Minua & Mattias Hållsten

minua-mattias-poster
Konsert

19.00 Doors
19.00 Short shō piece
20.00 Mattias Hållsten
21.30 Minua

MATTIAS HÅLLSTEN
Mattias Hållsten is a Swedish composer and musician. His music explores auditory perception and the boundary between acoustic and electronic sound by using different synthesis techniques and instrumentations combined with just intonation. He is currently studying the traditional Japanese mouth-organ shō with Japanese musician Ishikawa Ko.

Breathing, bowing is the release of two new works by Hållsten, both exploring tuning, breath and the idiosyncrasies of two very different but very traditional musical instruments. The first piece is Solo #1 for shō and unfiltered sawtooth waves. The Japanese mouth organ shō, traditionally used to perform the ancient Japanese court music Gagaku, is here explored and expanded upon using justly tuned unfiltered sawtooth waves, with the pythagorean tuning of the shō as the harmonic starting point.
In Breathing, bowing Hållsten uses the bowing of the viola da gamba as a musical point of departure. The frets of the viol are adjusted to facilitate harmonies in seven-limit just intonation, welcoming the rich timbral characteristics of the viol and creating moments of harmonic fusion.
Breathing, bowing is released on Stockholm-based label Thanatosis on March 17, 2023.
https://mattiashllsten.bandcamp.com/album/breathing-bowing
https://mattiashallsten.com/

MINUA
The work of German-Icelandic trio Minua exists somewhere at the intersection of contemporary composition and drone music. Utilizing various woodwind instruments, modular synthesizers, guitars and zither, the trio’s music explores just tuning systems and alternate temperaments. Their latest release titled Simulacra was described by The Guardian as “thick, impasto layers of slow-moving sound that completely command your attention.” Whether more focused on the element of air or plucked instruments, the music of Minua moves with glacial grandeur, characterised by “barely perceptible harmonic shifts that seem to freeze time” (The Quietus).
The forthcoming concerts of the trio will revolve around the music on Simulacra, which was released by Slovak label Warm Winters Ltd. during the summer of 2021 as well as pieces off their upcoming record Irradiance, out on Nils Frahm’s Label Leiter Verlag on April 14. Presenting these pieces in looser, more extended versions alongside sparse, yet immersive lights and visuals, the compositions will unravel with patience and reverence in the live setting, like a flower slowly turning its petals towards the sun as it appears above the horizon at dawn. Fabian Willmann (Germany) will be playing bass clarinet, Kristinn Kristinsson (Iceland) will perform on guitar and electronics while Luka Aron (Germany) will be moving between guitar, zither, and modular synthesizer. Special guest on this tour will be Raphaël Rossé on serpent and euphonium, who also is present on Irradiance.
The members of Minua come from various musical backgrounds – jazz, classical, folklore, or metal, to name a few – and each continues to be inspired by very different musical directions. Be it traditional Nordic music, impressionism, free jazz or instrumental drone contemporaries like Ellen Arkbro or Kali Malone, these influences leave a mark on the unique soundscapes and melodies of Minua's spectral electroacoustic compositions. In the past, Minua have toured extensively, playing shows across Europe and China. In 2023, they will present their work in different parts of Europe.
Line-up:
Fabian Willmann – bass clarinet
Kristinn Kristinnsson – electric guitar, electronics
Luka Aron – electronics
Raphaël Rossé – serpent/euphonium

Tickets: 150SEK (Regular), 100SEK (Student, member, unemployed).

Member Production: Mattias Hållsten