Hidros 9 (2022) / Oslo
An interaction between graphic works, 2 chamber groups, 4 soloists, processing electronics and conductor.
Commissioned by Avant Art
The commissioned new piece “Hidros 9” (2022) is a deeper exploration and continuation of the previous piece Hidros o.T. (2019), commissioned by NyMusikk Trondheim and will deal with mirrored forms and structures, connected to the visual works of Mathias Pöschl (AUT).
By controlling 3 different instrument groups (9- piece chamber ensemble, Soloist group and Electronics), the conductor will be able to use 3 different kind of graphics and models of conductions applied to the specific content of the graphics.
The 1st instrument group will consist of a double mirrored 9-piece ensemble with the double setting: violin, cello, 2 basses, guitar, percussion, bass drum, organ & prepared piano and accordion. This group is working with a variety of related graphics (1-13) controlled by the conductor. One 9-piece ensemble from Norway (NyMusikk Trondheim) and one with similar instrumental setting from Poland (Avant Art Ensemble).
The solo group will work with entirely different sound sources and graphics and is the balance in between (the mirror) the two 9-piece ensembles. Amplified bass sax, trumpet, electric guitar(s) and tuba. The Soloists will work in various settings as well as with solo work that is using the two mirrored ensembles as a musical engine. The Soloists will work with entirely different graphics (1 – 6) where they can interprete freely according to the rules of the composer.
The Soloists will work in a direct interaction between the image/ the score and the two mirrored ensembles. Controlled and ruled by the conductor.
A third instrumental group is the electronics: turntables and reel-to -reel tape machines. They will work with an entirely different graphic score and using sound sources from the previous piece of Gustafsson/ Pöschl: “Hidros o.T. (2019) and processing those sound recordings live in interaction with the conductor and the mirrored ensemble as well as with the Soloists.
Rules and game pieces will be set by the composer and executed live by the conductor in an INSTANT CONDUCTING situation, where tempo, dynamics, density and other musical parameters will be controlled by pre- determined rules of conductions.
What will give the piece a special body, character and profile is the meeting between traditional instruments and traditions (western string instruments: 4 double basses, 2 cellos, 2 violins) and new technology (contact miced amplified bass saxophone, turntables, electronics and tape machine) – all in an instant conducting situation and interplay with the interactions of the Soloists.
All graphics will be visible on stage – for the musicians as well as for the audience to see and digest.
A free associative interplay between audience and artists.
Many layers of interaction and new musical perspectives, forms and frictions will be used in Hidros 9. All linked to the graphic scores and works of Austrian artist Mathias Pöschl and the game pieces and conductive composing of Mats Gustafsson.
Solo improviser, often in collaboration with contemporary dance, visual art, poetry and theatre Composer of solo work for saxophone, live electronics and ensemble pieces. Sound Installations.
Commissions by Swedish Concert Institute, Swedish National Radio (P1 & P2), KulturBro 2000, Krakow jazz autumn 2013, Norrlands Operans Symfoniorkester, Now and Forever Space project 2014, Klangforum Wien. Compositions played by Sonic Youth, Nu-ensemblen, Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Copenhagen Art Ensemble, The Thing, AALY Trio, The End, Trondheim Improvisers Ensemble, Neneh Cherry, NyMusikk TRondheim, FRIM Storband, Trondheim Voices a.o. Curator of festivals; Sounds 89 & 99, Solo -92, Dygn (-95), Open Music – KulturBro 2000, 2002, Wels /unlimited music 2003, Perspectives 2004, Perspectives 2007, Perspectives 2009, Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen 2010…
Curator of Swedish concert Institute’s tour project-series “Frislag” since 2000. Re-started FRIM in 1998 (the association of free improvised music in Sweden). Citizen of Elgaland/ Vargaland (KREV) Started Blue Tower Records with Harald Hult in 1989. Started Crazy Wisdom with Christian Falk and Conny C. Lindström in 1999.
