Dear all,

 allEars is on the move, literally speaking! With just one year away from the festival’s 20th anniversary, we decided to try something new this time: Instead of putting up four days of music in one city (Oslo), we have put together a four acts-program which will travel to three different cities: Bergen, Trondheim and Oslo.

As Norwegian musicians we live in a time and a place in which we are always pressured to justify any artistic expression beyond its own inherent value. We think this holds true for other musicians and artists out there as well, and not without reasons: The arts can, and should sometimes, do more than just expressing itself. In the span of some two-three decades Free music has transformed from a socio-ethical construct into an individual, esthetic expression, at least in the West. With political turmoil and the overhanging climate crisis, we see a reborn tendency of using the arts as means and not only a goal. Good!

Still, we shouldn’t always have to justify doing music based on something else than the simple but profound joy of taking part in music making — either as a performer or a listener. Despite any political agenda, art needs to stand firmly on its own two feet. We do realize and appreciate the many goals music can be a vehicle for, how it can co-exist with other art forms and how it can send a message, but we have to be honest: we love music first and foremost because of the sonic experience, the sheer joy of watching musicians create a spontaneous dialogue on stage, the risks involved in improvised music, the sweat, the laughter, the social interaction, the excitement, the enthusiasm, the occasional disappointment, and of course the abrupt and thundering applause after a well executed performance.

Therefore, this year we have focused on artists who are mainly — and almost all of them solely — emerged in auditive expression.

The festival has put sustainability on the agenda the last couple of years. «Bah! That term was worn out already in 2015,» we hear you say, but let’s not trash it just yet. In addition to having a broader geographical and demographical spotlight, we reduce the amount of artists traveling to us for single gigs and at the same increases the amount of gigs for each of them, making  allEars into an — for the artists at least — economically sustainable undertaking.

On top of that the musicians get to do something that is more of a rarity than a rule these days: traveling and making concerts together for more than just one evening. This way the musicians get to know each other. They get to exchange ideas and views, likes and dislikes. With a roster stretching from California and all the way eastwards to Taiwan, this exchange of cultures and networks is also a part of a sustainable future.

Putting wheels on  allEars is a test run, and in 2021 the plan is to have full focus on Oslo again. That edition will also be the last directed by the current board. Revolving and renewing  allEars is also an important sustainability measure, and we hope that new forces are willing and able to take the ropes. Nothing lasts forever. Not accepting that fact is maybe one of the main driving factors why our current global situation is so critical. We’ll let you fill in the blanks on that one.

We have been tossing and toiling for a year to give you what we think is some of the best improvised music out there. If you appreciate what we are doing, all we ask from you is this: come to the show. We’ve poured our heart and soul into this, and nothing makes us more happy than seeing you there. Welcome!

All best, all love, all ears, all yours

– Festival directors: Christian, Signe & Ole

Artists

• Supersilent
• Stine Janvin
• Guro (dyna) Moe Revolution Sextet
• Mick Beck/Elisabeth Coudoux/Shih-Yang Lee
• G·bop

Program

Thursday 9.01, 20:00 – Dokkhuset, Trondheim

Friday 10.01, 20:00 – Landmark, Bergen

Saturday 11.01, 20:00 – Nasjonal Jazzscene Victoria, Oslo*

Sunday 12.01, 10:00-12:00 + 12:30 – Deichmanske bibliotek avd. Grünerløkka, Oslo**

*afterparty at Kafé Hærverk with DJ

** This event is free of charge. All artists except G·bop will be performing from Thursday to Saturday. G·bop, and G·bop only, will perform on Sunday. They will have an open workshop for kids from 10:00-12:00 followed by a free concert at 12:30. After the concert we close off the festival with good food and good vibes.

Supersilent
Supersilent was born in 1997 when producer Helge Sten injected the audio virus into a pre-existing late 90s free jazz group called Veslefrekk. Since then Supersilent has been a mainstay on Norway’s music scene over the last two decades, and continues to push the boundaries of modern improv. All parameters are open. From moment to moment, they can touch on elements of hardcore noise, imply industrial soundscapes, recall Miles at the Fillmore or Stockhausen in Donaueschingen, or play the most delicate and filigree “ambient” sound-washes. Every recording and every concert is a unique occasion, not to be repeated, and their music lives in a no-man’s-land between the genres, somewhere between rock, electronica, jazz and modern composition.

The band members have individually worked with a wide range of celebrated musicians and contributed in equally many successful constellations. As Supersilent they have collaborated on stage with artists like Terje Rypdal, John Paul Jones, Motorpsycho, Nils Petter Molvaer and Stian Westerhus.

