More than 20 years on from his beginnings in experimental jazz rock in Germany, Marc Behrens has branched out to position himself as a world leader in the field of sound experimentation.

His creative pursuits have seen him dabble in conceptual electroacoustic composition, field recordings, installation art, photography and video, so it’s only fitting he should be touring the country as part of Liquid Architecture, a festival that celebrates the diverse methods of sound making and sound theory.

“Liquid Architecture is a festival about listening,” Behrens explains. “I would dare to claim that I am a listener while creating my sound work. The division is not between listener and performer/ composer, but rather between different levels of what the act of listening provokes and entails. I also draw up concepts and constantly think about things. For me, thinking is already theory.”

This distinction, or lack thereof, between the sound artist and their output is a defining factor in Behrens’ work. You cannot help but get an almost unnerving sense of complete immersion when you’re met with a wall of near silence, sprinkled with deftly, processed sound excerpts both familiar and unfamiliar. The sparsity of the sonic textures really forces the participant into a state of focussed, active listening – one which can manifest in a physical sense described by Behrens as ‘macromania’.

“It means the sensation when your body seems to swell, accompanied by the illusion that the silence that surrounds you mounts to an intolerable noise. For me, also, the words I had in my thoughts usually resounded with a gigantic virtual reverb. It was strongest when I was a young kid however the effect of this in my work has probably only surfaced in recent years.”

Coincidentally, in the last few years, Behrens has undertaken extensive travels to all corners of the globe including China, South Africa and the Amazon in the pursuit of capturing field recordings. Armed with a microphone and a keen ear he utilises his findings for a variety of artistic projects.

“I was in Francisco López' Amazon workshop, using it along with recordings made in South Africa and Namibia for a conceptual radio piece for the German WDR about sonic niches and environments of very different sonic density,” reveals Behrens. “And the Taiwan recordings were turned into three pieces about very different sonic environments found in close proximity to each other (‘A Narrow Angle’).

“In the same year I went to the Namibia and Kalahari, where of course all the terrain was new to me. I got some of the recordings I imagined, but also have not managed to get all I wanted, missing out on hyena and lions. Well, the lion I finally recorded just burped and farted and remained otherwise silent. Must have been the wrong time.”

While Behrens’ extensive travels have occupied much of his time, he explains it’s not the only focus of his audio pursuits, in particular the performance aspect that will be on display for Liquid Architecture.

“I should highlight that I do not always work with field recordings. Actually sometimes with none at all, but rather studio recordings of played objects, as in one of the live pieces I will present at Liquid Architecture.

“Generally, there is a concept at the base of the compositions and the material may call for certain strategies. For the live pieces there are strategies that guide me, oriented along block structures. Of course, there will be small detail decisions that are made going with the flow, and alterations, depending on what energies the performance offers or lacks or how it is contextualised.”

Marc Behrens will be appearing nationally as part of the Liquid Architecture festival that runs June 27 until July 3.