Started Olof Bright Editions with Thomas Millroth in 2000. Started SLOTTET with Conny C Lindström and Maria Eriksson in 2006.
Extensive touring, over 2000 concerts and over 250 recording projects, with music ensembles and solo projects in Scandinavia, Europe, Australia, Africa, South & North America and Asia. Major festivals and clubs/performance theatres/museums in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania, Lettvia, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium, Holland, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Monaco, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, India, China, Japan, Korea, Tasmania, Australia, New Zeeland, USA, Brazil, Canada and Ethiopia.
Colin Stetson was born and raised in Ann Arbor, spent a decade in San Francisco and Brooklyn honing his formidable talents as a horn player, eventually settling in Montreal in 2007.
Over the years he has worked extensively, live and in studio, with a wide range of bands and musicians including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, TV On The Radio, Feist, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Bill Laswell, Evan Parker, The Chemical Brothers, Animal Collective, Hamid Drake, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, Fink, and David Gilmore. Meanwhile he has developed an utterly unique voice as a soloist, principally on saxophones and clarinets, his intense technical prowess matched by his exhilarating and emotionally gripping skills as a songwriter.
Stetson’s astounding physical engagement with his instruments (chiefly bass and alto saxophones) produces emotionally rich and polyphonic compositions that transcend expectations of what solo horn playing can sound like.
Stemming from that approach and aesthetic, he has been contributing regularly to the world of film, TV, and game scoring over the past decade with such titles as Hereditary (2018), The First (2018), Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), Color Out of Space (2019), Barkskins (2020), Mayday (2021), Among The Stars (2021), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), and Uzumaki (2022).
Anders Nyqvist was born in 1977 in Sweden and started playing the trumpet at the age of 10. After graduating from high-school in his home town of Trollhättan, he was offered a scholarship to study music at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. There, he studied both trumpet and voice, but soon decided on the trumpet as the instrument of his choice.
After three years in Hong Kong, he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
He became a member of Klangforum Wien in 2004.
For Anders Nyqvist, the opportunity to work with composers, developing new sounds, contributing his experience and being part of the creative process, is an essential ingredient of music making. He has performed internationally both as a soloist and with chamber music ensembles at most of the major festivals and concert venues. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles and orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, and Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich.
Since 2009, he has taught trumpet for the Performance Practice in Contemporary Music degree program, at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz; and from 2011 also at the University of Music in Vienna. He also regularly conducts master classes in Europe and Asia.
Numerous pieces have been written especially for him by composers such as Matthias Pintscher, Bernhard Gander, Bernhard Lang, Pierluigi Billone, Nina Šenk, and Roland Freisitzer.
Anders Nyqvist has also participated in a great number of CD, DVD and television productions.
Born as Dieter Kovačič in 1973
Turntablist, hacker, filmmaker, autodidact, composer, collageur, conscientious copyright objector. Since 1997 dieb13 has played hundreds of shows in more than 30 countries as soloist as well as a member of various ensembles. Long-term cooperations with (among others) Billy Roisz, Phil Minton and Mats Gustafsson.
About 65 releases on circa 35 labels.
Music for theater-, dance-, opera-, film- and video-productions, as well as installations and exhibitions.
Founder and operator of the internet platform klingt.org
Curator for festivals and concert series.
http://dieb13.klingt.org
Born in 1957 in Skellefteå in the very north of Sweden. Holmlander received his diploma in classical tuba in 1983 at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm with Michael Lind as a teacher. Holmlander has always worked simultaneously with improvisation, jazz and rock music as well as classical and contemporary music.
As an improviser Holmlander has worked with – Eje Thelin, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Lovens, Folke Rabe, Phil Minton, Sten Sandell, Sven-Åke Johansson, Gunter Christmann, Kjell Westling, Keith Rowe, Georg Riedel, Position Alpha, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Barry Guy New Orchestra, Ken Vandermark – Territory Band & Resonance Ensemble, London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Swedish azz, Fredrik Ljungkvist and his Yun Kan 5 & 10, Fire! Orchestra…..among many many others.