Arve Henriksen – trumpet, voice and electronics
Ståle Storløkken – keyboards and electronics
Helge Sten – electronics

Stine Janvin
Vocalist, performer and sound artist Stine Janvin works with the extensive flexibility of her voice, and the ways in which it can be disconnected from its natural, human connotations. Created for variable spaces from theatres to clubs and galleries, the backbone of Janvin’s projects focus on the physical aspects of sound, vocal instrumentation and potential dualities of the natural versus artificial, organic/synthetic, and minimal/dramatic.

Stine Janvin’s live performance is an ongoing exploration of her Fake Synthetic Music methodology, also materialised as a double LP on PAN in 2018. In collaboration with light designer Morten Joh, she triggers both optical and sonic illusions, aiming to offer a physical experience built from the frequency range of her acoustic voice, otoacoustic emissions and minimal melodic sequences in reference to electronic dance music.

Stine Janvin: Voice
Morten Joh: Lights

Guro (dyna) Moe Revolution Sextet
Dig deeper. Search farther. Guro S. Moe collected collaborators who have given her faith and hope for the future. All have a pristine way of persistently pushing the edge to evolve, in sound and within their surroundings. From such diverse environments as Singapore, Norway, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and California, their musical palette will dissolve into a multitude of colors, darkness, chaos and absolute silence.

A hot mix of influences from Reggaetón to Noise, European 1960’s vanguard, Goth, Riotgrrrl Punk, Free Jazz, Experimental and Industrial are brought to you by Alexandra Buschman-Román and Danishta Rivero, making the Oakland based group Las Sucias. With ties to Singaporean contemporary rock group The Observatory, combining profound research in music from South-east Asia with classical training, Cheryl Ong and Vivian Wang create mysterious depths to the whole. Longtime collaborator in music since 16 years old, Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen and Guro S. Moe have made new track marks in abstract, noisy music landscapes, be it improvised or composed, in collaborations within their own groups Pinquins and MoE, and in many other constellations. The hard knit unit of six is complete.

Vivian Wang – synth, voice, electronics
Cheryl Ong – drums, gamelan, voice
Danishta Rivero – electronics, voice
Alexandra Bushman – electronics, voice
Ane Marthe Surlien Holen – percussion, synth, voice
Guro Skumsnes Moe – bass, voice

Mick Beck/Elisabeth Coudoux/Shih-Yang Lee
Based in Sheffield, England, Mick Beck has been influential in Great Britain since the early 1980s as a powerful thought-provoking tenor player, and from 1988 as a pioneering improvising big band leader in Feet packets. In 1998 he took up the bassoon and is one of the few to explore its contribution to experimental music using extended techniques with extraordinary results. He is frequently described as “Europe’s leading free bassoon player” and in all his work he combines musicality with a quirky sense of humour.

Elisabeth Coudoux is a German cellist at the crossroads of different musical genres: free improvisation, experimental music, new contemporary music and jazz. Elisabeth is part of ensembles like Zeitkratzer, Beat the Odds, 2000 and she plays the cello in interdisciplinary projects with dancers, visual artists, poets and performers. Elisabeth is one of the founding members of IMPAKT, a collective for free improvisation in cologne.

Shih-Yang Lee is a Taiwanese pianist of depth and passion, style and enthusiasm. He has collaborated with artists from different fields and performed with musicians like Sabu Toyozumi, Fred van Hove, Joëlle Léandre, Sainkho Namtchylak, Jaap Blonk, Koichi Makigami and Audrey Chen. LEE is one of the founders of Taiwan International Improvised Music Festival and also the founder of the improvisation ensemble Ka Dao Yin.

Mick Beck – tenor sax, bassoon, whistles
Elisabeth Coudoux – cello
Shih-Yang Lee – piano

G·Bop XXL Percussion Orchestra
The G·Bop Orchestra is an international and critically acclaimed experimental percussion ensemble based in Copenhagen. Led by percussionist and composer Greta Eacott, the band has gone on to release five records and toured across Europe, with a flexible line-up featuring different combinations of players.

At  allEars the G·Bop Orchestra is turning into their XXL version, inviting children to participate in a 2 hour workshop. The workshop will cover a diverse range of percussion music, exercises and ideas stemming from the G·Bop repertoire and further afield. Shortly after the workshop the orchestra will have a concert. Expect irrational rhythms, percussive massage for the mind, frissonistic apocalypse, full body release.

NO PREVIOS EXPERIENCE NEEDED!

Greta Eacott – percussion
Cornelia Nilsson – percussion
Knut Kvifte Nesheim – percussion