Wednesday 31 May 2017, 7.30pm
Two leading members of Norway's thriving new music scene, Kim Myhr and Lasse Marhaug perform as a duo for the first time at OTO following the release of their debut album together, On The Silver Globe, on SOFA.
On The Silver Globe borrows its title from the 1988 film by polish director Andrzej Zulawski, a science-fiction story set on a distant planet but also something that could be read as a political allegory of the struggle against totalitarianism. The film was stopped mid-production by the state and not released until ten years later, with unfinished scenes replaced by unrelated footage of a realist nature. Another influence for the piece was Andrew Smith’s ”Moon Dust” book, which deals with how different the individual astronauts of the Apollo programme dealt with the extraordinary experience of going to the moon, and how the space program was ultimately shut down by the Nixon administration.
Both Myhr and Marhaug are apt improvisers and musicians, but On The Silver Globe is a pure studio creation. The piece is divided in five sections, and the instrumentation is of a wide range, including guitar, vintage analogue and modular synthesizers, oscillators, granular synthesis, digital prossessing, acoustic objects and a wide range of studio trickery. The result is a powerful tapestry of sound sheets that is constantly morphing into new shapes, but also with sudden shifts in character, slowly making its way towards the inevitable conclusion, in which all cosmic matter is sucked into a black hole.
Norwegian guitarist and composer Kim Myhr has been touring internationally since the early 2000s and has released several records under his own name. His album You | me (2017) was nominated to Nordic Music Prize, and received wide acclaim internationally. As a composer he has made music for Australian Art Orchestra, Canadian string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, Kitchen Orchestra and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra of Norway, and has collaborated with Jenny Hval (on the 2012 collaborative album “In The End His Voice Will Be The Sound Of Paper”, Tony Buck of The Necks (on the album “You | me”), Lasse Marhaug, Christian Wallumrød, poet Caroline Bergvall and many others. His last record Vesper with Australian Art Orchestra was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy in 2020 in the contemporary category. His new record Hereafter on SOFA is the ninth album under his own name.
Lasse Marhaug has been a fixture in Norwegian experimental music for the last 25 years, with hundreds of releases, collaborations and projects. He composes music for film, theatre, dance and installations, and is also a writer, magazine publisher and visual artist. His favourite astronaut is Michael Collins.
Michael Speers (b. 1992) is a musician from Northern Ireland.
Working with natural & synthetic sound material—using drums, computer, microphones, feedback—in composition, performance and installation.
Collaborating with Paul Abbott as yPLO—using real & imaginary drums. With Luciano Maggiore, making music contemplating the kernel of black metal.
Other collaborators include John Wall, Louise Le Du, Olan Monk, Niklas Adam, Lee Fraser and Seijiro Murayama.
Recordings published by Anòmia, Party Perfect!, Krim Kram, Takuroku, C.A.N.V.A.S., Wasted Capital Since 2013 and Feedback Moves.