Holmlander works a lot with theatre music, sometimes he plays solo and he regularly works with his own Carliot – It´s never too late Orchestra, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Fish & Steel, and recently with Gabrielle Mitelli – E.G.O. – EuropeanGalacticOrchestra, Parti & Minut, Inner Ear, Torden Kvartetten & Mats Gustafsson NU-Ensemble.
Per-Åke has participated in more than 100 records and 1800 theatrical performances. He has given concerts in 39 countries and he is since December 2008 a member of the government run – Musikalliansen.
Jérôme Noetinger (1966) is a composer, improviser and sound artist who works with electroacoustic devices such as the Revox B77 reel-to reel tape recorder and magnetic tape, analogue synthesisers, mixing desks, speakers, microphones, various electronic household/everyday objects and home-made electronica.
He performs both solo and in ensembles (Cellule d’Intervention Metamkine, Le Un, Hrundi Bakshi, Les Sirènes, Proton…), and collaborates often (Sophie Agnel, Lionel Marchetti, Aude Romary, Angelica Castello, Antoine Chessex, Anthony Pateras, Anne-Laure Pigache…).
From 1987 to 2018, he was the director of Metamkine, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the distribution of improvised and electroacoustic music.
Between 1987 and 2014 Jérôme was a member of the editorial committee of the quarterly journal of contemporary sound, poetry and performance, Revue & Corrigée.
For ten years from 1989, he was a member and programming co ordinator of exhibitions, gigs, and experimental cinema at le 102 rue d’Alembert, Grenoble.
Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen is a groundbreaking and influential Norwegian guitarist from Ålesund. Her work with Hedvig Mollestad Trio, including 7 albums in 10 years, has led to broad international attention and interest. In 2020 she released her first solo record Ekhidna, and recieved a Norwegian Grammy. Her 2nd solo release was also nominated for Norwegian Grammy, as was her 2021 release with her trio.
David Fricke from Rolling Stone says: I was immediately struck by the quality and ferocity of her guitar playing and improvisation, and the rhythmic bond of the group. Richard Williams has written liner notes for the live album from 2016 and says: There is always something wild and worthwhile happening in her solos, demonstrating a phenomenal deftness and gift for detail. The releases of the trio have been reviewed several times in media such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MOJO, Uncut, Classic Rock, The Wire, Downbeat, Jazzwise, Jazztimes, Guitar World and Decibel Magazine. Following the release of Ekhidna, she was included in Downbeat’s “25 for the future”, where the article shine a spotlight on ascending artists that potentially will shape the direction of jazz in the years to come.
In recent years, Mollestad has also made her mark as a composer outside the trio, with several commissioned works. In 2019 she delivered Tingingsverket to Vossajazz, her most recent release Ekhidna. In 2019 she was also awarded the prestigious Musicians Prize at Kongsberg Jazz Festival, where she will perform in 2022 with her new project Weejuns, featuring several international acts. She has also written music for Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and her most recent work Maternity Beat, featuring 12 musicians, was performed for the first time at Molde Int. Jazz Festival 2020, recorded in 2021 and to be released in 2022.
She received the award for This Year’s Jazz Talent during Moldejazz in 2009, and on that occasion she founded Hedvig Mollestad Trio. Since 2010, the trio has played hundreds of concerts in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, US and Canada. Below is a full discography for Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen. She har played and worked close with names as Jon Balke, Mats Gustafsson, Susana Santos Silva, Jon Eberson, Jarle Bernhoft, Ståle Storløkken and Torstein Lofthus.
Composer born in 1991 in Kraków. Lives in Warsaw. Creates instrumental, electroacoustic and electronic music. She plays the violin, electronica and waste. Her works have been performed at various festivals, including the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Musice Electronica Nova, Sacrum Profanum, Unsound, Containerclang (Cologne), and the Bedingo International Festival of Exploratory Music.
