In collaboration with the Norwegian festival Insomnia, the experimental music festival Skaņu mežs has started work on LYRA, a project for kids and teens that is supported by the EEA Grants and Norway Grants funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. Its first commissioned works will be presented on 25 September at 13:00 at Hanzas Perons Culture Centre. Admission is free. After Linda Leimane, Mārtiņš Grauds and Sabīne Moore’s Latvian Animals, Anne Bielski and Jenny Berger Myhre will perform The Grinder.
From the depths of the ocean there is the sound of a grinder constantly churning…
The Grinder is an audiovisual concert by Jenny Berger Myhre and Annie Bielski, based on a Norwegian fairytale about two siblings, a trip to hell and back, and the devil’s magical grinder that can give you anything you want, as long as you know how to make it stop.
The fairytale was collected and published by the famous storytellers Asbjørnsen & Moe in 1852, and is a humorous take on why the sea is salty, as well as a friendly warning to be careful what you wish for. Created with a musical grinder of unpredictable synths and electronics, Jenny and Annie are passing the story on through experimental, rhythmical songs and foley art, together with 3D animated visuals rendered from painted, abstracted dioramas created by paper, fabric, aluminum and glass. The Grinder is an energetic concert that will hopefully be of pleasure to kids and adults of all ages.
Annie Bielski is an artist and writer whose work has been exhibited in New York, Chicago,
Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Philadelphia, Portland, and elsewhere. Bielski’s visual art, performances, and writing have been covered by Art News, Hyperallergic, MTV, Whitehot Magazine, and The New York Times. She is a longtime collaborator of Jenny Hval, and recently contributed album art and videos for Hval’s latest Classic Objects. She has a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from The State University of New York at Buffalo. Bielski lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is represented by September Gallery in Hudson, New York.
Jenny Berger Myhre is a multidisciplinary artist working with sound, video, live visuals, performance and photography. Coming from the DIY scene in Oslo, Jenny’s approach to music making is versatile and open, with an apparent love for the unpolished – referencing the electro-acoustic music tradition as well as experimental pop. She has made commissioned work for Borealis festival for experimental music (Bergen), Only Connect festival (Oslo), El Nicho (Mexico
City), Radiophrenia (Glasgow), Spikersuppa Lydgalleri (Oslo) and RUMMUR_radio (Bergen). She is a longtime collaborator of Jenny Hval, and directed two music videos for Hval’s latest release Classic Objects together with Annie Bielski. Jenny has performed at Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Le Centre Pompidou Paris, Le Guess Who?, HAU Berlin, Ars Cameralis Katowice, Le Lieu Unique – Nantes and MUNCH Oslo. In July 2022 her debut album Lint (2017) will be followed up with a new release on Breton Cassette, titled Here Is Always Somewhere Else. She has a BA from Goldsmiths College, University of London and University of Oslo, as well as Live Electronics studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
LYRA receives grants in the amount of EUR 206,256.00 within the framework of the EEA Grants and Norway Grants funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The project aims to introduce kids and teenagers to experimental music and to get them involved in its creation. As it is democratic and non-hierarchical in essence, experimental music gives trained and untrained kids the chance to take part in making music. Since the project crosses social and ethnic divides, it is also socially inclusive.
Total LYRA eligible costs: EUR 202,510.00, European Economic Area financial instrument programme Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Culture Cooperation support sum: 85% or EUR 85,000.00, of which:
European Economic Area financial instrument co-financing: 85% or EUR 175,317.60;
State Budget co-financing: 15% or EUR 30,938.40.
