Urban Exploration in ‘The Paris of the North’

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Karg-Elert, Caprice #12

Nothing like a little Urban Exploration, European-style!

I espied this hulking warehouse just off the O-1 in Copenhagen* while in Denmark last month and just had to investigate!Even more alarming than the massive murals by some invisible army of reveling tag-artists were, of course, the stunning acoustics.
As you might imagine, it’s always a unique experience recording alone in a desolate spot like this, watching over my shoulder for graffiti punks or security guards as I play – but in the end I played for over an hour in the fading light, reading through a pile of rep that I had on hand.
What can I say, time flies when you’re having fun!
One of the final pieces that I read was this gem by Karg-Elert from his landmark 30 Caprices.
This piece rocks and was a perfect vehicle to explore the hallucinatory reverb of this church-like place. Karg-Elert, a renowned organist, applied rich, organ-like textures and expressive effects in these ground-breaking works for Solo Flute, written almost 100 years ago.
More images and soundfiles coming from this remarkable urban space coming soon.

*Copenhagen, or Kobenhavn, is sometimes called the Paris of the North.