She has collaborated on film productions (Tower. Bright Day dir. by J. Szelc, Prime Time dir. by J. Piątek, Sole dir. by C. Sironi), theatre productions (Hymn to Love dir. by M. Górnicka (Best Music at the 10th Divine Comedy Festival), November dir. by T. Węgorzewski (award at the 3rd edition of the Live Classics Festival)), television productions (Weak, dir. A. Biedrzycki (award for music at Teatroteka Fest 2019), performances (Chorus from the ‘The Ark of Covenant’ by K. Kozyra) and audiovisual installations (Life As We Know It – NOW, in collaboration with the ARK Amsterdam collective).
In 2021, she received the award for music to Prime Time at the 46th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia and the Passport of Polityka.
She is a graduate of the UMFC in Warsaw in the composition class of Krzysztof Baculewski.
A self-taught percussionist. Since the beginning of her career, she has been connected with the Centre “Borderland – of Arts, Cultures and Nations” in Sejny; she is a co-founder of the Sejny Jazz Cooperative, where she cooperates with such musicians as Mikołaj Trzaska, Wacław Zilmpel, Raphael Roginski, Hubert Zemler and the LADO ABC record label. Percussionist in the Klezmer Orchestra of the Sejny Theatre, Ejbike Mame, Taniej O, Pochwalonych, Band Dzeta.
Szymon Wójcik – composer, guitarist, sound artist and improviser based in Cologne, Germany. In his works he focuses on searching for a balance between the precise organization of the musical material and freedom of expression, creating contrasts and juxtaposing things that seem very distant at first glance, as well as researching the influence of other media on the creative process and compositional work.
Leader of the projects ALL THE WONDER OF SIX LITTLE SPOONS and RASP Lovers, co-founder of Travel Adapter and P.E. Quartet, author of the solo project entitled “ODWILŻ / THE THAW”.
MAGDALENA BOJANOWICZ is the winner of the “Polityka” Passport – an award of the weekly magazine Polityka awarded to creators and creators of culture. She won First Prize at the 45th International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade (2015), and is the winner of Second Prize and two Special Prizes at the 8th Witold Lutosławski International Competition in Warsaw. She was also awarded 3rd prize at the 1st Krzysztof Penderecki International Cello Competition in Kraków. Her other competition successes include 2nd prize at the 69th Ludwig van Beethoven International Cello Competition in Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) and an honorable mention at the 64th Prague Spring International Competition. She is also a finalist in the International Cello Competition in Stuttgart (2014). She has also won numerous prizes at chamber music competitions together with pianist Mischa Kozlowski and her partners from the Chopin Piano Quintet.
She has honed her skills in courses with artists such as Julius Berger, Jens Peter Maintz, Kazimierz Michalik, Phillippe Muller, Arto Noras, Claus Reichardt and Victoria Yagling.
She has received scholarships from the National Children’s Fund (2001- 2008) and the Minister of Culture and the Arts. She has collaborated as a soloist under such conductors as M. Caldi, G. Tchitchinadze, D. Smith, V. Schmidt-Gertenbach, R. Rivolta, M. Moś, M. Diakun, M. Klauza, T. Wojciechowski, J. Kosek, M. Nesterowicz, P. Przytocki, W. Rodek, A. Klocek, B. Suđić, B. Lack, E. Kovacic, J. M. Florêncio, W. Michniewski. She has participated in numerous national and international festivals, among others: “Music Connects” at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in Switzerland, the Gulangyu Festival in Xiamen (China), the “Festival au Leman” in Thonon les Bains in France, the “Chamber Festival” in Moscow, the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn” “Music on the Peaks” in Zakopane, “Musical Spaces”, “Musica moderna” Festival in Łódź, “Musica Polonica Nova” in Wrocław, Hubermann Festival in Częstochowa, “Emanations” in Lusławice, “Convivium Musicum” in Serbia.
