The Music Folder

The Music Folder #20 François Bonnet Jul 11, 2025

In this new episode we talk to François Bonnet, director of the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA-GRM) and electronic music producer under the pseudonym Kassel Jaeger, in conversation with critic Francesco Tenaglia.

The conversation explores how an institution like INA GRM evolves to stay contemporary, fostering new communities and facing the challenges of transmitting its archival legacy. Bonnet also discusses the re-collection series and festival programming, as well as the fascinating evolution of the GRM Tools, the pioneering software suite that shaped generations of electroacoustic composers.

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 30/06/2025

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #19 Daniel Miller Mar 21, 2025

The Music Folder #19 Daniel Miller

In the new episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we talked to Daniel Miller, the visionary founder of Mute Records, a label that has been at the forefront of electronic music for over four decades, in conversation with with NTS Radio host, musician, and musicologist Francesco Fusaro.

The conversation explores Daniel Miller’s deep connection to the evolving world of sound, from his early days in London’s independent music scene to his current collaborations with forward-thinking electronic artists. It highlights Mute’s ventures into instrument design, Miller’s passion for modular synthesis, and the creative potential of these tools. The conversation also touches on cities as cultural memory devices, with Berlin as a key example of transformation and legacy. Finally, it reflects on the evolving role of record labels in 2025 and how Mute continues to support artists in an era of increasing creative independence.

This episode was realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Interview by Francesco Fusaro, 11/02/2025

The Music Folder is a talk series curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, investigating the intersection of music, memory, and the arts.

The Music Folder #18 Mike Paradinas Feb 20, 2025

The Music Folder #18 Mike Paradinas

In the new episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we are delighted to host Mike Paradinas, best known as μ-Ziq, a pioneering figure in electronic music and founder of Planet Mu, in conversation with semiotician Gabriele Marino.

Paradinas reflects on the concepts of the hardcore continuum, nostalgia and tradition, his early years in the breakbeat scene, and his collaborations with Aphex Twin and Luke Vibert. He also shares insights into the challenges of running an independent label today, from navigating the shifting landscape of digital music to balancing artistic vision with the realities of the industry.

This episode was realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Interview by Gabriele Marino, 04/02/2025

The Music Folder is a talk series curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, investigating the intersection of music, memory, and the arts.

The Music Folder #17 Demdike Stare Jan 23, 2025

The Music Folder #17 Demdike Stare

Interview by Gaetano Scippa, 13/01/2025

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we are delighted to host English electronic music duo Demdike Stare, in conversation with music journalist Gaetano Scippa.

Demdike Stare share their roots and the genesis of their journey, from local folklore to their deep love for soundtracks and (Italian) library music particularly the works of Piero Umiliani and Nora Orlandi - which are all about atmosphere. The conversation touches on their perception of music as a whole, beyond genres, during the 1990s, when they were inspired by revolutionary mixtapes from DJ Hype and Coldcut, the intersection of techno and hip-hop productions, seminal labels like Mo’ Wax and Warp, and their explorations of global sounds. Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty admit they still feel naive yet enthusiastic about discovering new music today, refusing to align with any specific movement.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica.

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #16 Shackleton Nov 18, 2024

The Music Folder #16 Shackleton

Interview by Gaetano Scippa, 5/11/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder, we are delighted to host English electronic producer Shackleton, in conversation with music journalist Gaetano Scippa.

This dialogue delves into the creation of psychedelic soundscapes and trance-like rituals, exploring the power of repetition and polyrhythms as elements that seep into memory. Together, they discuss the uncalculated drive to overwhelm the listener, the sound sources that have shaped Shackleton’s personal archive, and the art of sampling. The conversation also touches on the significance of collaborations, as well as the role of technology and AI in shaping the future of music.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica.

The Music Folder #15 Fennesz Sep 28, 2024

The Music Folder #15 Fennesz

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 24/9/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder we are pleased to present the Austrian producer and guitarist Christian Fennesz, in conversation with the critic Francesco Tenaglia.

The conversation explores Fennesz’s creative and compositional process, examining how the mixing phase becomes a form of sculpture. It also delves into his reworking of Gustav Mahler for a commission from the Viennese Cultural Institute in New York. Other key topics include the punk attitude of early glitch music, and the graphic design of his album covers by Jon Wozencroft, with the recurring theme of sea and water. The discussion also touches on unexpected connections, from Charli XCX to Adriano Celentano.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Ph. Carsten Nicolai.

The Music Folder #14 Nicolas Jaar Jun 18, 2024

The Music Folder #14 Nicolas Jaar

Interview by Gabriele Marino, 10/3/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode of our podcast series The Music Folder we are pleased to present the Chilean-American electronic music producer Nicolas Jaar, in conversation with the semiotician Gabriele Marino.

