News cycles tend to move from crisis to crisis – ignoring what happens as crises deepen. Artists of Turkish, Syrian, and Kurdish heritage deserve more attention in Berlin and Germany generally, so today is a great time for some music, awareness, and action as areas impacted by last month’s earthquake still urgently need support.

The scale of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria is hard to conceive, atop ongoing crises in the region and world. Tens of thousands have died, more continue to die, and millions are now homeless across the territories of the two countries. With music scenes intertwined with those places, responding is essential in any way we can.

Unthinkable devastation has been unleashed on the region around southeastern Turkey and neighboring northern Syria, with a still-increasing death tool in tens of thousands. With so much of our musical network impacted, it’s vital for music channels to join in response. Here’s a guide.

From Yogyakarta, Indonesia comes a glitchy, powerful delay effect unlike any other. It’s a stompbox with an earthquake setting. And it’s a special collaboration – between Yogya’s engineer of sound and mayhem Andreas Siagian aka squaresolid and instrument builder and musician Wukir Suryadi of the band Senyawa.

Ligabue, one of the contributing artists, live in Berlin. Photo (CC) Matthias Muehlbradt. Sure, many issues around intellectual property are gray. But contributor Jo Ardalan has a disturbing story: what happens when a fundraising album gets pirated? Did illegal file sharing users know what they were doing — is there a need for a donation […]

Gaming environments like Quake and Unreal have become easy interactive 3D development environments. Modify the game maps and objects, and you can make the visual realm in these games whatever you want. But for digital musicians imagining a 3D environment for creating music and sound, they’re limited. Enter the latest project from fijuu2 creator Julian […]

Rob Hordijk’s wonderful Benjolin has been recreated in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, by squaresolid / instrumentasia (aka builder Andreas Siagian). Meet Benjolin – Gorga, in Eurorack – or, uh, Asiarack!

Communities inside and outside Morocco are still reeling from the earthquake last month. Berlin-based art Artist Znzl, whose name literally means “earthquake,” has pulled together threads across international lines and genres, techno to industrial to ambient, for a gorgeous and moving charity compilation. It’s a musical message you won’t want to miss – plus, crucially, direct giving resources here for those who can. And we have a premiere by artist Maze DK from the compilation.

In fragmented materials and process-based performance interventions, this year’s Atonal exhibition seems to breathe life into debris, a deconstruction of ruined objects. But most striking of all is the work of sound artist Rabon Aibo. With mechanical constructions, he makes the cavernous Kraftwerk power plant into an instrument – and makes use of gas canisters that resonate with dark moments in Kurdish and European histories.

This month has brought unimaginable suffering atop thousands of deaths in both Morocco and Libya. To readers whose communities and loved ones have been directly impacted, we’re thinking of you. As music makers and instrument makers, I hope we continue to connect to remain tuned in and responsive. News can be overwhelming, but we live in a world where connections – and action – is never far away.