She has performed at, among others, the Tonhalle in Zürich, the Royal Festival Hall in London, Kolarac in Belgrade, the W. Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. As a soloist she has collaborated with orchestras such as: National Philharmonic Orchestra, NOSPR, NFM Orchestra Leopoldinum, Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, AUKSO, Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. He has premiered numerous works with orchestra including: “Cello Concerto” by Dariusz Przybylski (with the NOSPR released by the DUX label), “Dziennik zapisany w połowie” by Aleksander Nowak (with AUKSO, NMF), ” Double Concerto” by Hanna Kulenta (at the “Eufon” Festival at the National Philharmonic with the Lvov Philharmonic Orchestra) and “Simple Music” by Paweł Szymański (with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra at the NFM).
In 2021, she recorded a monographic album with Cezary Duchnowski’s compositions for cello and electronics. Magdalena Bojanowicz graduated with distinction from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the cello class of Andrzej Bauer and Bartosz Koziak, and from the Universität der Künste in Berlin in the class of Jens Peter Maintz. He is a co-founder of the Chopin Piano Quintet and the Cellonet group.
Born on 6 February 1989 in Bydgoszcz. Currently resides in Sokołowsko.
He grew out of the artistic milieu gathered around the famous MÓZG club. Over the last 17 years, he has played hundreds of concerts, featuring such artists as Jerzy Mazzoll, Sławek Janicki, Roscoe Mitchell, Tomasz Sroczyński, Toshinori Kondo, Peter Brotzmann, Kris Wanders and Fred Frith. He is currently involved in the bands Maldives with Marek Pospieszalski, Kondensator Przepływu with Bartłomiej Chmara, T’ien Lai with Jakub Ziołek and Łukasz Jędrzejczak, Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, and in newly formed duos with composer Teoniki Rożynek or Belgian producer Obsequies. In addition to playing instruments, he also creates theatre music in collaboration with Maciej Podstawny, Paweł Łysak, Artur Pałiga or Grzegorz Jaremko. He has also made his mark on the hip hop scene by producing the album HORE, by the legendary rapper VIENIA.
Additionally, as vice-president of the MÓZG FOUNDATION and the Sokołowska Group Association, he cooperates in the organisation of cultural projects and social activities in Bydgoszcz, Warsaw and Sokołowsko. Since 2020, he has also been hosting his own programme “WARS” for Radio Capital.
Pianist specializing in contemporary music performance, born 31 July 1981 in Chojnice. In 2005 she graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Poznań in the class of Professor Grzegorz Kurzyński. Afterwards, honored with a prestigious German Government scholarship (DAAD), she continued her studies in Cologne and Lübeck under the tutelage of Pierre-Laurent Aimard and James Tocco.
Having lived in Poland, Germany, Spain and now Belgium, Barbara Drążkowska has gained a strong position in the European music community. She has collaborated with Paweł Mykietyn, Szymon Brzóska, Bartosz Smorągiewicz, Rafał Zapała, Wim Henderickx, Jorrit Tamminga, José María Sánchez Verdú, Cesar Camarero, Manuel Anon. She has performed in the most important concert halls in Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia.
She has recorded 5 CDs: an album with Piotr Bosacki’s music Small scroll, exercises in counterpoint (2007), an album with music by young Spanish composers (Zahir Ensemble, Creacion Injuve, Madrid 2010), a CD with Szymon Brzóska’s chamber works The Wanderer (2011) and two CDs Genesis and Dunas (2014) with music from plays with the same titles.