The conversation begins by tracing Jaar's unconventional artistic path and Marino's field of study, then reflects on the labels music critics attach to artists, and addresses a range of issues such as silence and sampling from a broader, sometimes political perspective.

Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica. Ph. Wissam Sader.

The Music Folder #13 Suzanne Ciani Apr 11, 2024

The Music Folder #13 Suzanne Ciani

Interview by Francesco Fusaro, 8/4/2024

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode, we had the great pleasure of conversing with Suzanne Ciani, the renowned electronic music pioneer. A trailblazer in the world of modular synthesizers and sound design, Ciani's journey from a classical background to the vanguard of electronic music is discussed here with NTS Radio host, musician, and musicologist Francesco Fusaro.

Breaking the stereotype that electronic music is unfit for live performance, Ciani reminisced about her efforts to showcase electronic instruments on stage, addressed the significant topic of archiving and promoting women's contributions to music, and reflected on her initial reluctance to delve into her vault of unreleased tapes for Andy Votel's Finders Keepers label.

With a career spanning over five decades, Suzanne Ciani's pioneering work established a new paradigm. It proved electronic music's versatility in the studio and on stage and significantly shaped the landscape of modern sound. Episode realized in partnership with INNER_SPACES and San Fedele Musica.

The Music Folder #12 Jim O'Rourke Mar 22, 2024

The Music Folder #12 Jim O'Rourke

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 4/3/2024.

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

In this episode we are pleased to present the Japan-based, American composer Jim O’Rourke in a conversation with the critic Francesco Tenaglia.

The dialogue draws upon the figure of Roland Kayn, focusing on O'Rourke's effort to restore the unpublished archives of the late German composer, a project being published on Bandcamp. This initiative provides a foundation to explore the extensive themes of O'Rourke's thirty-year career.

Known initially for his involvement with the avant-garde rock band Gastr Del Sol, O'Rourke possesses a diverse solo discography that spans from pop to electroacoustic music. His collaborative efforts include working with artists such as Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Derek Bailey, Fennesz, Wilco, John Fahey, Smog, Faust, and Tony Conrad.

The Music Folder #11 Kode9 Feb 26, 2024

The Music Folder #11 Kode9

Interview by Guglielmo Bottin, 22/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

For the 11th installment of our podcast series #TheMusicFolder we are pleased to present Kode9, electronic music artist and founder of the Hyperdub record label.

The talk realized in collaboration with Biennale Musica on the occasion of the 67th International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, is hosted by Guglielmo Bottin, PhD fellow in electronic popular music and groove theory at University of Milan, visiting scholar at Humbold University in Berlin, as well as established producer and touring dj in his own right.

The conversation investigates the motives behind the birth of the Hyperdub label, the label as an archive and the current state of digital archives, the role of ideology in the development of music scenes, sonic fiction as future world building and re-mediation of past allegories of the future, and much more.

The Music Folder #10 Robert Henke Jan 26, 2024

Interview by Marco Mancuso, 22/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

For the 10th installment of our podcast series #TheMusicFolder we are pleased to present the German composer and digital artist Robert Henke.

The talk, realized in collaboration with Biennale Musica on the occasion of the 67th International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, is hosted by Marco Mancuso, critic and curator on art and technoscience, professor at Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo and University of Bologna.

The conversation revolves around Henke's artistic inspiration influenced by technology and his relationship with machinery, with a reflection on the balance between engineering aspects with the unpredictable. Among the topics, the interaction of sound and visual in the CBM 8032 AV project, the creation of instruments and a final consideration about science, research and limits within the digital arts.

The Music Folder #9 Christina Kubisch Dec 12, 2023

In this episode of The Music Folder, we speak with pioneering sound artist Christina Kubisch, whose 1970s electroacoustic works and performances opened new possibilities for sonic experimentation with installations and environments. Her early work with electromagnetic induction also led to the acclaimed “Electrical Walks”. Today, she is interviewed by Francesco Bergamo, a scholar of representation methods in architecture, design, and sonic ecologies.

The talk explores Kubisch’s longstanding artistic interest in making audiences aware of hidden, inaudible, or invisible infrastructures of everyday life. Throughout the conversation, the focus is on topics such as questioning perceived realities, ecological consciousness, the complex relationship between technology and nature - particularly through works like Cloud, which sonically unveils the heavy, industrial realities behind the seemingly intangible digital "cloud" - and the landscape of electromagnetic sounds in contemporary urban environments. Kubisch also discusses soundwalking as an active and participatory artistic practice, her relationship with influential figures such as John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, and Annea Lockwood, and the way they have shaped her unique, critical, and exploratory approach to listening and sound art.

