Human beings fear difference. But there are species out there that long for difference and need it in order to thrive, evolve, and ultimately survive. The first KOOKOO night in 2026 adopts an idea by Octavia E. Butler as a guiding principle for the challenges that may lie ahead: “Embrace difference.” In the second volume of the author’s seminal science fiction saga Lilith’s Brood, also known as the Xenogenesis Trilogy, the protagonist gives this advice to her son, the first male human-alien child born to a human mother, to help him cope with the conflicts within and around himself. KOOKOO aims to internalize this concept and presents different approaches and practices, questions routines, and facilitates mutual exchange and the evolution of collective insight.

On 16 January, one approach is represented by FORSTER, the duo project of Mitchell Keaney and Davide Luciani. Their musical dialogue is driven by a shared interest in substantial change, which unfolds through the effects and aftereffects of sonic phenomena. FORSTER shape this process by pairing compositional structures with elements of improvisation and by paying great attention to the textures of sound. Keaney and Luciani manipulate its density with the help of digital audio processing as well as the impact of bass and guitar amps and speakers.

DJ MICROHM aka Leslie García, on the other hand, approaches her music as fictional narratives inspired by the fusion processes of art, (bio-)technology, and interspecies exchange. Her take on post-humanism is mainly expressed through the work of Interspecifics, an art collective that she co-founded in Mexico City in 2013. The agency and intelligence of non-human beings, as well as concepts like Butler’s Xenogenesis, also inform her solo work and her vision as a DJ. García intertwines shifting rhythms with contrasting harmonic elements, creating friction and tension and generating an irresistible groove.

For the occasion, CARLY FISCHER created an artwork with different surface textures and rhythmic structures that come together to form a cohesive whole. KOOKOO resident artist YUKIHIRO TAGUCHI, also known as mokume BERLIN, presents one of his compelling site-specific works. And the hosts, MIEKO SUZUKI and ARA, invite the audience to come together to acknowledge, accept, and perhaps even embrace difference and change.

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:: music
FORSTER (live) // www.ffforsterrr.net
DJ MICROHM aka Leslie García // www.interspecifics.cc
MIEKO SUZUKI // www.mixcloud.com/mieko
ARA // www.mixcloud.com/kookoo

:: art
CARLY FISCHER (sculpture & photography) // www.carlyfischer.com
Mokume BERLIN aka YUKIHIRO TAGUCHI (installation) // yukihirotaguchi.wordpress.com

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