What does a mass sound like? What does the chaos of the many sound like? How can the merging of voices, the noise of movements, and the dynamics of the collective be captured in sound and space?

In the expansive composition MASSEN, Eloain Lovis Hübner (composition), Jakob Boeckh (scenography), and the Cologne-based ensemble electronic ID take the audience on an extraordinary journey through the sonic dimensions of mass media, sporting events, mourning ceremonies, and protests. This intermedial audio theater merges sound, light, and movement: synthesizers, radios, self-built sound generators, and classical instruments interact in an interplay between live performance and random systems, inspired by Elias Canetti’s Crowds and Power and the internet. Individual voices become visible and audible in the midst of the collective – a constant balancing act between chaos and harmony, fusion and separation. In a blend of audio theater, performance, and installation, MASSEN develops a multi-layered sound universe that makes the complex phenomenon of the masses tangible.

Literary sources

Elias Canetti, Masse und Macht (1960)
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht: Leben der Stimme. Ein Versuch über Nähe (2025)
Siegfried Kracauer: Das Ornament der Masse (1927/1963)