Alexander Frangenheim

Alexander Frangenheim (*1959 in Wuppertal) studierte zunächst Bildhauerei, und dann klassischen Kontrabass bei Reinald Schwarz und für eine kurze Zeit bei Wolfgang Güttler.

Seit 1988 spielte er mit zahlreichen Musikern der internationalen Improvisationsszene und entwickelte Mitte der 1990er Jahre während längerer Aufenthalte in London zahlreiche Kooperationen mit den englischen Musikern, u.a. mit Chris Burn, Roger Turner, John Russell, Phil Durant und John Butcher, aber auch mit den deutschen Musikern Axel Dörner und Thomas Lehn.

Er war Mitglied im Ensemble Zeitkratzer und spielte kontinuierlich in Christmanns VARIO-Formationen und multimedialen con moto-Ensemblen. Von 1995 bis 2010 war ihm die musikalische Auseinandersetzung mit Tanz wichtiges Arbeitsgebiet (Auftritte u.a. mit Nigel Charnock, David Zambrano, Fine Kwiatkowski, Julyen Hamilton, Jose Luis Sultan und Vera Mantero).

Von1992 bis 2003 organisierte er das Festival „concepts of doing- Interaktion Tanz Musik“ in Stuttgart, das er seit 2012 in Berlin als “concepts of doing - Festival Zeitgenössische Musik” fortsetzt.
Er komponierte die Musik für die Experimental-Filme “Lupinen löschen”, (Premiere bei der Berlinale 2007 im Forum Expanded), sowie “EZB 2011-2012”, der 2015 für den Preis der Deutschen Filmkritik /Experimentalfilm nominiert wurde (Filmemacherin für beide Filme: Sabine Schöbel).

Mit studioboerne45 hat er einen wichtigen Produktionsort und Aufnahmestudio für die freie Szene in Berlin geschaffen.

Seine Musik ist auf 40 CDs dokumentiert. Neben zwei Solo-CDs wurden in den letzten Jahren u.a. veröffentlicht: “light air gets dark” mit Roger Turner und Isabelle Duthoit, “sugar is a necessary fluid” mit dem jungen schwedischen Gitarristen Niklas Fite, sowie Anfang 2019 ”Frost Burning” mit den berliner Musikern Biliana Voutchkova und Antonis Anissegos.
 

Er lebt in Berlin und Herrischried im Südschwarzwald.

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Born in Wuppertal, he studied sculpture at the academy of fine arts in Stuttgart and at the same time classical doublebass with Reinald Schwarz, soloist of Stuttgart Philharmonics. Having encountered experimental music in his youth, beside classical playing he soon ventured into free improvisation as well as working with graphic notations in the ensemble of composer Klaus Fessmann, who holds a professorship at Salzburg Mozarteum. After having met Günter Christmann in the early 90s, who became a close friend over the years, a grant offered the possibility to go to London, where he finally was able to explode into a most intense period of sessions, collaborations, concerts and recording sessions, this all with help by John Russell, Chris Burn and John Butcher. Back in Stuttgart he was asked to teach experimental music at the academy of fine arts Stuttgart, which he did for a period of ten years and which led him to extended sound and performance explorations in collaboration with his students. He continued to organize the festival concepts of doing – Interaktion Tanz Musik (1992 – 2003) and, after an intense trip through many european countries meeting dancers for free improvisations and an invitation to the 5th Composers Choreographers Exchange (Southbank Center London), he was co-founding the production center for dance and performance Stuttgart. Being the head of this association for three years and after the festival of concepts of doing 2003, he pushed these structures aside for regaining breath and new freedom and inner engagement in life and arts. At the same time this moment was accompanied by his last days in ensemble zeitkratzer, which he was member of since its beginning in 1997 (performances of famous MMM by and with Lou Reed as well as music by alva noto, Merzbow, Lee Ronaldo, Elliott Sharp, DJ’s a.o.).
2005 saw him establishing himself in a space in Berlin to seek new projects. Since then he has recorded three cds, created the music for the experimental film „Lupinen löschen“ by Sabine Schöbel, which was shown at the Berlinale 2007, and started to work with analog electronics on the acoustic double bass as well as on an electric one, introducing this to his collaborations with dance.

He played in groups... trio with Jim Denley and Steve Noble; duo with Phil Durrant (cd); quintet with Evan Parker, Phil Wachsman, Thomas Lehn, Roger Turner; duo with Günter Christmann (cd); „Ein Quartett“ with Bieler-Wendt, Kolkowski, Zimmerlin; trio with Chris Burn and Axel Dörner.
Projects with Günter Christmann: Sextett Vario 34 (cd) und „con moto“ (music, dance, sound poetry, film) with David Zambrano, Urs Leimgruber, Fine Kwiatkofski, Elke Schipper (dvd).
Concerts with... Paul Lovens, John Butcher, Phil Minton, Derek Bailey, Sven-Ake Johannson, David Moss, John Russell, Johannes Bauer, LeQuan Ninh, Dietmar Diesner, LaDonna Smith, Malcolm Goldstein, Fred Frith, Vinko Globokar, Barry Guy, Torsten Müller, Carlos Zingaro, Fred van Hove, Urs Leimgruber, Mats Gustafsson, Dorothea Schürch, Herb Robertson, Alberto Braida, Michael Griener, Yumiko Tanaka a.o.
Intense work with dancers in diverse performing and rehearsing situations.
Collaborations with Julyen Hamilton, Vera Mantero, Benoit Lachambre, Ingo Reulecke, Josè Luis Sultàn, Mark Tompkins, Junko Wada, Fine Kwiatkofski, Regina Baumgart, David Zambrano, Sasha Waltz, Katie Duck, Joachim Schlömer, Thomas McManus, Nigel Charnock, Xavier Le Roy, Frans Poelstra, Virpi Pakhinen, Russell Maliphant, Anzu Furukawa, Pal Frenak, Anna Huber, Andreas Müller, Astrid Endruweit, Jennifer Lacey, Lin Yuang Shang.
concepts of doing. Between 1992 and 2003 he organized the festival „concepts of doing – Interaktion Tanz Musik“ which became an important european plattform for the exchange of the arts inviting many notable artists for free collaborations during 4 days. (Please see: www.concepts-of-doing.de). cd: „screen. Festival concepts of doing 1999“ mit Yoshihide, Turner, Leimgruber, Schürch, Parkins, Newton, Frangenheim.
Critics: „mikrotonale Edelsteine“ (Markus Müller, Jazzthetik), „deliciously subversive“ (Cadence), „music straight from the dynamo“ (The Wire), „Frangenheim uses extended string techniques Gidon Cremer supplied for Luigi Nono“ (The Wire).

Lives in Berlin since 2005. 

Projects: trio with Chris Burn and Axel Dörner; quartet with Thomas Lehn, Le Quan Ninh, Frederic Blondy; duo with Günter Christmann /as well as other formations; trio with Floros Floridis and Ray Kaczynski; cds in prep: quartet with Moss/Bauer/Tanaka, quartet with Turner/Wachsman/Pat Thomas. performance project „streugut“ together with Clausen, Reulecke, Rudstrom, Simon.