Stemmer er instrumenter, instrumenter er stemmer, mørket er lys, og lyset er vemodigt på Calum Builders Messe. Messe åbner med en koral mandlig frontvokal, hvorefter dybe kontrabasser strygende indtager deres plads, akkompagneres af sfæriske saxofoner og et voksende kor. Religiøs søgen er omdrejningspunktet for værket, der er en rejse i mødet mellem menneske og guddommelighed og den klassiske musiks traditioner i konfrontation – og samspil – med moderne improvisation.
Der er kælet for de konceptuelle detaljer: Teksterne er på kirkesproget latin, og værket består af syv vokaler, syv basser, syv saxofoner og syv tracks – syv sakramenter, den syvende dag, syv dødssynder, helligåndens syv gaver? Intensitet, kontrol, improvisation og løssluppenhed tager til og aftager igen i løbet af værket, der byder på kaotiske strygere, infernoer af snak og sang, anslag på strengene, ukontrollerede blæsere, repetitiv messen og kaos, der erstattes af silencio, stilhed. Stemmerne og lydene i hovedet taler på tværs af hinanden, hiver dig i alle retninger, samles og går atter nye veje.
Adgang til tekster på både originalsprog og oversættelse, som vi kender det fra operaen, ville fuldende Messe, som er et fremragende værk for søgende – men ikke sarte – sjæle.
»I like when it's impossible to tell at first if something is black or white, or country or blues, or whatever.«
Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. From Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives to Bob Dylan and Madonna. Born in Baltimore, Bill Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio.
»Music has been a healing balm for me.«
John William Grant is an American singer, musician, and songwriter holding both American and Icelandic citizenship. He first came to prominence as a co-founder, lead vocalist, pianist, and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band The Czars. After releasing six albums between 1994 and 2006, the band disbanded, and Grant withdrew from music for four years before embarking on a solo career.
He returned in April 2010 with a critically acclaimed debut album recorded in collaboration with Midlake. Queen of Denmark was named Album of the Year 2010 by Mojo magazine and was also selected as one of the ten best albums of 2010 by The Guardian’s music critics and writers.
»In his music, composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen tries to create a better version of himself.«
Allan Gravgaard Madsen is a Danish composer based in Copenhagen. His most recent works include Träume nicht and Nachtmusik. He tries to create a better version of himself in his music – where his personality tends to be restless, chatty and has an active inner life, his music is controlled, simple and merciless in its expression. He is the recipient of the Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderspris 2022.
The Finnish multimedia artist Jan Anderzén has, with the album Hoshi, released under the solo moniker Tomutonttu, created a true little star. Not only because »hoshi« literally means »star« in Japanese, but above all due to the music itself. There is something cosmic, yet infinitely minute, about the sonic worlds Anderzén conjures—like a galaxy reflected in a puddle, or a space journey in a rocket carved from a hollow tree trunk. Synths emit busy, warm blips and bloops, while ultra-short vocal and instrumental samples create a recognizable blur. At once artificial and organic – soft, rounded, jagged, crackling.
Anderzén approaches sound with a playfulness I simply adore. His music is strange in an incredibly comforting way. It places me in a kind of colorful, trance-like state, only interrupted when, several times over the course of the album, I find myself smiling in delight at a particularly great sound. The synths on »Katse osuu sähköön!« The choral samples on »Kesä oli äkkiä ohi!« Milo Linnovaara’s flute on »Malta lausua ‘AH’!« And many more. Hoshi is an album packed with microscopic moments that together form a frayed, exploding, radiant, idiosyncratic whole—a stellar moment of just under 38 minutes.