Interview by Francesco Bergamo, 29/11/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

The Music Folder #8 Moritz von Oswald Nov 07, 2023

In this episode of The Music Folder, we speak with Moritz von Oswald, widely recognized as one of the originators of dub techno. Trained in orchestral percussion, in the 80’s he was the drummer for the Neue Deutsche Welle band Palais Schaumburg, then began composing electronic music as he relocated to Berlin and worked sa producer for the record label Tresor. In the early ’90s, Von Oswald teamed up with Thomas Fehlmann under the aliases 2MB and 3MB, before co‑founding (in 1993) Basic Channel with Mark Ernestus, launching a duo and label whose minimalist, delay‑soaked sound would define dub techno as a music genre.

Over a wide-ranging conversation, art critic Francesco Tenaglia invites Moritz von Oswald to reflect on his evolving approach to composition, improvisation, and sound design. He discusses his score for Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler II, commissioned by the UFA Film Nights Festival, emphasizing his avoidance of conventional cinematic cues in favor of sparse, beatless atmospheres that allow the visuals and emotions to emerge organically. Von Oswald speaks candidly about embracing sonic “imperfections” - noises, room tone, unstable synths - as integral artistic material and a hallmark of his production style across decades. He also recounts how improvisation, particularly with the Moritz von Oswald Trio and collaborators like Juan Atkins, remains central to his evolving sonic language.

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 20/09/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

The Music Folder #7 Wolfgang Voigt May 30, 2023

The Music Folder welcomes Wolfgang Voigt, one of the most influential artists for the development of the minimal techno scene. An electronic music DJ and producer from Cologne, Voigt has released over 160 albums and worked on around 30 musical projects under aliases such as Gas (among many others). Together with Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape, he co-founded the iconic record label Kompakt.

Today, Wolfgang Voigt joins The Music Folder for a conversation with Claudia Attimonelli, scholar of Media Studies and Visual Culture. Their discussion revolves around Voigt’s lifelong fusion of music and visual art, tracing his path from minimalist techno pioneer to multidisciplinary artist. He explains how the label Kompakt developed a distinctive visual identity shaped by pop art and serial aesthetics, and how his musical and pictorial practices draw on sampling, abstraction, and repetition to access a “parallel reality” beyond conventional meaning, a concept at the heart of his Rückverzauberung (Reverse Enchantment) project. The interview also explores themes such as aesthetic contradiction, unpredictability, and the refusal to settle into a single artistic identity.

Interview by Claudia Attimonelli, 16/05/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

The Music Folder #6 Jeff Mills Mar 13, 2023

Today, The Music Folder is honored to host techno icon Jeff Mills. A Detroit-born DJ, producer, and composer, in 1989 he co-founded the militant techno act Underground Resistance. After moving through New York and Berlin, he landed in Chicago in 1992 and launched Axis Records, championing a stripped-down, minimal techno sound. Beyond the clubs, Mills has scored silent cinema masterpieces, produced documentaries, and participated in immersive multi-media art‑music projects. In 2017, France honored him with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

For this episode, Media Studies and Visual Culture scholar Claudia Attimonelli invites Jeff Mills to reflect about how his transdisciplinary work - integrating techno with film, visual art, orchestral concepts, and soundscapes - allows the genre to probe deeper questions about time, memory, human‑machine relationships, and societal change. He explains how he revisited his Metropolis soundtrack twenty years later not to recreate it, but to extend and deepen its themes, creating a continuous, mosaic-like score that dialogues with collective memory and our evolving world. Mills reflects on similar impulses behind his Blade Runnerinfluences, Rembrandt sound-works, and the conceptual “Cycle 30” record, all exploring cyclical cultural patterns and memory’s fragility. Ultimately he urges electronic music producers to go beyond club-oriented outputs, to embrace artful, reflective, and challenging projects that speak to broader human concerns rather than just celebrating technology or nostalgia.

Interview by Claudia Attimonelli, 14/02/2023.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory and arts.

The Music Folder #5 Simon Reynolds Jun 15, 2022

In this episode of The Music Folder, we speak with Simon Reynolds, one of the most influential music critics and authors of the last two decades. His writings on popular music, blending cultural criticism and music journalism with critical theory and philosophy, have resulted in seminal books such as Rip It Up, Energy Flash, Retromania and the recent Futuromania. These works offer incisive interventions on topics like pop music’s retrogression, hauntology, and the role of the internet in music consumption and creativity. His commentary has appeared in Spin, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Guardian and numerous other outlets.

On today’s episode, Simon Reynolds talks with critic Francesco Tenaglia about the documentary The Beatles: Get Back, interpreting it as both a document of nostalgia and a case study in the lived realities of creativity, contrasting its immersive temporality with the compressed storytelling of biopics. The conversation branches into broader themes central to Reynolds’s work: the allure and pitfalls of retro culture, the archival and curatorial role of the DJ, and the evolving function of the music critic in the algorithmic age. He also touches on his current teaching at CalArts, the idea of a book on experimental uses of the voice, and the enduring challenge of writing music history in a way that balances scholarship, personal interest, and public relevance.

