EIVIND AARSET & JAN BANG Dream Logic
EIVIND AARSET – guitar, electronics
JAN BANG – live sampling
In turbulent times, we need new stories. We find such stories in musical form, created by the duo Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang. Aarset and Bang have collaborated since the early 1990s in constellations with, among others, Nils Petter Molvær, Bugge Wesseltoft, Sly & Robbie and Jon Hassell. “Snow catches on her Eyelashes” was their first recording as a duo, based on the live concept that emerged in the wake of Eivind Aarset's 2012 ECM album “Dream Logic”, which was produced by Jan Bang. The roots of their new album can be found by listening to “Dream Logic” and Jan Bang's two solo albums on Samadhisound and Jazzland. Like its predecessors, this new recording is both modern and timeless. The music consists of elements so far apart in time and genre as dub, contemporary classical, Norwegian folk music and pop music from the 1950's – linked together by Jan Bang’s hallmark sampling technique and Eivind Aarset's continuous exploration of the guitar. The focus on content and whole, rather than on tools and individual elements, provides full emotional impact. “Seamless” is a key phrase when attempting to describe the resulting collage. The lightness that never compromises its depth. Like snow on eyelashes.
PUNKT LIVE REMIX - ERIK HONORÉ & JAN BANG
ERIK HONORÉ – live sampling
JAN BANG – live sampling
Punkt is a music festival in the city of Kristiansand in the south of Norway. The festival concept is centered around the concept Live Remix, created in 2005. This concept is an extension of how the curators and pioneers of the festival, Jan Bang and Erik Honoré, have worked with a range of Nordic and international musicians; with live sampling and live electronics, and as record producers and remixers. Many prominent musicians and guest curators have contributed to the Punkt project, including Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Laurie Anderson, Thurston Moore, Nils Petter Molvær, Arve Henriksen, Sidsel Endresen and John Paul Jones. The festival presents experimental jazz, electronic music, improvisation and contemporary music. Beyond Kristiansand, Punkt International has presented the live remix concept in 27 cities worldwide, including London, Paris, Tallinn, Frankfurt and Tokyo. Every concert is remixed in real time. After each performance, the audience moves to the Intimate Stage in the theatre basement to hear a completely new interpretation created through live sampling and electronics, often done by Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, or another invited artist . The result is not simply a DJ remix. It is essentially a second live concert created from the musical memory and material of the first one. All concerts at Punkt are remixed live, and the audience may listen to the remixes immediately after each concert.
SKÚLI SVERRISSON & ÓLÖF ARNALDS
SKÚLI SVERRISSON electric bass
ÓLÖF ARNALDS voice, miscellaneous
Skúli Sverrisson is an Icelandic composer and bass guitarist. He has built a unique career as a composer, producer, and improviser, working with a broad spectrum of artists. As an instrumentalist, Sverrisson has worked with Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey, Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arto Lindsay, and Allan Holdsworth, to name just a few. He is known for his work as artistic director for Ólöf Arnalds and as musical director for Laurie Anderson. As a composer, he has created a great deal of well-known and highly respected music for dance companies, theatres, and installations. In the world of film, Skúli has contributed to scores by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. He has been a member of duos, trios, and various groups, including Pachora. His discography comprises more than ninety releases, the most recent being a duet with Bill Frisell. Ólöf Arnalds is an Icelandic composer and multi-instrumentalist. Her most distinctive asset is, nonetheless, her voice of instantly captivating, spring water chasteness possessed of a magical, otherworldly quality that is simultaneously innocent yet ancient (“somewhere between a child and an old woman” according to no less an authority than Björk). Her work has been called otherworldly by The New York Times, stunning by SPIN, bewitching by Rolling Stone, remarkable by the NME, ethereal by Vanity Fair and & impossibly lovely by Paste.