Accordion/live electronics player, improviser. The music and sounds sees the ease and conventionally. The most important is dialogue and encounter with another human.Any form emit a sound, it is facilitated to make contact with people, is inspired by the elements most often not directly related to music, as he says ,, old washing machine, a blade of grass, the sound of the engine of the bus, or even usually a chair in the middle of a scene can be inspiring.Every concert is completely different. The only constant element is the instrument.’’ He has performed at such important festivals as A L’Arme Festival in Berlin, Sharpe Festival in Bratislava, LEM Festival in Barcelona or the Oct Loft Jazz Festival in Shenzhen and Ring Ring Festival in Belgrade.Despite his young age already he worked with many distinguished musicians improvised music scene, among others, , Adam Pierończyk, Krzysztof Knittel, Joelle Leandre, TOC, Marcin Albert Steczkowski, Anna Gadt. Krzysztof Gradziuk, David Kollar, Ramon Prats, Yuhan Su. Fixed co- creates a BACKSPACE with Łukasz Czekała, which meets, grows and creates music, which he
says has the expression ,,improvised contemporary music”.
Eira Bjørnstad Foss has a master’s degree in music performance from NTNU in Trondheim. She is currently living in Trondheim and is working in the field of contemporary composed music and improvisation.
She is a key figure in the contemporary composed music scene in Norway, both as a performer and a curator. She has performed commissioned pieces written especially for her as a soloist with Trondheim Sinfonietta, and has performed more than 30 world premieres by young creative composers from all over the world with her ensemble Tøyen Fil og Klafferi. Their debut recording, Botanisk Hage, was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy in 2021 for the best contemporary music album of the year.
Recent collaborations include projects with Mats Gustafsson, Trondheim Sinfonietta and Trondheim Jazzorkester, as well as upcoming performances with Ultima Music Festival, Music Unlimited Wells and the Kongsberg Jazz Festival. In the fall of 2022 she will start her work as a research fellow at The Department of Music at NTNU in Trondheim.
Szwedzka improwizatorka i perkusistka z siedzibą w Trondheim, Norwegia. Ze swoim dystyngowanym brzmieniem i teksturą na 20-calowym bębnie basowym, perkusji i werblu Matildę można usłyszeć solo lub w konstelacjach z niektórymi z najlepszych europejskich i skandynawskich muzyków improwizujących i choreografów/tancerzy. Wraz z wokalistką Maggie Nicols i pianistką Lisą Ullén tworzy trio; Trio Generations. Obecnie Matilda jest aktywna jako artystyczny badacz w NTNU w ramach projektu “In Motion, Movements with Direction”, gdzie wraz z tancerzami rozwija i pogłębia artystyczną praxis interdyscyplinarnego współdziałania w swobodnej improwizacji.
Lars Ove Fossheim is a unique guitar player working with experimental music where he uses his diverse background in noise, jazz, improv, pop and rock to carve out new paths for the guitar. He has worked and collaborated with composers such as Pauline Oliveros, Christian Wolff, Jennifer Walshe and Christina Kubish, to name a few. He has contributed on numerous records and has played in bands such as Broen, Skadedyr and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. In 2023. He released his first solo album containing music written for Electric Guitar. Since 2011 he has been an important part of the experimental music scene in Trondheim, and is the chair of the board in nyMusikk Trondheim.
Michael Francis Duch (1978) is a double bass player from Trondheim, Norway, and a professor of double bass, jazz and experimental music at NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He has been involved in around 70 recordings released in various formats and collaborated with Pauline Oliveros, Mats Gustafsson, AMM, Christian Wolff, Tony Conrad, Joëlle Léandre and others.
Michael Francis Duch plays in a trio with Rhodri Davies and John Tilbury, the improv quartet LEMUR with Bjørnar Habbestad, Hild Sofie Tafjord and Lene Grenager, the Glaswegian avant disco-band AMOR, and various other constellations.
Studied classical cello at the Music conservatory in Trondheim, NTNU, and other music on the road. Played varius styles and often in a cross-over-role, with rock – pop – jazz as a main field but also in the area of classical, contemporery and folk Music.
Toured several times in Norway and Europe with, among others, the bands Dadafon and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Played on several albums – also prize winning, with these bands. Have done some solo , cello and singing at festivals, playing the cello with a kind of bass or guitar technique.
Worked as studio musician on approximately 60 records/films, and made music for bands, film theater and dance.