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, 19/01/2022.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #4 Gavin Bryars Feb 25, 2022

Today’s guest on The Music Folder is Gavin Bryars, one of the most significant post‑minimalist composers to emerge from the British music scene in the late 1960s and ’70s. With a philosophy degree and a background as double bassist in jazz ensembles, Bryars has explored free improvisation, minimalism, the avant‑garde, and experimental music. His catalog spans more than 50 years, from the seminal The Sinking of the Titanic (1969) and Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971) to the more recent trio Altissima Luce, a work created to support struggling musicians during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns.

For our new episode, Gavin Bryars is interviewed by musicologist and media historian Veniero Rizzardi. Together, they talk about the composer’s formative years in the experimental British music scene, charting his transition from free jazz improvisation to experimental composition under the influence of John Cage and Morton Feldman. A central focus is the origin and evolution of Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, its use of found audio, its emotional impact, and the significance of its 1993 re-recording with Tom Waits. Bryars also shares personal anecdotes about Cage and Feldman’s generosity, his experiences performing with Steve Reich, and the shifting perception of avant-garde music.

Interview by Veniero Rizzardi, 28/12/2021.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #3 Sarah Davachi Oct 18, 2021

Canadian composer Sarah Davachi is our next guest on The Music Folder. Davachi’s work blends electroacoustic minimalism, drone, ambient, and modern classical. A multi-instrumentalist herself, she’s toured internationally and collaborated with artists like Grouper, William Basinski, and Suzanne Ciani. In 2020, she launched her own label, Late Music. Her decade-long role at Canada’s National Music Centre - curating and interpreting its collection of acoustic and electronic keyboard instruments - sparked a deep interest in critical organology, which she pursued through a PhD at UCLA.

In this episode of The Music Folder, Sarah Davachi talks with music critic and curator Michele Palozzo about her early fascination with the emotional depth of single harmonic moments in Chopin’s music, which led her to explore drone and minimalism as a way of stretching time and sound. She discusses her interest in texture, timbre, and the physicality of instruments - acoustic and electronic alike - rejecting the binary between them. Davachi emphasizes a visual and atmospheric sensibility in her work, drawing connections to cinema, minimalist art, and archival materials. She also speaks about her album Antiphonals, shaped in part by pandemic solitude, and how live performance has renewed her focus on duration and altered temporal perception.

Interview by Michele Palozzo, Milan 11/10/2021.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #2 William Basinski May 04, 2021

The Music Folder’s special guest today is William Basinski, the avant-garde composer and musician whose experimentations with tape loops, delays, found sounds, and shortwave radio static led him to create some of the most influential works of ambient music. With The Disintegration Loops, his most famous work, Basinski created a melancholic, drone-laden tapestry of electronic loops and cracks as the tapes he was trying to digitize kept deteriorating further and further, reaching completion as the 9/11 attacks started to unfold.

Interviewed by art critic Francesco Tenaglia, in this episode of The Music Folder William Basinski reflects on how the iconic Disintegration Loops unexpectedly became a defining milestone in electronic music, introducing personal emotion, nostalgia, and a melancholic, romantic aesthetic into an otherwise process-driven genre. He also shares anecdotes about his formative years, his influences (from classical training to John Cage), his compositional approach, his Brooklyn loft Arcadia, the interplay between his music and physical spaces, and memorable encounters, including opening for David Bowie.

Interview by Francesco Tenaglia, Milan 1 october 2018.
The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

The Music Folder #1 Alvin Curran Mar 04, 2021

Alvin Curran, a groundbreaking composer and performer, is the inaugural guest on The Music Folder. Renowned for his pioneering work with sampling, found sounds, and soundscapes, Curran has been a leading figure in experimental music for the past five decades. After studying composition in the US, Curran moved to Rome in 1965, became deeply involved in the experimental theater scene, and co-founded the influential collective Musica Elettronica Viva with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, blending electroacoustic improvisation with early synthesizer experiments. Since 1993, Curran has been developing Inner Cities, an ongoing series of solo piano pieces that collectively form one of the longest non-repetitive piano works ever composed.

For the first episode of The Music Folder, Alvin Curran is interviewed by musicologist and media historian Veniero Rizzardi. They discuss Curran’s early experiences in Rome’s experimental music scene, and the encounters with influential avant-garde figures such as John Cage, Sylvano Bussotti, and Franco Evangelisti, emphasizing how improvisation reshaped his artistic practice. The conversation touches on the blurred boundaries between new and classical music, Curran’s roots in American jazz, and economic considerations shaping avant-garde music.

Interview by Veniero Rizzardi, Milan 21 November 2019.

The Music Folder is a talk-series, curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, which investigates the intersection of music, memory, and arts.

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