in brief
08.02.2023

Paradisisk bedjævlet kontrabas

Bára Gísladóttir: »Silva«
© Anna Maggý
© Anna Maggý

Gennem en ond, mørk skov slæber man sig i første del af Bára Gísladóttirs farligt suggererende og luksuriøst klingende meditation for bedjævlet kontrabas, det timelange rodværk Silva (2022). Lukker man øjnene, begynder verden at bølge om en.

Dybe glidninger på strengene lyder som et uhyre i smerte, omgivet af en let dis af overtoner. Et mulmende rum, som to støjkorn løsriver sig fra, og mens dybet under dem bliver til et valsende stempel af tunge tryk, cirkler kornene synthsvirrende rundt og kaster fra den underjordiske slyngverden en line ud efter lys.

Og jo, minsandten: Mørket flænges af lysglimt. En skinnende tone sniger sig ind, mangedobles til et skurrende hyl og følges op af hæse dursignaler. Det dybe stempel sætter sig fast i en hård rille, mens Gísladóttir begynder at file rundt i et lyst register med ren instrumentklang.

Værket spjætter, søger at trænge igennem en hinde til et lysere sted. Til sidst, efter alt omkring den ensomt søgende er fortæret af en rasende ild, lander Silva i et limbo af fjerne overtoner, klange, der får lov at rinde ud.

Vi har nået overfladen, nu lyder en klar, lys drone og den fineste dæmpede støj som et svagt, men insisterende ekko af, at livet buldrer videre i underskoven. Bedre mindes jeg ikke at have hørt Bára Gísladóttir: så fokuseret og alligevel hengiven, fri; tilmed i en overrumplende optagelse, der indfanger dybets tonerigdom.

Så kan man godt finde årslisterne frem.

© PR

»For us, music is... magic? Aside from the fact that we are huge fans of silence, the closing line of one of our upcoming singles perfectly captures our relationship with music: 

'Music feels like magic to me / A superior art form in a marketplace / Trying to find an empty space'. 

That is what it can feel like as a songwriter and performing musician. We try to hold onto an almost childlike infatuation with music, yet the art form we work in – alternative-leaning pop-rock – was created and has evolved 'in a marketplace' driven by powerful economic forces. As a romantic, that can sometimes be a bit disheartening...«

Late Runner consists of Asger Tarpgaard and Tanja Forsberg Simonsen, both formerly of the bands Superheroes and Private.

© PR
© PR

It was officially confirmed only recently that Icelandic avant-garde star Björk is visiting Bielsko-Biała today. After keeping it under wraps until the last moment, the organizers of the Wędrujący Festiwal (Wandering Festival) have revealed that Björk is the artist closing out the festival's grand finale.

© Kåre Viemose

»Recently, I discovered that when a couple of thousand people clap their thick gloves in minus 30 degrees, it sounds like the softest techno – a freezing space where the cold air turns into a wave of warmth, and we, in a moment of collective devotion, become one with the rhythm, one with the invisible bond that connects us in the warmth of silence. Music is not just sounds, but a vain attempt to capture the infinite, which has always been and always will be.«

Andreo Michaelo Mielczarek has been the editor-in-chief of Seismograf since 2021. He is also a music critic and cultural journalist at Kristeligt Dagblad and Århus Stiftstidende/Avisen Danmark and has over the years written to publications such as Kunsten.nu, Glissando (Poland), Neural (Italy), Raw Vision (UK), Nutida Musik (Sweden), Kunstkritikk (DK/Sweden), Iscene.dk, B.T., and Jazz Special. He is the author (together with Lars Muhl) of the book HVA' SAA! En guidet rutsjebanetur gennem Aarhus – før, nu og i fremtiden (2024) and has also contributed to the anthology on music criticism Man skal høre meget (ed. Thomas Michelsen and Claus Røllum-Larsen, 2024). He is a founder and partner in the Polish-Danish cultural organization Kultur(a), and wherever there is a piano, he will be there, eager to coax a melody from it.

© Aria Leth Schütze

»For me, music is an opportunity for transformation.«

Aria Leth Schütze is based in Copenhagen and is the creative force behind the music projects Alto Aria and Samler På Dig. They are a co-founder of the record label Rhizome and a co-editor of the music magazine Passive/Aggressive. Their practice brings together electronic and acoustic music in an exploration of transformation.
 

© PR

»For me, music is the art form that – if measured in hours and minutes – occupies by far the greatest part of my life. I cannot sing, nor can I play an instrument, but I can listen – as a happy amateur – while cycling, on the dance floor, and, above all, at the office. I almost always work – that is, write – to music.« 

Mikkel Krause Frantzen (b. 1983) is an associate professor at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, a literary critic for Politiken, and the author of several books in English and Danish, such as En fremtid uden Fremtid (2018), Klodens Fald (2021), and Slutspil (2024).