CURRENT & RECENT PROJECTS
ROGGEN/NYHUS 🚀
Roggen/Nyhus is a voice and piano duo with Ingfrid Breie Nyhus. The two of us started up in 2016, exploring interpretation as such. By 2020 the searching had developed into improvisation and re-composition.
Our processing often starts with learning songs - such as late romantic lieder - by heart, before we begin experimenting through a set of methods to unlearn and thus internalize the stories in new ways. Our respective backgrounds from jazz, improvised music and songwriting (Live Maria) Vs classical, contemporary music and folk music (Ingfrid), play along in the interaction. Performing, recording, and thus retelling the musical stories through the reconnected remains that we carry in our bodies, feed back into the ongoing work.
Our explorations so far have resulted in various musical landscapes, from the minimalistic and bone dry, to the lushious and noisy. Following the EP Demanten (2022), we've released the duo album Skymt (2023) and the trio album Symfoni (2024) with Morten Qvenild on live electronics. Skymt and Symfoni are also released as vinyls in a combined cover, including a Scandinavian language book with responses and reflection texts written by artists we've been in dialogue with.
In 2025, we will publish a series of short films about our musical work and artistic research during 2022-2024.
TU'BA 🎈
The duo Tu'ba - with tuba player Lars Andreas Haug - was my very first band, and my ground schooling in improvisation. From the beginning in 1994 this was a creative and limitless playground where we would compose, arrange and improvise over all sorts of ideas.
After releasing the album Tu'ba in 1998, we toured extensively for a few years. Then followed a pause of almost 18 years, before we met up again during the pandemic and discovered that playing felt just as intuitive and fun as it used to.
Late in 2024 we toured Norwegian jazz clubs for two weeks, nine concerts where we got to knead new repertoire and fine-tune our musical connection. What we play today is rooted in the playfulness on which this duo was founded 30 years ago, but also reflects the experienced musicians we have become. To be continued!
LIVE & LIEN 🍃
This duo with pianist Helge Lien has existed since 2011. We have so far released two albums, Låvesalg in 2011 in Norwegian language, and YOU in 2016. Our material is a mix of covers, jazz standards and original compositions. Live&Lien has so far been a side project for both of us - but also a gem that we both cherish. We always look forward to the next opportunity to play together.
During the spring of 2025 two such opportunities will occur, first as part of Live Maria's 2025 artistic residency at Kampenjazz in Oslo, then in Helge's commission work "My Dear Forest" at the Anjazz festival in Hamar.
JULIA HÜLSMANN OKTETT 🌈
In 2015, German pianist and ECM recording artist Julia Hülsmann formed this international octet - or, as she calls it: double trio and 3 voices. 🇦🇴🇳🇴🇩🇪🇸🇪🇫🇷
With: Julia Hülsmann on piano, Aline Frazão, Michael Schiefel and me on vocals, Héloïse Lefebvre on violin, Susanne Paul on cello, Eva Kruse on bass and Eva Klesse on drums.
A newly recorded album is planned to be released during spring 2026. The album includes beautiful versions of two of my previously recorded songs, plus one of Julia's compositions with my lyrics. All the songs we play are arranged by Julia.
PAST COLLABORATIONS & EXPERIENCES
TRONDHEIM VOICES 2001-2023
Trondheim Voices consists of a pool of singers, with the lineup and roles varying from one project to another. I was one of the founders of this improvising vocal ensemble 20+ years ago, and was part of the pool up until 2023. In addition to being one of the singers, I would occasionally have artistic leadership of concerts and recordings. I've composed and arranged music, and developed improvisational toolkits and frameworks for collective music making.
Some essential Trondheim Voices-works on my part:
Bingo (2008) by Siri Gjære, Elin Rosseland, Ståle Storløkken, Live Maria and Cirka Teater; On Anodyne (2011-16) by Jon Balke and Yusef Komunyakaa, produced by Jon Balke and Live Maria; Rooms&Rituals (2017-) by Trondheim Voices and Asle Karstad/Maccatrol, through 2019-21 produced by Live Maria; Valen Remixed (2022 for Fartein Valen Festivalen) by Live Maria, five singers of the ensemble and Asle Karstad/Maccatrol; Sirkler (2023 for Orgelnatt in Stavanger) by Live Maria, four singers of the ensemble, organist Nils Henrik Asheim and Asle Karstad/Maccatrol.
Lastly, the ambitious, complex, holistic stage production BEDROCK (2023): The music was composed by eight singers of the ensemble, in close collaboration with Asle Karstad/Maccatrol, and produced by Tone Åse. The visual stage elements were designed by Oscar Udbye (video), Ingrid Skanke Høsøien (lights) and Tone Myskja (costumes), and produced by Sissel Vera Pettersen/Ida Eilertsen. The entire conglomerate composition was assembled on the basis of an overall textual/contextual framework beautifully created by Siri Gjære, based on dialogues with the singer-composers.
