ASPHALTE / vinyl production

This is what it's all about.

ASPHALTE is the result of a collaboration between visual artist Florian Bach and percussionist and composer Alexandre Babel. Together, they develop projects at the frontier of sound and visual arts. For this work, Bach designed a «signature» drum kit that he covered entirely with bitumen. The original resonance of the instrument is altered by the black material, and Babel engages in a virtuoso, multiphonic solo musical performance that explores the sonic boundaries of the instrument. The drums become sculpture and the drummer’s playing becomes performance. The two merge to become a single element whose resonance fills sound and visual space.

A vinyl release as an accompaniment to an exhibition

Initially created as part of the Festival les Amplitudes in La Chaux-de-Fonds, ASPHALTE has since been presented in concert on several occasions in Switzerland, in Berlin, and at the Venice Biennale. As part of the forthcoming Klang Moor Schopfe sound art biennial in Gais (Appenzell, CH), an installation version of the work will be presented to the public.

For this occasion, we have made a recording of the musical composition, which we will publish as a numbered limited LP. The music was recorded on the bituminous drums in the Sonotope studio in Renens by sound engineer Antoine Etter. The vinyl will be accompanied by a cover designed and produced by Florian Bach. Like the piece ASPHALTE, this record brings together music and image in a single art object. It will be published by the Biennale Klang Moor Schopfe and distributed in Switzerland and Europe.

This is what we need backing for.

Our aim is to finalise the production of this record, which is particularly close to our hearts, as it is the concrete testimony of an artistic collaboration that has lasted for over a decade, in the form of an object to be shared. It also represents a starting point, as we prepare for the next step, with the concept and design of a portable concert hall that can take ASPHALTE on the road and present it to a wide and varied audience. (To be continued in 2026!)

Thanks to your donations, the vinyl will be available for the opening of the Klang Moor Schopfe Biennial, where it will be presented at a meeting with the artists and an exclusive listening session on September 7, 2025.

The sum to be raised of 5,000CHF covers 50% of the total producing costs of the record. It will enable us to:

• cover mixing costs
• cover vinyl pressing costs
• finalise the printing of the cover

Artist biographies:

Alexandre Babel, Winner of the Swiss Music Prize in 2021, is a percussionist, composer, and curator involved in various contemporary contexts such as modern classical music, experimental music and sound art. Babel creates works that challenge the listener’s expectations of conventional musical forms.

Florian Bach is a Swiss visual artist born in Johannesburg. He is active internationally with his sculpture, installation, and performance work, and also as a lighting designer for live performance.