The project Face the Music or The King of Kassel and Local Nightlife’s Seminal Shift deals with subcultural movements in the Kassel area during the late 1970s and 1980s, specifically the phenomenon of GI discos. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, US troops were stationed here until 1993 (and longer in other regions), with black GIs in particular shaping and influencing the music scene. The richness and diversity of the club scene and music styles at that time surprised and fascinated me in view of the current situation of the scene in Kassel and its surrounding areas. For Black Americans in particular, Kassel became a central hub for music and exchange in the 1970s and 1980s. Many clubs and concert events focused primarily on Black genres such as soul and funk, and later also electro and early rap. This resulted in a number of band projects between US-Americans and local German musicians, some of which were very short-lived and oftentimes released their music independently. Musically, this period produced many exciting upheavals which resulted in genres that were not yet fully formed or were being merged with other styles. In addition to the social context and political background, I am particularly interested in the emergence and transformation of the scene and its potential to create a sense of identity for people from different backgrounds. Equally important are the ways in which racism was dealt with in post-war Germany and the US (which sometimes carried over into life in the barracks) and the various forms of cultural appropriation happening within music and nightlife. With regard to the region, I am also interested in the transience of many subcultural trends and their influence on later developments. Formally, I use three vinyl releases by Kassel bands from the 1980s for the lecture performance, drawing on them to address various aspects and developmental stages of the scene. Further I use my own as well as found photographs, video excerpts from live performances, recordings of parties, and excerpts from interviews I conducted with contemporary witnesses and experts.
Su. 12.10. 4 PM
RadioHub Mimikri
Holger Jenss works with photography, moving images, and sound. His research and artistic practice focus on the analysis of normative visual worlds, the construction of subcultural and mainstream contexts through visual codes and their translations, and postcolonial perspectives on photography and popular culture. From 2018 until 2024 he taught at Kunsthochschule Kassel as artistic associate in the field of intermedial photography. He lives and works in Kassel.