In the process of leaving the ensemble, I formulated this postscript - as a kind of reminder to myself, in the possible event of me getting involved in vocal ensemble work some other time:
with WILD AT ART between 2013 and 2022
Wild at Art - a Trondheim-based arts collective and production unit - have created a number of long-durational, site- and situation-specific, inclusive, unstable, exploratory 'situations'. Music and movement are among the many elements used in these collective improvisations which explore freedom, choice, presence, attention, rest, action, mutual responsibility and togetherness.
I find Wild at Art's strategies immensely inspiring. After every one of these collectively developed, multiple-day events, I've felt energized, and wanting life and art to always be intertwined like this.
These are the six Wild at Art-situations I've had the chance to participate in:
Popludium (2013, four full days in Trondheim's abandoned main post office), Love Letters (2013, break-of-dawn in an amphitheatre in the woods - for Molde Jazz Festival), Gaven (2013, a four hours long Christmas gift in Vår Frue open shelter church), Gjestehus (2015, five days&nights in Lademoen church - for the Olavsfest), Saturns Hage (2020, three full days in Rosendal Theatre during the pandemic), and Saturns Platz (2022, five full days in K•U•K exhibition space).
COME SHINE 1998-2004, 2011-2019
Jazz quartet Come Shine started as a student band in 1998 and quickly became popular for our loving, yet unruly, interpretations of jazz standards.
During our active years (1998-2004 and 2012-19) Come Shine released five albums, to wide critical acclaim. Touring we would meet packed venues and dedicated listeners, of all ages. We performed with most of Norway's symphony- wind- and string ensembles, and we staged productions with legends like journalist Knut Borge, poet Jan Erik Vold, artists Jan Eggum, Tuva Syvertsen, Knut Reiersrud and more.
The long term development, the efforts and the artistic achievements of Come Shine have been important elements in my own development as a musician and performer.
With: Erlend Skomsvoll/Sondre Meisfjord/Håkon Mjåset Johansen
In 2022 Come Shine released a concluding double/triple album, with 25 unique tracks, recorded live in small venues: "Coming Home".
APOKALUPTEIN 2015-16
Apokaluptein means to reveal, to uncover. This was the main commission work for the Vossajazz festival in 2015. I wrote it during autumn of 2014, with the emerging climate and refugee crises in mind. I wrote and composed, from my perspective, about the unbearable human tendency to deny and adapt no matter how bad things turn out. I wrote about acceptance of death, and the fear of not being able to protect your loved ones.
The album recorded in Kulturkirken Jakob in 2016 was a developed version of the original work; more spoken words and poetry had been added.
With: Hilmar Jensson/Eivind Lønning/Lene Grenager/Sondre Meisfjord/Audun Kleive.
Read in Norwegian: interview about Apokaluptein
SOME MORE BANDS AND PEOPLE I'VE PLAYED WITH
LIVE MARIA BAND
2003-08 with Maria Kannegaard/Mattis Kleppen/Thomas Strønen/Øyvind Brandtsegg/Tone Åse. My first solo album "Circuit Songs" (Jazzland 2007) also included Gulleiv Wee/Bjørn Charles Dreyer/Lars Andreas Haug/Arve Henriksen.
WIBUTEE
1998-2000 with Håkon Kornstad/Per Zanussi/Erlend Skomsvoll/Wetle Holte.
Album "Newborn Thing", Jazzland 1999.
DINGOBATS+
with Eirik Hegdal/Njål Ølnes/Fredrik Ljungqvist/Fredrik Lundin/Øyvind Brække/Thomas T Dahl/Mats Eilertsen/Sverre Gjørvad. Album "Pöck", Bergland 2002.
DENNE LILLE PYTTEN ER ET HAV
Commission work by Sverre Gjørvad, with lyrics by Jan Kjærstad and Peter Handke. With Eirik Hegdal/Øyvind Brække/Ståle Storløkken/Nils-Olav Johansen/Mats Eilertsen/Sverre Gjørvad.
Album of the same name, Curling Legs 2001.
STABAT MATER
Commission work by Kjetil Bjerkestrand for Arve Tellefsen/Øystein Moen/Bjerkestrand himself/me/strings - such as Sara Övinge/Atle Sponberg/TrondheimSolistene.
Album of the same name, KKV 2019.
PLUS:
Trondheim Jazzorkester/Pat Metheny, Scheen Jazzorkester/Ambrose Akinmusire, Atle Sponberg/Frode Haltli/Sveinung Bjelland/Mats Eilertsen, Jon Eberson/Arild Andersen/Jon Christensen/Alex Riel/Per Jørgensen/Kirsten Bråten Berg/Solveig Slettahjell, Tom Steinar Lund/Sveinung Hovensjø/Celio de Carvalho, Ann-Cathrin Hertling/Siri Gjære/Maria Kannegaard/Alf Hulbækmo/Mattis Kleppen/Tor Haugerud/Tor Ivar Hagen/Andrea Sampalmieri/Sunniva Skjøstad Hovde/Marianna Sangita Røe/Viktor Wilhelmsen/Marte Huke, Brita Skybak/Tone Myskja/Sidiki Camara, Eivind Aarset/Oddrun Lilja/Bugge Wesseltoft.
☀️