March 9th,
@ Terrace, 62 Washington St. Princeton NJ; 9 PM. FREE!
S.L.A.T.U.R. (Reykjavik, Iceland)
SLÁTUR (Samtök listrænt ágengra tónsmiða umhverfis Reykjavík) is a society of artistically aggressive composers in Iceland. Many people have been associated with the society from the beginning but the core members and the committee are:
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•Áki Ásgeirsson
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•Davíð Brynjar Franzson
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•Guðmundur Steinn Gunnarsson
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•Ingi Garðar Erlendsson
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•Páll Ivan Pálsson
The society was founded in 2005 although it has some prehistory (Specap / Atón / Hestbak / Teiknistofahljómsveit / Kling&Bank / spuni / Kokteilsósa). The main goal of the society has been to host events of artistically aggressive music, promote artistically aggressive music in any way and create an artistic dialog between the members.
S.L.A.T.U.R. Quartet (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Gudmundur Steinn Gunnarson
Gudmundur Steinn Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1982. Began music studies at the age of seven. In 2005 he graduated from The Iceland Academy of Arts. There he studied composition with Dr.Ulfar Haraldsson and Hilmar Thordarson.
Recently Gudmundur graduated with a M.A. degree in composition from Mills College. There he studied with Alvin Curran, Fred Frith and John Bischoff. He has attended masterclasses with Tristan Murail, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pauline Oliveros and Clarence Barlow.
His compositions have been performed at festivals such as U.N.M., Reno Interdisciplinary Arts Festival, ESAP 2007 and Music for People and Thingamajigs. His music has been performed by ensembles such as Quartet Opabinia (US), The Zapolski Quartet (DK) and Atón/Njútón (IS).
Gudmundur Steinn was the musical director of an experimental animated film named Hidebound which won a special prize for music at the NUFF young film makers festival in Norway. He has also been active as a improviser and has performed in that context with musicians such as Steve Hubback, Fred Frith, Andrew D'Angelo and Ad Peijnenburg. His music has appeared on various records which are available from Bad Taste (Reykjavik) and Edgetone (San Francisco).
Sounds & Links:
http://www.slatur.is/gudmundursteinn
Aki Asgeirsson
His music has been performed by musicians such as Ingólfur Vilhjálmsson, Tobias Guttman, Tinna Þorsteinsdóttir, Frank Aarnink, Aton Ensemble, Caput Ensemble, Reykjavik Wind Orchestra, Hestbak, the POING trio, Snorri Heimisson, Stefán J. Bernharðsson, Michael Manion, SOIL Ensemble and Maarten Altena Ensemble.
His music has been performed in China, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, The Netherlands, Germany and various places in the United States of America.
Aki's music often involves traditional instruments with new technology. He has also built and modified musical instruments such as his SensorTrumpet (electronic trumpet add-on's to interact with a computer), the Rangspil (an electronic version of the traditional Icelandic instrument, Langspil), the Aluminium Motor Drum and the LCD Harp.
Software projects include GeMusE, a realtime interactive notation rendering program, CRIP: automatic instrumentation program for piano music and virtual smoking program.
Currently Aki lives in Reykjavik and enjoys composing, teaching, programming, organizing and performing. Áki is a co-founder of the Icelandic composer group S.L.A.T.U.R., Aton Ensemble, Iceland Electronic Art Association (which organizes the annual RAFLOST festival), Kokteilsosa concert series and other bands and institutions.
Sounds & Links:
Jesper Pedersen
Jesper Pedersen hold a MAster of Arts in Music Technology from the University of Aalborg, Denmark. His Masters thesis was on the subject of modern Icelandic music, and specifically music related to the organisation Smekkleysa. His thesis was co-written with Irene Greenwood.
In Denmark, he studied composition, sonology, sound, design, music production, studio recording, music analysis and history, and critical theory. His main teachers were: Martin Knakkergaard and Søren Bovbjerg. Jesper has also led various courses and workshops in singing and conducting gospel music. Among his teachers were: Earl Bynum (USA), Ken Anderson (USA), Peter Francis (UK), Anders Sprotte (DK), Claes Wegener (DK).
Sounds & Links:
Pall Ivan Pallson
Pall Ivan Pallson has studied composition and improvisation with Fred Frith, Andrew D´Angelo and Hestbak and has completed his Master of Arts in Composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts. An active participant in contemporary theater and music performance around Iceland, Pall is also pedagogue for art-development study for young children, and was the co-host of the music programme “Hlaupanótan” on Iceland´s National Radio 1.
Sounds & Links: