in briefrelease

Do Whales Actually Want to Listen to Us?

Valentin Paoli: »The Musician and The Whale / La Baleine et le Musicien«

The French electronic musician Rone finds it difficult to express emotions verbally. In Valentin Paoli’s rather touching documentary The Musician and The Whale, he reflects on music’s ability to create connections and convey moods to an audience – whether human or interspecies.

One day, Rone receives a video from a sailor who is playing his music at sea. Whales gather around the boat, seemingly drawn to the sounds, and this becomes the starting point for an exploration of whether the musician might be able to communicate with the animals through sound. Rone seeks out an expert in whale vocalizations, who points to certain high-pitched synth elements in his EDM compositions that resemble whale song. He then has a girls’ choir record the whale sounds with human voices and travels to Réunion to play the sounds back to the whales.

At first, the attempt proves futile: the whales appear indifferent to the girls’ choir. Quoting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rone realizes that if one wishes to move others, one must begin with what moves oneself. It is a Disney-like insight in a slightly sentimental film that speaks to the human desire to communicate with animals.

But are we actually sure that animals want to communicate with us? As the film’s central figure, Rone briefly reflects on a few ethical questions concerning animals, yet his infectious enthusiasm for the sounds of whales prevents him from asking the most fundamental questions about the relationship between humans and animals. Instead, we get a portrait of the musician that is almost as polished and warm-hearted as his music. The whale, wisely, remains beneath the surface of the sea.

»The Musician and The Whale« / »La Baleine et le Musicien« (83 min.)
Valentin Paoli (FR), 2026. Screening at CPH:DOX, March 11, 12 and 20

playlist

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My name is Håkon Berre – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music for me is a world full of sound that you can explore, juggle with, systematize, be inspired by and form a starting point for meetings between people across cultures and generations.«

Håkon Berre (b. 1980) has made his mark as a central figure on the Danish improvised music scene. His practice is characterized by an expanded approach to percussion, where both traditional instruments and everyday objects – such as doorbells, tin plates, chains and kitchen utensils – are included in a nuanced and often unpredictable sonic expression. He has performed at clubs and festivals internationally and collaborated with a wide range of notable musicians, including Peter Brötzmann, Phil Minton, Axel Dörner, John Tchicai, Jamie Branch and Otomo Yoshihide. Berre contributes to an extensive discography with more than 40 releases, many of which on the artist-run label Barefoot Records, which he co-founded. He has also composed and arranged music for theatre and exhibitions, and worked on interactive sound installations shown in museums in Denmark and Germany. He is active in a number of ensembles and collaborations, including Ytterlandet, TEETH, VÍÍK and Mirror Matter, as well as in various duo and quartet constellations.

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My name is James Black – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music is a deep, but not serious, spiritual practice, in which creator, collaborator, and consumer alike are their own personal pope.«

James Black (b. 1990) is a composer, performer, and artistic director of Klang Festival – Copenhagen Experimental Music. Originally from Bristol, England, they moved to Copenhagen in 2013. Black's works have attracted a large amount of attention both nationally and internationally for their signature combination of artistic courage and vulnerability, described by the Danish Arts Council as »a universe of real madness where everything goes«. Their work is a deep and personal exploration of topics such as religion, loss, and queer identity, that is unafraid to be stupid or serious in any direction.

playlist

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My name is Christian Juncker – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music is just something for me.«

Christian Juncker is a Danish musician and songwriter who has released a number of Danish-language albums. He debuted in 1995 with the band Bloom. Together with his friend Jakob Groth Bastiansen, he formed the duo Juncker in 2002. He is also behind the Christmas carol »Luk julefreden ind« from 2024.

playlist

01.04

My name is Idan Elmalem – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music, for me, reveals the emptiness of boundaries and definitions – in consciousness, in space, and in music itself.«

Idan Elmalem is an oud player and composer working across world and popular music, now presenting his debut instrumental EP and live performance project. Following years of collaboration within the Israeli music scene, he turns toward a more personal and intimate musical voice, blending traditional oud with a contemporary sensibility. Influenced by his studies with master Nissim Dakwar, Elmalem’s music explores the space between tradition and innovation. His debut EP, Time, features three live-recorded pieces that move between past, present, and future, combining classical Arabic and Persian elements with jazz, minimalism, and cinematic sound. Based in Tel Aviv, Elmalem draws on his Moroccan-Danish heritage in his work. He is a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology at the University of Haifa, alongside his work as a player and composer.

31.03

Local Forces Behind New Electronic Festival in Aalborg

On May 29, the Aalborg-based collective Datahaven9000 takes over the venue Skråen, transforming its main hall into a concentrated one-day festival of electronic music. The event is part of the concert series Bystanders #3, where the stage is handed over to local scenes rather than the venue’s in-house programming.