Marginal Consort's Immersive Berlin Concert at St. Elisabeth Kirche

The Japanese experimental group Marginal Consort performed a rare concert at St. Elisabeth Kirche in Berlin, organized by Manuela Benetton in collaboration with PAN and 3333. The three-hour live improvisation, held on June 6, 2016, featured members Kazuo Imai, Tomonao Koshikawa, Kei Shii, and Masami Tada. The performance emphasized collective improvisation, free interaction with objects and the audience, and a fluid, immersive experience. Founded in 1997 after the dissolution of East Bionic Symphonia, the group originally included students of Takehisa Kosugi from the Tokyo School of Aesthetics. Kosugi, a Fluxus-aligned avant-garde figure, explored collective improvisation and multimedia happenings through his concept of Music Expanded. Marginal Consort typically performs one concert per year, but in 2016 they added Berlin and three Japanese dates to their London show at St. John at Hackney Church. The concert transformed from day to night, guiding attendees through a journey of expanded consciousness via accumulating, overlapping, and colliding sounds.