Borderless Dissonance 2018
Borderless Dissonance is a cross-national creative platform and international concert series, initiated by Slovenian cultural and artistic association KUD Mreža. The word borderless we understand as an approach to free improvised music whose protagonists join their ideas and techniques for the first time without knowing each other and freely improvise using their instruments or voices. The only rule is that the collaborators must be keen to listen to their co-players and to give them the same freedom to express themselves. Such an approach to the music requires the greatest sensitivity and mutual trust which are the most rare and forgotten values in today’s society. The word borderless also reflects to our present times when physical and ideological borders are again rigidly present between regions, countries and nations. The word dissonance refers to non-idiomatic improvised music as a genre where harmony, melody and rhythm aren’t present in the conventional way.
The second set of events of Borderless Dissonance in 2018 will take place in Vienna, Graz and Ljubljana between 6 March and 31 May when three Slovenian, three Austrian and three Hungarian musicians who have never worked together before are forming three international trios, and presenting their collaborations. The participants in 2018 are Gašper Livk, Tilen Lebar and Dré Hočevar from Slovenia; Jakob Gnigler, Gabriele Drab and Christine Schörkhuber from Austria; and Réka Kutas, Szilárd Benes and Bálint Bolcsó from Hungary. The aim of the project is to establish creative artistic communication and a successful long-term international collaboration in the future between young artists from Slovenia, Austria and Hungary who are working on the field of free improvised music. We initiate attentive conversation, idea- and thought sharing, musical communication and creative collaboration without borders – nor physical, neither artistic.
Jakob Gnigler / Réka Kutas / Gašper Livk
· Jakob Gnigler – saxophone
· Réka Kutas – cello
· Gašper Livk – double bass
6 March 2018, Tuesday 20.00 – Vienna, Echoraum
7 March 2018, Wednesday 20.00 – Graz, Volkshaus
8 March 2018, Thursday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Klub Gromka
Szilárd Benes / Tilen Lebar / Gabriele Drab
· Szilárd Benes – clarinet
· Tilen Lebar – saxophone
· Gabriele Drab – Paetzold recorder
10 April 2018, Tuesday 20.00 – Vienna, Echoraum
11 April 2018, Wednesday 20.00 – Graz, Volkshaus
12 April 2018, Thursday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Klub Gromka
Christine Schörkhuber / Bálint Bolcsó / Dré Hočevar
· Christine Schörkhuber – amplified objects
· Bálint Bolcsó – electronics
· Dré Hočevar – drums
29 May 2018, Tuesday 20.00 – Vienna, Setzkasten
30 May 2018, Wednesday 20.00 – Graz, Volkshaus
31 May 2018, Thursday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Klub Gromka
Borderless Dissonance 2018 is kindly supported by:
Borderless Dissonance 2017
Borderless Dissonance is a cross-national creative platform and international concert series, initiated by Slovenian cultural and artistic association KUD Mreža. The word borderless we understand as an approach to free improvised music whose protagonists join their ideas and techniques for the first time without knowing each other and freely improvise using their instruments or voices. The only rule is that the collaborators must be keen to listen to their co-players and to give them the same freedom to express themselves. Such an approach to the music requires the greatest sensitivity and mutual trust which are the most rare and forgotten values in today’s society. The word borderless also reflects to our present times when physical and ideological borders are again rigidly present between regions, countries and nations. The word dissonance refers to non-idiomatic improvised music as a genre where harmony, melody and rhythm aren’t present in the conventional way.
The first set of events of Borderless Dissonance in 2017 will take place in Budapest, Vienna and Ljubljana between 10 April and 18 May when three Slovenian, three Austrian and three Hungarian musicians who have never worked together before are forming three international trios, and presenting their collaborations in the capitals of the involved countries. The participants in 2017 are Jošt Drašler, Matija Schellander and Vid Drašler from Slovenia; Irene Kepl, Markus Krispel and Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka from Austria; and Gergely Kovács, Szilveszter Miklós and Gergő Kováts from Hungary. The aim of the project is to establish creative artistic communication and a successful long-term international collaboration in the future between young artists from Slovenia, Austria and Hungary who are working on the field of free improvised music. We initiate attentive conversation, idea- and thought sharing, musical communication and creative collaboration without borders – nor physical, neither artistic.
Irene Kepl / Jošt Drašler / Gergely Kovács
· Irene Kepl – violin
· Jošt Drašler – double bass
· Gergely Kovács – drums
Austrian violinist and composer Irene Kepl (1982) studied classical violin and jazz in Linz, now she lives and works in Vienna. Her work focuses primarily on contemporary composed music and free improvisation. She began to achieve national recognition in 2012 when she won second place of Klagenfurt’s Gustav Mahler Prize. She was subsequently featured on Jazznacht, a music program on Österreich 1, the cultural channel for the Austrian public service broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk, and in 2014 she was awarded the Theodor Körner Prize for music composition. She has completed commissioned works for Brucknerfest Linz and Wiener Festwochen, and has worked with Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Tristan Honsinger and Joëlle Leàndre – among others. / irenekepl.at
Jošt Drašler (1981) studied double bass and musicology at the Conservatory in Klagenfurt with Uli Langthaler. He currently teaches bass at B.A.S.E. School in Ljubljana, and participates in numerous ensembles with several Slovenian musicians playing different genres and styles such as free improvised music, free jazz, rock or flamenco. In 2015 his band Drašler-Karlovčec-Drašler Trio released its debut album entitled Stir, with which he performed in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, France, Serbia and Croatia. At the moment, he is a permanent member of eight working groups, and has played sessions and recorded albums with remarkable musicians such as Evan Parker, Alex Ward, Sabir Mateen, Martin Küchen, Johannes Bauer and Alexander Bălănescu.
