{"id":61644,"date":"2018-02-06T18:30:03","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T17:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=61644"},"modified":"2018-02-06T18:30:03","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T17:30:03","slug":"noqturnl-subconscious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/","title":{"rendered":"I Slept With 69 Strangers to Try and Access My Subconscious"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I\u2019m dubious about anything that sounds remotely like holistic therapy \u2014 but I\u2019m also fascinated. A friend once sent me an article about how Tibetan sound baths can cure tinnitus, and within minutes I was knee-deep in a forum of Himalayan monks telling me what material my “singing bowl” should be made from and why a CD recording fundamentally cannot act as a substitute. My YouTube history reads like a beginner’s guide to hypnosis, and I\u2019ve tried to learn how to treat ailments with reflexology on more than one occasion. Basically, I\u2019m a sucker for exactly the kind of thing my Dad would write off as “nonsense”. So when I read about NOQTURNL, \u201can audiovisual meditation exploring collective dreamstate,\u201d I’m sold.<\/span>
\nPart of CTM Festival, NOQTURNL is an overnight performance conceived by John Connell and Florence To that aims to explore the threshold between waking and dreaming. NOQTURNL\u2019s unique aural and visual experience is constructed through intricate soundscapes and patterns of light, which \u201cimmerse participants in a spatial field of sound and light designed to open access to the hyper\u00adlucid.\u201d For those of you who (like me) don\u2019t know, the hyperlucid is described as \u201cthe imaginative and highly receptive state of intelligence available within the dreaming mind\u201d. When I found out Connell and To were bringing the project to MONOM, Berlin\u2019s centre for spatial sound, I was intrigued (if a little skeptical), and let\u2019s be real: I had nothing better to do with my Saturday night. <\/span>
\n\"\"The performance, I’m told, starts at midnight and ends \u201cat dawn\u201d. I\u2019ll be honest, I have no idea what time \u201cdawn\u201d occurs, and that’s a very conscious decision, because I\u2019m rarely up to see it. As it turns out, dawn is around 7am, which is better than expected, but still less than ideal \u2014 I\u2019m the type of person who cannot function on less than 8 hours sleep. Luckily, the romantic promise of \u201cbreakfast at first light\u201d is enough to soothe that pain. Nevertheless, I\u2019m still full of questions (and anxieties): what should I wear? Pyjamas?! Should I <\/span>bring <\/span><\/i>my pyjamas? Will I be the only person attending alone? I\u2019m worried the sound will be too loud (aggravating my aforementioned tinnitus), and I\u2019m <\/span>wirklich<\/span><\/i> worried what they consider to be a suitable \u201cbed\u201d will not be what I<\/em> consider a suitable bed. When the time comes, I have serious reservations about even going \u2014 I\u2019m absolutely exhausted and want to go to sleep, but when I remember that\u2019s literally the point, I throw on some tracksuit bottoms, pack my glasses and my toothbrush, and set off.<\/span>
\nBut first: the real quest. I have to voyage to the ends of the earth to get there. The whole journey takes me an astonishing hour and 10 minutes. Granted, that\u2019s nothing if you\u2019re a Londoner, but nobody in Berlin travels that far unless they are (for some godforsaken reason) going beyond<\/em>\u00a0the airport. After two S-Bahn changes, I take a tram to Rummelsburg (yep, you read that right) which unsurprisingly, is a ghost town. The only other people are a group of 3 boys carrying sleeping bags, who are quite obviously also headed to NOQTURNL. A simple “hey” would have saved me much inner turmoil, but awkward and in no mood for small talk, I say absolutely nothing. Instead, I proceed to walk 5 steps behind them like a shifty stalker until we arrive at our destination.<\/span>
\n\"\"To confirm my worst fears, it does genuinely seem I\u2019m the only person at NOQTURNL who has decided to come alone \u2014 other than a guy sitting with his headphones in, head down, determined not to make eye contact with anyone. I sit in the freezing cold, concrete waiting area, surrounded by couples resting their heads lovingly upon each other\u2019s shoulders, and friends chatting over a beer. Luckily for me, I\u2019m absolutely exhausted thanks to a day in the library and a healthy dose of ghosting from yet another fuckboy, so I\u2019m thankful that no socialising is required of me. In fact (a true blessing) the only expectation is that I fall asleep.<\/span>
\nWe\u2019re ushered into the sleeping room at about 11.45pm, and at first sight, all my worries subside. The huge industrial room is shrouded in a purple haze with 70 mattresses elevated on a platform, along with a fresh pillows and neatly folded blankets. As I lie on my bed for the night and stare up towards the ceiling, I\u2019m reminded of Anthony McCall\u2019s description of haze as \u201cambient sea-mist\u201d and I\u2019m soothed by the enveloping violet cloud that means I can\u2019t really see or be seen. <\/span>
\n\"\"The actual performance begins just after midnight, beginning with an ambient blend of light and sound that seems to travel in waves from one side of the room to the other. The sounds \u2014 field recordings of birds chirping, trains leaving their platforms, and footsteps receding \u2014 creates an experience so soothing, I\u2019m well on the way to falling asleep. My last thought before consciousness slips away from me is a silent prayer that I don\u2019t have to pee. The trip to the toilets involves exiting the premises (into the subzero Berlin rainstorm) and going downstairs into the basement \u2014 an ordeal surely enough to awaken anyone from a supposed state of hyperlucidity.<\/span>