Nicolas Leirtrø is one of Norway’s most industrious and exciting musicians. Since 2015 he has spent much of his time wielding his baritone guitar in the hard-hitting power trio I LIKE TO SLEEP, which over the years has become a household name on festivals and clubs across the nation. In 2018 the trio was named “Young jazz musicians of the year” after winning the prestigious and extensive launch programme “Jazzintro”. The same year they signed with the renowned record label Rune Grammofon, where they are soon to release their third album. Leirtrø has also been in a myriad of other bands and jazz projects playing the double bass, like Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie, Veslemøy Narvesen’s We Don’t Imagine Anymore, Mats Gustafsson’s Hidros o.T.//Hidros9 and the internationally acclaimed free impro trio TEIP TRIO. Not to mention cult-punkers Hey Gloria and being a rock solid bass player and noisy wild card in the indiekraut band earth moon transit.
Nicolas Leirtrø is a musician and composer with a lot on his plate and a burning desire to give something back to the audience. In addition to his many and varied musical contributions, he organizes and promotes festivals and concert series in Trondheim.
Kyrre Laastad is an musician, producer and sound engineer living and working in Trondheim, Norway. From a background in jazz and improvised music, he works in various genres and traditions, always trying to maintain balance between pushing the music towards new territory while still keeping it musically cohesive. As a musician he has played with various people such as Christian Wolff, Jenny Hval, Mats Gustafssson, Pauline Oliveros and Lost Girls. Parallel to his work as a musician he also produces and records albums for other people, recent credits in this department is records by Jenny Hval, Kim Myhr, MoE and Moskus.
Daniel Formo is a keyboard player, improviser and sound artist from Trondheim, Norway, working within a broad range of music from improvised and written contemporary music, to jazz and popular genres, as well as electroacoustic music and electronic art. His work takes a special interest in the relationship between language and music, instrument building, and between virtual and real soundscapes.
Formo has established himself as a stylistically innovative musician and composer, especially utilising the Hammond in exciting new ways as well as building new instruments blending electric and acoustic sources.
Rafal Różalski – double bassist, improviser. He currently lives in Copenhagen where he graduated from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory. Member of many projects on the borderline of improvised music, jazz and rock. Co-founder of RASP Lovers, Entropia Ensemble, PE Quartet, ALAWARI, Second Half of August band, among others.
Born in 1975, he received his musical education in the double bass class at the State Elementary Music School in Bolesławiec. A musician, composer, since 2006 he has been developing his search for unusual sources of sound. Founder of the Small Instruments group in Wrocław, where he realises his own artistic needs. He has written music for more than 20 films and theatre performances, published his own music on 15 LPs, SPs, CDs and DVDs in Poland, Japan and France, and played around 300 concerts in Europe and Asia. He has amassed a unique collection of more than 600 unusual musical instruments, used in recording and publishing activities.
He builds his own instruments, playing constructions and creates sound installations. He is a researcher of musical instrument culture : in 2010, he published the world’s first study of the history of the toy piano; in 2013, he wrote the textbook ‘Home Experiments with Musical Instruments’ published together with the album of Small Instruments ‘Samoróbka’, dedicated to education in building experimental musical instruments with one’s own hands. His second publication continuing the idea of ‘self-building’ was dedicated to a 20-member workshop group, with whom he prepared and realised a collection of pieces on the album ‘Gruppo di Construzione’. This was the second major workshop project carried out in collaboration with the PozyTywka Foundation.
Between 2019 and 2021, in collaboration with the Under the Columns Club, he realised 3 original projects in the area of blind and deaf people.
Maren Sofie is a young and curious accordionist with a special interest in contemporary music, but also enjoys playing transcriptions and improvisation. She recently finished her studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music. During her studies she has played in a wide variety of projects both solo and chamber music and worked with composers in creating new pieces as well as composing herself. Currently she’s a member of the ensembles; the progression trio, KRÆKK and AKSE.
