There is a carefully-crafted aura around Supersilent, which one could also describe as intelligently sensual and aesthetic That aura comes from the much-repeated fact that they improvise all their music, never rehearsing or discussing it in advance.
On the 19th of february they will have a show in Riga. Its their only concert in the Baltic states, as part of their European tour. The Norwegians Supersilent is a well known name in contemporary experimental jazz circles due to their unwillingness to compromise, their diverse amalgamation of sounds, their unique work ethic and their icy Scandinavian cool. The band is, in a sense, the flagship band of Rune Grammofon, and seems to embody the label’s manifesto. Supersilent was formed by the alliance of an existing improvisation group called Veslefrekk with ten years of playing history behind them. They played together for the first time, without any prior rehearsal, at the Bergen Jazz Festival in 1997 and immediately made headlines. The musical success of the experiment convinced the participants that this had to be a permanent group, and they went into the studio to play many hours of non-stop improvisation from which their debut triple album, “Supersilent 1-3”, was ultimately drawn. “1-3” was released in Norway in January 1998. Supersilent records in Deathprod’s Audio Virus studio, packed with analog and digital hardware amassed originally for his electronica/ambient solo projects; the improvisers are not shy about experimenting with this technology but, as free music players, they insist on real-time applications only. Even in the studio, all the music is played live. Overdubs have no place in the band’s modus operandi.
After the main act Supersilent avant-garde DJ duo Dausteg aka Single Unit and Spykidelic will lead audience through the night. The DJ duo consisting of the prominent member of Norwegian underground music scene Are Mokkelbost (Single Unit and Killl) and British Jamaican DJ and journalist Tony Wilson (Spykidelic) might be the most unexpected musical happening in Oslo last autumn. Are Mokkelbost tells about his experiences with his colleague in Dausteg:
When we played at Club Øya last year, people danced to Giacinto Scelsi, Morton Feldman and Gyorgy Ligeti! It is interesting to watch when classic avant-garde is brought down to the functional and pragmatical level of the dance floor.
Each night has a theme which serves as a rough guide for what records they bring to the venue. Eclectic to the bone they mix music from polarized genres and demographics, off piste as well as dance-inducing music, always favouring the experimental, visionary and idiosyncratic. They reached that the people are dancing to the avant-garde compositions. Dausteg is improvised and they record straight from the mixer as they play. It is about the two of them playing each other records they like, responding by layering tracks for contrast or compliment – simply thinking out loud via other people´s music. It is not about beatmixing, genre subscription or playing requests.
Each night has a theme which serves as a rough guide for what records they bring to the venue. In the theme will be Animism vs. Artificial Intelligence. You will enter the club as the animal you are.
Concert is being organized through the Skanu Mezs/Sound Forest concert series «1-2! cauri» and «Prieka Māja». It will take place at Spīķeru Koncertzālē, Maskavas ielā 4A.
Tickets at pre-sales at the Ticket Service sales points (www.bilesuserviss.lv) – first hundred – LVL 7, then LVL 10. At the box-office – LVL 13.
Further information:
Supersilent:
www.supersilence.net
www.myspace.com / arvehenriksen
www.myspace.com / motorpsychopage
Dausteg:
www.b-o-r-g.org/dausteg.html
www.myspace.com / killlnorway
www.myspace.com / spykidd
