what we immerse ourselves in

interview03.04.2019

‘I need to believe it myself’

Ragnhild May. © Hajime Kato

As a performer, Ragnhild May has a chameleon-like way of creating characters that makes it possible to adapt her works to different situations. James Black invites her to a yoga class in this final interview with young ‘composer/performers’.

interview25.02.2019

So, this is where it all ends

In Bára Gísladóttir’s view, the apocalypse is a given. James Black goes bowling with the captivatingly introvert, yet apocalyptic, Icelandic composer/performer.

By James Black
interview09.01.2019

‘It’s almost like I can feel the whole world’

James Black goes climbing with Marcela Lucatelli in this first of three interviews with young composer/performers.

By James Black
reportage27.12.2018

Deep in the Norwegian forest

Norwegian composer Knut Olaf Sunde radically challenged traditional concert practices with a 13-hour immersive performance.

By Rose Dodd

comment18.12.2018

Not so diverse after all

© CC0

The 2018 Nordic Music Days in Helsinki branded itself on a notion of diversity oddly isolated from gender and other social dimensions. It was all about the stylistic width, according to the artistic director. From the point of view of a participating electro-acoustic composer, however, the festival fell short on this ambition, too.

By Tine Surel Lange

interview28.11.2018

Man among the machines

Kaj Duncan David’s music has always been intimately linked with software and machines. His next major work deals with artificial intelligence.

By Andrew Mellor
review20.11.2018

Gold fever and infernal machines

Simon Løffler’s personality shines through while Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard’s conceptual gold piece rings hollow at Gong Tomorrow.

By James Black
reportage16.10.2018

Try competing with history, then

Warsaw Autumn is on its way to becoming a victim of its own success, James Black writes in his essay from the Polish capital.

By James Black

reportage14.09.2018

Maybe we fight, maybe we defend

Alex Mørch: ‘Beta-Hex’. © Tine Surel Lange

The 2018 edition of the annual UNM festival for young composers displayed a somewhat defensive group of artists. Are commercial demands finally beginning to influence contemporary music in the Nordic countries? James Black writes from Bergen, Norway.

essay04.09.2018

Memorials of grief: Music after 9/11

Essay by Tim Rutherford-Johnson on the musical responses to an incomprehensible historical event.

By Tim Rutherford-Johnson
review03.08.2018

»An opera you need to see twice«

A generational cycle of sexual abuse paired with a clear and lucid score. Last year’s operatic talk of the town was back for one day.

By Andrew Mellor
essay11.07.2018

Lullabies and memory loss

Attending a concert – what’s it all about? In this essay Professor Holger Schulze takes us through his listening experience at Klang Festival in Copenhagen.

By Holger Schulze