“Aviva Endean, hailing from Australia, and Henrik Olsson, representing Sweden, are two esteemed figures in the realm of improvised music on a global scale. In November 2022 they shared an evening at Stockholm’s Rönnells Antikvariat, a bookstore and music venue. Now, their connection extends to the release of a shared CD, the second installment in FRIM Records’ ongoing Split Series. Both Endean and Olsson have established themselves as influential figures in contemporary music circles.

Both artists have toured extensively, in the USA, Japan, Russia and all over Europe performing at venues and festivals such as Le Guess Who?, Splitter Festival Berlin, San Francisco SFF, Bipod Beiruth, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK), Sound of Stockholm (SE), Only Connect (NO) The Substation (VIC) and MONA FOMA (TAS). Olsson’s work can be found on labels like Another Timbre (UK) and Thanatosis production (SE), and he has collaborated with artists such as Andrea Neumann and Tetuzi Akiyama.

Endean, on the other hand, has extensively toured with performance art, installations, and interdisciplinary projects, in addition to earning critical acclaim for her two solo albums. The sounds within these two performances are tactile, grounded, atmospheric, and occasionally otherworldly and delicate”. (Frim)

Fotos © Sarah Walker und Hanna Macke

“It’s unfortunately rare for an improviser, especially in a solo context, to concentrate on one idea, a single angle of attack, and to work that idea deeply, to discover hidden jewels within a relatively “narrow” range and further, to surprise the listener with unexpected divergencies. Agnas, in the three selections from a live event presented here, does this beautifully. On ‘1992’, he places his guitar on his lap and approaches it as a kind of dulcimer, generating a strong and captivating rhythmic attack. Just as you think you have it figured out, he shifts pitches into a more microtonal area, opening hitherto unsuspected doorways. ‘Mirrored Memories’ moves to a very different sound world, Agnas gently striking the neck of his guitar with a soft mallet, creating floating, organ-like tones. But again, about two-thirds of the way through, he changes direction, roughly hitting the strings with the mallet stick, resulting in a harsher, more bracing environment scarcely hinted at in the previous sounds.

Agnas begins ‘Far Away, Closer’ with jangly chords suspended in time, perhaps recalling aspects of John Fahey or Loren Connors, very thoughtfully phrased and positioned, each set of two or three allowed to linger for consideration. About halfway through, however, things morph into a less solid, more warped space; one feels the ground shifting beneath one’s feet. Later still, CD-skipping effects join the fray, rendering any smug, presumed understanding of the situation on the part of the innocent listener absurd. In Agnas’ hands, the electric guitar continues to reveal undreamt of possibilities”. (Liner Notes von Brian Olewnick)

Die Gothenburgerin My Hellgren, die auf dem dokumentierten Set auf dem Cello improvisiert, ist eine der mittlerweile renommiertesten Virtuosinnen ihres Instruments im Rahmen zeitgenössischer Musik. Der Gitarrist Peter Söderberg ist eine umtriebige Figur in Jazz und freier Improvisation. Neben der Gitarre kommen hier Theorbo – eine Schalenhalslaute – und Oud – eine Kurzhalslaute – zum Einsatz. Die CD enthält einen Track von knapp 45 Minuten und erscheint Ende Februar.

@ FRIM Records

@ FRIM