Das Bett by Jochen Arbeit

The pandemic has finally given us enough time to be able to develop creative ideas. As the
pandemic progressed, my apartment increasingly became a music studio. On the red carpet in front
of the sofa, the instruments gathered and we tripped over cables.
At some point Sonja had the idea of stretching wires across the apartment in order to elicit sounds
from them, depending on their length, line and position. I didn't like the idea of no longer being able
to move freely through the apartment and possibly no longer be able to open doors. So at some
point I came up with the idea of converting an unused metal bed into an instrument.
Yuri Landman constructed a devise on which we stretched piano strings and run them directly into our amplifiers, which admittedly was quite tedious. More than once a string hissed, just past my face when it broke. But so far we have been able to survive the instrument and continue to wring interesting tones from it,
while also using it for percussion.
With a wide variety of devices, vibrators and kitchen appliances, for example, we were able to
create incredible sounds that we had never heard before and merge into pieces that triggered
something in us and touched us emotionally. It's like always when we both get together, sometimes
it almost hurts to listen and takes you to the deepest depths and then it's easy again, like flying far
away in your thoughts, ultimately like dreaming.
The bed has little flexibility, the tones are not very fluid and it is difficult to tune. But that made it a
great challenge and we are surprised and also proud of what we were able to produce with this very
special instrument.
As always, all recordings were made spontaneously from short live improvisations together.
The titles of the pieces are based on what we ourselves associate with them emotionally, all of them
are also connected to the experience in and out of bed. The first track was the last in this series we
recorded and the last track was the first we played on the bed.
We wish you a lot of fun or whatever emotions you associate with it while listening. Enjoy listening.

Das Bett
Jochen Arbeit and Sonja Kosche
Titles and Credits

Track 1- Fear ( The End )
Sonja: Bed- Bow on Wire
Jochen: Bed- Percussion

Track 2- Awakening
Sonja: Homeswinger- E Bow, Bow
Jochen: Metalplates, Loops

Track 3- Dreaming
Sonja: Homeswinger- Ventilator
Jochen: Guitar, E Bow

Track 4- Stand Up
Sonja: Bed- Bow on Wire,Harddrive
Jochen: Kalimba, Balafon, Loops
Chandra Shukla: Sitar

Track 5- Deep Falling
Sonja: Bed- Vibrator, Vibro Eggs
Jochen: Metalplates, Loops

Track 6- Flashback Monsters
Sonja: Bed- Bow on Wire
Jochen: Synth, Loops, Metal Sticks

Track 7- Nervous Breakdown
Sonja: Bed- Vibrator on Wire, Vibro Eggs Guitar
Jochen: Synth, Loops, 12 String Guitar

Track 8- Darkness
Sonja: Bed- Bow on Wire, Whisk on Wire
Jochen: Kalimba. Loops

Track 9- Excitement
Sonja: Homeswinger- Ventilator
Jochen: Feet FX on Sonja, Metal Plates

Track 10- Warm Breathe ( The Beginning )
Sonja: Bed- Bow on Wire
Jochen: Synth

All Tracks recorded and produced at Zuhaus Studio in Winter 2021/2022
Photos by Martin Walz
Thanks to Yuri Landman for Instruments like Homeswinger and Harddrive, other Devices and Inspiration

Jochen Arbeit is known for his work with bands like Einstürzende Neubauten and Die Haut. He also works as a solo artists for dance theater, movies and solo works. His new project is a creative exploration into sound with his partner Sonja Kosche.