w/organ

Our newly formed international quartet - Hellmut Neidhardt (guitar, amps, Dortmund), Geraldine Vanspauwen (organ, voice, Brussels), Alexis “Schlax” Ludwig (synth/guitar, Cologne), and Iulia Andreea Smeu (violin/electronics, Basel) - explores in situ improvisation, ambient and drone textures, experimental soundscapes, and indie folk influences. Our individual practices are rooted in diverse musical traditions and life experiences, from classical training to DIY punk and sound art. Together, we develop a shared musical language that respects our differences while seeking common resonance. This collaboration is built on past joint performances and a shared interest in how architecture shapes sound and perception.

Plans are in place to expand the ensemble in the future, adding more instruments, voices, and possibilities.
We view this expansion as an artistic opening: We do not want to codify our shared language, but rather to continually shift it through new impulses. Each new lineup alters the relationships between the instruments, the musicians, and the architecture. In this way, w/organ becomes a growing ensemble that understands sound as a process - between harmony and friction, structure and improvisation, past and present. 

Our concerts avoid fixed stage-audience boundaries. Audiences are encouraged to move, allowing shifting perspectives and spatial listening. If possible, we will incorporate site-specific installations and the church’s organ, tuning our flexible instruments (violin, voice, synths, guitar) to its tonalities. The organ's symbolic and sonic weight, as the world’s loudest acoustic instrument, adds an interesting layer for research to the project.

Resonant Spaces (2026) Trailer

w/organ 2026:

Iulia-Andreea Smeu (KITE) — Violin, live electronics | Basel, CH / The Hague, NL
Iulia-Andreea Smeu is a composer - improviser, violinist, and artistic researcher. Following her classical violin training she turned towards free improvisation, electroacoustic composition, and sound design. Her practice involves processed violin, live electronics, and spatial sound, with a focus on how technological mediation and listening affect the experience of time. She uses performance and participatory listening to examine perception, embodiment, and the boundaries between physical and mediated environments.

Hellmut Neidhardt (N) — Guitar, electronics | Dortmund, DE
Hellmut Neidhardt, performing under the name N, is a German guitarist and sound artist working in experimental, ambient, and drone music. Since founding the experimental project [MULTER] in 1997, he has developed an extensive solo and collaborative practice, releasing more than 120 records. His work centers on the immediacy of live performance, using electric guitar, amplifiers, and effects to create expansive, immersive sonic landscapes without overdubs or prerecorded material. Closely connected to the physical spaces in which they are created, his compositions explore the relationship between sound, atmosphere, and the moment of performance.

Alexis Ludwig (Graneg Sandpapier) — Synthesizers, guitar | Cologne, DE
Alexis Ludwig is a Cologne-based musician, electronic instrument builder, and curator whose artistic practice is rooted in DIY culture, punk, and experimental music. Since the early 2000s, he has developed his own synthesizers, effects devices, and unconventional instruments, including the RandZone synthesizer and the Stahlcello. He founded the micro-label Eremitenteam in 2021 and co-founded Ensemble Dégénéré in 2023. His previous site-specific projects at St. Gertrud Church in Cologne include Z/ONE (2024) and Toter Toaster vol. 3 (2025).

Geraldine Vanspauwen (La Zza Ro) — Voice, organ, guitar | Brussels, BE
Geraldine Vanspauwen is a Brussels-based musician, sound artist, and curator whose practice moves between experimental music, sound installations, and interdisciplinary research. Performing under the name La Zza Ro, she works with voice, organ, piano, guitar, tape machines, and field recordings to explore the relationships between sound, memory, and environment. Her work draws on early vocal music, contemporary polyphony, and experimental sound practices, with a particular interest in listening as a means of connecting with our surroundings. Alongside her solo project and collaborations with Zemlya and Sergeant, she is the artistic director of La Semaine du Son.Oor, a Belgian festival dedicated to sound and listening.

w/organ @ Brüderkirche/Lippstadt, may 2026