A scenographic composition in collaboration with Abby Manock, for five performers, objects, ropes, sticks, cardboard, wires, voice, drum machine, midi controllers, computer and bells.

The Rummelpott instrument (aka Rummeltopf, Brummtopf) has its origins in the pre-Christian rituals around Rauhnächte (Yule in the English and Scandinavian languages) -- the 11 day gap between the lunar year (354 days) and solar year (365 days). People believed the laws of nature are suspended during this time, and the boundaries with the spirit world weakened, creating opportunities for mischief and witchcraft.

Around the time of the New Year, people would go door to door Rummelpottlaufen, dressed in costumes of ghosts and monsters, creating loud noises, singing songs and demanding treats. If the householder refused, they would be cursed and the group would sing humiliating songs in response.

The loud clanging and growling instruments used in these rituals are said to have been designed to scare away evil spirits. But when we dress in costume as spirits, tricksters and ghouls, are we acting to scare away evils spirts? or using the costumes to become these new characters ourselves? Maybe these instruments are actually the voices of spirits?

The piece Rummeln, composed for Ensemble Tzara's Ritule, is a new, digital, creation myth of the Rummelpott, focusing on the function of ritual and costume as methods for psychological and social reconfiguration, where new identities, and connections between humans and non-humans become possible. In an ever-evolving series of transformations, the performers guide the audience through a sequence of liminal scenes and landscapes situated somewhere in between the physical world and the world of spirits speaking with synthetic voices

Composition commissioned by la Foundataion Nicati - de Luze.

Raphael Camenisch: rummelpott/cup-eyes character
Murat Cevik: rummelpott/cup-eyes character
Christina Aiko Mayer: hand-eyes and environment character
Sebastian Hofmann: hand-eyes and environment character
Moritz Müllenbach: environment character and field recording vocal manipulation
Abby Manock: concept, set and costume fabrication
Rama Gottfried: concpet, direction, composition, electronics