\nMuch as intended, I don\u2019t sleep the whole night through. (I challenge anyone <\/span>nicht <\/span><\/i>to rouse from their slumber to the sound of loud gongs reverberating from all four corners of the room.) I drift between sleep and waking as light patterns and distinct sounds disrupt my dreams, which \u2014 \u00a0and I\u2019m not just saying this \u2014 are more vivid and bizarre than they\u2019ve ever been. <\/span>
\n\"\"When I wake, I\u2019m mostly left with vague fragments and impressions of half-forgotten dreams \u2014 but at one point, I have a particularly vivid nightmare. I feel scared and victimised and alone, and then \u2014 I kid you not, hand on heart \u2014 I wake to the sound of a reassuring voice over the speaker telling me it will all be OK. I don\u2019t know what kind of sorcery they\u2019ve got going on, but it felt like I\u2019d been induced into a nightmare and then deliberately awakened into a place of warmth and safety\u2014 is that even possible? John Connell? Florence To? I\u2019m all ears. <\/span>
\nAt 7.45am I awake (pleasantly smug that I\u2019ve managed to wangle an extra 45 mins of sleep), I roll up my sleeping bag, grab a croissant, and head straight for the tram. I\u2019m revelling in a state of serenity induced by the night before. My tram-two-S-Bahns-and-a-bus journey home provides the perfect setting to reflect on the performance. To be honest, I don\u2019t know what went on or how. All I can tell you is I\u2019m convinced that some kind of witchcraft (probably better known as science) was inflicted upon me and 69 other sleeping strangers by John Connell and Florence To that night, and I\u2019d do it all again if I could.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[34,7487,10152,10153,10154,10155,10156],"class_list":["post-61644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-berlin","tag-ctm","tag-florence-to","tag-john-connell","tag-monom","tag-noqturnl","tag-sleep-concert"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\nNOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"sleek\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. This creativity manifests itself in SLEEK\u2019s quarterly print publication, digital and social media channels.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/\",\"name\":\"NOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1fd4c1b41c96eff389e4781115613a68\"},\"description\":\"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I Slept With 69 Strangers to Try and Access My Subconscious\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1fd4c1b41c96eff389e4781115613a68\",\"name\":\"sleek\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28a91a7b03694a9860c1590004521e06b91644c079476028047b1a7f5e3eb6e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28a91a7b03694a9860c1590004521e06b91644c079476028047b1a7f5e3eb6e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"sleek\"},\"description\":\"She\u2019s currently writing her thesis on immersive installation and has a soft spot for techno, existential art memes and nineties sunglasses.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/sleek\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious","description":"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"NOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious","og_description":"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/","og_site_name":"Sleek Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/","article_published_time":"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sleekmag","twitter_site":"@sleekmag","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"sleek","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"6\u00a0Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/","name":"Schlankes Magazin","description":"Sleek ist Deutschlands f\u00fchrendes unabh\u00e4ngiges Medienhaus\/Marke f\u00fcr Kreativit\u00e4t und Innovation mit Sitz in Berlin, der kreativen Hauptstadt der Welt. Diese Kreativit\u00e4t manifestiert sich in der viertelj\u00e4hrlich erscheinenden Print-Publikation, den digitalen und Social-Media-Kan\u00e4len von SLEEK.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/","name":"NOQTURNL: Sleeping With 69 Strangers to Access My Subconscious","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-06T17:30:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1fd4c1b41c96eff389e4781115613a68"},"description":"NOQTURNL is an overnight performance which uses light and sound to access a hyperlucid dream state \u2014 and believe it or not, it actually works.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/noqturnl-subconscious\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"I Slept With 69 Strangers to Try and Access My Subconscious"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1fd4c1b41c96eff389e4781115613a68","name":"schlank","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28a91a7b03694a9860c1590004521e06b91644c079476028047b1a7f5e3eb6e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28a91a7b03694a9860c1590004521e06b91644c079476028047b1a7f5e3eb6e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"sleek"},"description":"Zurzeit schreibt sie ihre Doktorarbeit \u00fcber immersive Installationen und hat ein Faible f\u00fcr Techno, existentielle Kunstmemes und Sonnenbrillen aus den Neunzigern.","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/sleek\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}