Magical realism, with its blend of the fantastical and the ordinary, holds a unique literary importance as it allows creatives to explore complex themes in a captivating and thought-provoking manner. This storytelling style enables the seamless integration of the fantastical, the whimsical, and the oneiric into everyday scenarios, offering a fresh perspective on reality and human experience.

The band ‘ACKOU’ came to life when Marc Teitler and Bernd Wuertz crossed paths at the Berlin International Film Festival’s VW Score competition. Despite initially being rivals, they bonded over a shared love for musique concrète, Cornelius, post-punk Klezmer, Pauline Oliveros, and magical-realist literature. This unlikely pairing led them to combine their vastly different musical backgrounds—Marc, an orchestral composer, and Bernd, with a noise art and punk background—to create a genre-defying record.

Their collaboration on ‘The Island of Komodo’, a series of pieces inspired by a short magical-realist story, took them on an unexpected sonic journey. Focusing on the non-verbal boy’s perspective, they experimented with electromagnetic field recordings, irregular rhythms, vocalization, and unique instruments to bring the story to life through a series of songs. The result was an immersive, hallucinatory, genre-blurring odyssey that showcased their innovative approach to music creation.

Interestingly, while magical realism’s vernacular is ever present in literature, it’s somewhat underappreciated and underused in songwriting. The paradox lies in the fact that the lyrical and poetic nature of magical realism seems tailor-made for the emotive and imaginative realm of music. Exploring this literary style in songwriting could open up new avenues for conveying profound emotions and narratives in a captivating and enigmatic way, offering a rich and unexplored territory for musicians to delve into.

After the festival, Marc relocated to Berlin to collaborate with Bernd on ‘The Island of Komodo.’ A magical-realist story about a child conceived on Komodo island, facing parental rejection and transforming into a dragon from the eponymous island, a symbolic representation of how society can often perceive ‘different’ as threats to their status quo or how those ostracized and victimized can be pushed down dark, destructive paths. 

“To amplify the sensations of mental fragmentation and paranoia, the track’s rhythms are crafted from transmission noises, white noise, radio interference, and analog glitches”

Their latest release ‘Madness in a Jar‘ delves into the boy’s mental breakdown. The accompanying music video was created with award-winning arthouse filmmaker Marina Waltz, and it portrays a young boy perceiving enigmatic clandestine messages from his television and undergoing a metamorphosis into a Komodo dragon. 

“Originally conceived as a metaphor for the ease in which vulnerable and isolated individuals can fall prey to internet conspiracy theories and disappear down information rabbit holes, Marina’s video also alludes to the human yearning, not only to rediscover concealed facets of the mind but also to reestablish a connection with the natural world.”