The Contract

Songs for the Contract is a collection of nine musical scenes revolving in a virtual cosmos. The scenes unfold moments between five musicians in alternating constellations performing songs for the days and hours slowing down, turning inwards and holding on to an idea of reality as it slowly fades away. By entering a baroque-like maze of floating convex mirrors the visitor creates their own path through a map of musical events in which the boundaries between movement, music and corporeality dissolve. Songs for the Contract is developed and performed by Billy Bultheel in collaboration with Alexander Iezzi, Steve Katona, Andie Stecher and Shade Theret between March and April 2021. The songs are part of a larger performance titled The Contract that will be presented in various contexts across Europe later this year, amongst others the 7th Athens Biennale, Disappearing Berlin by Schinkel Pavillon, Radialsystem Berlin and Halle für Kunst Steiermark, Graz. Each of the Songs is sold as an NFT on folia.app. Drawing upon the possibilities of blockchain technology, the NFTs are tied to a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation), which functions as a revenue distribution platform between the artistic collaborators. The DAO was developed in collaboration with Black Swan, a Berlin based organisation focused on developing new support structures for cultural workers.