Ashley Paul & Otto Willberg are London-based musicians working at the threshold of untethered improvisation and stricter forms.
Ashley Paul is an American performer and composer based in London. She uses an array of instruments including saxophone, clarinet, voice, guitar, bells and percussion, mixing disparate elements to create a colorful palate of sound that works its way into her intuitive songs; free forming, introverted melodies. This blend manifests beautiful and simple musical forms against acoustic experimentation.
Ashley has performed or recorded with Phill Niblock, Rashad Becker, Nik Colk Void, Loren Connors, Heatsick, Aki Onda, C. Spencer Yeh, Anthony Coleman, Bass Clef, Joe Maneri, Joe Morris, Seijiro Murayama, Greg Kelley, Bill Nace and Eli Keszler appearing on such labels as Important, PAN, ESP-DISK’ and Tzadik. She received a Masters of Music from New England Conservatory in 2007.
Otto Willberg is a London based musician performing on the Double Bass, and improviser involved with multiple contemporary music and improvised music groups. He currently leads the band Early Nite, which is participating on Jazz North’s subsidised roster scheme ‘Northern Line’. In April 2017 he participated in an AIDF funded tour to Japan which included performances with renowned experimental musician Toshimaru Nakamura, and resulted in a live album release on the Raw Tonk label. As an improvising double bassist he has toured mainland Europe and performed in groups with musicians Alex Ward, Hannah Marshall, and Mark Hanslip. He is also a member of the Spike Orchestra, and has performed at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, London Contemporary Music festival, Darmstadt fur Neue Musik, Supernormal and London Jazz Festival.