Gergely Kovács (1989) – graduated at the Gáspár Károli University in Budapest – is an emerging versatile young drummer and percussionist from the Hungarian improvised music and free jazz scene. He is a regular performer of event series focusing on improvised music such as Jazzaj and No Wave. He is one of the founding members of Positive Noise Trio and Gentry Sultan. He joined The Pastorz in 2013, a collective of Hungarian musicians who are dedicated to the avant-garde jazz of the sixties. In 2014 he started to play with the Ernő Rubik Quintet, where members explore the possibilities of merging composition with improvisation together. He composed music for the video-opera entitled Eye For An Eye, produced by Slovakian artists Miroslav Toth and Marek Kundlák.
10 April 2017, Monday 20.30 – Budapest, Kék Ló
11 April 2017, Tuesday 20.00 – Vienna, Mo.ë
12 April 2017, Wednesday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Vodnikova Domačija Šiška
Markus Krispel / Matija Schellander / Szilveszter Miklós
· Markus Krispel – saxophones
· Matija Schellander – double bass
· Szilveszter Miklós – drums
Markus Krispel (1977) started his musical career as a member of Vienna-based bands called Licht and Ron Bop, later he released solo materials under the aliases Der Polizist and Lesco Lak, homemade recording projects with all kind of instruments he could find and got interested in. Later he got seriously into the alto saxophone and joined the Neu New York Music Institute at Celeste, Vienna, initiated by American saxophonist Marco Eneidi in 2005, today called the Monday Improvisers Session, and still taking place every Monday evening at the same venue. He performed and recorded with musicians such as the late Marco Eneidi, Mars Williams, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Jasper Stadhouders and Stefano Giust. / markuskrispel.eu
Austrian-Slovenian composer and improvising musician Matija Schellander (1981) is based in Vienna, mostly using double bass, modular synthesizer and speakers: processing input, moving air output. Over the last few years, he has focused on music for solo double bass. During his stay in Berlin in 2011-2012 he developed a project consisting of three parts that incorporates space, movement, light and sound. Another solo double bass project is new music for Dreyer’s Passion Of Joan Of Arc, commissioned by Filmarchiv Austria in 2013. He has worked with many composers and musicians including Isabelle Duthoit, Michael Thieke, Franz Hautzinger, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Burkhard Stangl, Andrea Neumann, Okkyung Lee and Enrico Malatesta. / matija.klingt.org
Hungarian free jazz drummer Szilveszter Miklós (1983) begun his musical career on violin but soon he switched to drums. He graduated at the Franz Liszt Academy Of Music in Budapest but still believes that his real education is based upon the experience of playing with his older and experienced musician friends such as Mihály Dresch, István Grencsó, Ákos Szelevényi, Tibor Szemző, Szilárd Mezei and Róbert Benkő. He regularly performs with leading Hungarian jazz musicians and participates in international groupings alongside with outstanding instrumentalists such as Peter Brötzmann, Lewis Jordan, John Dikeman, Rudi Mahall and Han Bennink; and has collaborated with late free jazz icons Marco Eneidi and Johannes Bauer.
2 May 2017, Tuesday 20.30 – Budapest, Kék Ló
5 May 2017, Friday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Vodnikova Domačija Šiška
11 May 2017, Thursday 20.00 – Vienna, Mo.ë
Gergő Kováts / Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka / Vid Drašler
· Gergő Kováts – saxophones
· Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka – double bass
· Vid Drašler – drums
Gergő Kováts (1986) is a leading Hungarian young multi-reedman of his generation whether on the free jazz, free improvised- or experimental music scene. Since finishing his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy Of Music in Budapest, he works as a teacher, introducing the young generation to various approaches to music and improvisation, and helping them to establish their early career. After studying Sonology at the Royal Conservatory Of The Hague, he widened his musical spectrum with electronic composition and experimental improvisation. He frequently collaborates on most of the Eastern European improv scenes, toured with the European Saxophone Ensemble, and in 2016 he released his most recent and progressive work on Portuguese label Creative Sources.
Margarethe Maierhofer-Lischka (1984) studied double bass, music pedagogy and musicology in Dresden, Rostock and Graz. In 2013 she completed her contemporary music masters’ programme of Klangforum Wien at the University Of Graz, Austria. As a musicologist, she seeks connections between musical research and performance practice – her research topics include the history of German-language opera and contemporary music theatre. As a performer, she is playing frequently with renowned chamber ensembles and orchestras in Austria and Germany. Besides her classical training on double bass, she worked with specialists in contemporary and improvised music such as Stefano Scodanibbio, Joëlle Léandre and Elisabeth Harnik. / bassomobile.wordpress.com
Slovenian drummer and percussionist Vid Drašler (1983) is from Bistrica ob Sotli where he played in jazz-rock bands Zmajev Rep and Malik. With the band Drašler-Balžalorsky-Drašler Trio he made his breakthrough on the national free jazz scene, later one of his next professional peaks was the Drašler-Karlovčec-Drašler Trio. In 2014 he released his debut solo album Kramljanja. His next phonological achievement is My Ear Has Got Sharp Edges with trio Trojnik. He is active as a pedagogue and co-author of music and art events in Vrhnika where he also curates weekly workshop sessions focusing primarily on non-idiomatic improvisation. He performed and recorded albums with Alex Ward, Tom Jackson, Benedict Taylor, Linda Sharrock, Mario Rechtern and Christof Kurzmann.
16 May 2017, Tuesday 20.30 – Budapest, Kék Ló
17 May 2017, Wednesday 20.00 – Vienna, Mo.ë
18 May 2017, Thursday 20.00 – Ljubljana, Vodnikova Domačija Šiška
Borderless Dissonance 2017 is kindly supported by: