
Japanese Ambient Music from the 80s and 90s brings the ambient genre to a global and ecological level. Satoshi Ashikawa noticed that “the world of sound shouldn’t be eroded by humans.” Japanese ambient follows concepts of an equal relationship between nature and technology, biosphere and network. It seems like there is nothing else left during our current lock down: we go out in the nature and urban biotopes, or use technology at home. This playlist is a great soundtrack to the current state of limitation.
Do you have a tip for our daily routines?
Too much coffee makes you fall asleep!

Kalas Liebfried, In D, 2019, installation view, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich. Courtesy: the artist

A Playlist of Japanese Ambient and New-Age albums
Takashi Kokubo – Jamaica ~ Waves And Light And Earth (1993)
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Green (1986)
Haruomi Hosono – Mercuric Dance (1985)
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Soundscape 1 surround (1986)
Hiroshi Yoshimura – A·I·R (Air In Resort) (1984)
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Music For Nine Post Cards (1982)
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Soft Wave For Automatic Music Box (early works 1973-76)
Yutaka Hirose – Soundscape 2: Nova (1986)
Takashi Kokubo – Gaudi’s Dream (1992)
Takashi Kokubo – Oasis Of The Wind ~ Forest Of Ion (1992)
Midori Takada – Through The Looking Glass (1983)
Midori Takada – Mr Henri Rousseau's Dream (1983)
Satsuki Shibano – Erik Satie (1984)
Susumu Yokota – The Boy and the Tree (2002)
Susumu Yokota – Sakura (2000)
Akira Ito – Marine Flowers (Science Fantasy) (1986)
Satoshi Ashikawa – Still Way (Wave Notation 2) (1982)
Tomoyuki Asakawa – Endless Tide (1993)
Takahiko Ishikawa – The Firmament (1993)