Raed Yassin’s Phantom Orchestra

Raed Yassin’s Phantom Orchestra is a collective project that captures and archives a unique musical moment in recent history: the sounds developed in isolation by experimental improvisers. Improvisation musicians are used to constantly collaborating with others in new environments and contexts, but during the pandemic, they were forced to improvise alone, often in confined, domestic spaces. Here, the results of this unique experimentation are performed, recorded, and pressed onto vinyl records, which are then played together as a kind of "turntable orchestra," where the separated sounds are reconnected in an alternative way. The project aims to mirror our present time, as we emerge from isolation and relearn how to be together in the world.

With music by:

Tomomi Adachi, Khyam Allami, Burkhard Beins, Tony Buck, Anthea Caddy, Lucio Capece, Audrey Chen, Paed Conca, Marina Cyrino, Marta De Pascalis, Axel Dörner, Mia Dyberg, Tony Elieh, Emilio Gordoa, Judith Hamann, Carl Ludwig Hübsch, JD Zazie, Elena Kakaliagou, Mazen Kerbaj, Hans W. Koch, Matthias Koole, Andrew Lafkas, Elisabetta Lanfredini, Maurice Louca, Miya Masaoka, Magda Mayas, Matthias Muche, Andrea Neumann, Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø, Rieko Okuda, Andrea Parkins, Jules Reidy, Ingrid Schmoliner, Marie Takahashi, Michael Thieke, Anais Tuerlinckx, Els Vandeweyer, Michael Vorfeld, Biliana Voutchkova, Uygur Vural, and Ute Wassermann.

Raed Yassin

Born in 1979 in Beirut and currently based in Berlin, Raed Yassin is an artist and musician. He graduated from the Theatre Department at the Institute of Fine Arts in Beirut in 2003 and has since developed his conceptual practice across various media, including video, sound, photography, text, sculpture, and performance. His work often stems from an exploration of his personal narratives and their placement within collective history, viewed through the lens of consumer culture and mass production.

As a musician, Yassin has been a key figure in the Lebanese underground music scene for many years. He was one of the organisers of the Irtijal Festival for experimental music from its early beginnings, and in 2009, he founded his conceptual record label, Annihaya. He is a member of several bands and groups, including A Trio, PRAED, and others.

As a double bassist, he has developed a distinctive and independent extended technique, using various preparations and objects on his instrument. His focus is on textures, energies, and vibrations—on the density of volume and sound rather than conventional melodic structures.

As an electronic musician, he employs a wide range of synthesisers, drum machines, noise generators, and turntables to create personal soundscapes that range from noise to concrete music.