Borealis Listening Club is back in October to soothe your eardrums and spark your curiosity! This time we’re looking at the theme Isolation through music. A varied soundscape and freshly popped popcorn awaits you!
More details on the Facebook event
You can also take part in shaping the night by suggesting music to listen to – send us recommendations at blc@borealisfestival.no, and join us with open ears at Studio 207, Wednesday 28.10 at 8-10 pm.
We’re incredibly happy to announce that Raven Chacon is composing new work for BIT20 Ensemble to be premiered at Borealis 2021 in March!
Using voice, field recordings and moving image, this new commission sees Chacon combining his solo career in noise and electronic music with his extensive experience in composing chamber music – a combination he rarely employs.
Chacon is a composer, performer and installation artist from Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He’s the recipient of several fellowships and awards for his outstanding work in composition. As a solo artist, collaborator, or with Postcommodity, Chacon has exhibited or performed at Whitney Biennial and documenta 14 amongst others.
We can’t wait to present his music as part of Borealis 2021 and to work with the versatile musicians of the BIT20 Ensemble!
October is like a cultural dream! We highly recommend you drop by BIFF – you can literally go see whatever film and get smarter, but we specifically recommend the documentary “Other Music” about the legendary record store with same name in New York.
For those of you who are not in Bergen, or have to stay at home, BIFF also offers a selection of their 2020 programme on their own streaming site BIFF+. “Other Music”, “Babyteeth” and a range of other goodies from this year’s programme are possible to rent between 12th and 31st of October. It’s also worth checking out films from their archive on BIFF+, which are out the whole year!
The festival Oktoberdans is also right around the corner – check out the programme and get a hold of the last few tickets left!
We have expanded our forces on the team! It’s with great pleasure we’re presenting our three new interns Said Abdullahi, Émilie Fanor-Fontaine and Runa Halleraker! With varied backgrounds in music, arts and film they will be working with production, communication and the volunteers towards Borealis 2021.
Runa Halleraker (b. 1995) from Trondheim is currently studying a Master in Art at The Art Academy in Bergen, KMD, UiB, where they work with painting, words and installation. Their first solo exhibition was held at Galleri Fisk in November 2019, and some recent group exhibitions include Kommunikation at Färgfabriken in Stockholm and MERGE at Cafe Gallery Project & Dilston Grove in London. On the side Runa has worked with photography, design and communication for different cultural organisations, for example Stormfestivalen and Pstereofestivalen, and here at Borealis they will be working with communication.
Émilie Fanor-Fontaine (b. 1991) from Paris will be working with our volunteers here at Borealis. With an extensive background in film, philosophy and nordic, she has in recent years been active as guest curator, assisting editor and volunteer for different organisations including Cinemateket, Isme Film and BIFF. She took her Master in Film, heritage, curating and preserving at Université Paris 8 and Stockholm’s University (2015-2017), and aims towards becoming a film director.
Said Abdullahi (b. 1995) came to Bergen from Kenya in 2011, and has in recent years contributed to the music scene in Bergen. He has been part of establishing DJ collective Svette Føtter (2019), has long been part of Fargespill (2012-2018), and here at Borealis he will be working with production. In more recent time, Said has also been building his own DJ name, Said Warya, and had gigs both on radio and for a range of concepts including at Østre and Café Opera.
A warm welcome to all three!
We need good aural input now that autumn is knocking at our door and the safety of our sofa is more relevant than ever. Check out the new podcast “What’s love got to do with it” curated by film-maker Beatrice Gibson, who took part in Borealis 2019. For this new podcast Beatrice invited renowned contemporary poets like CAConrad, Alice Notley and Precious Okoyomon to talk about nothing less than, LOVE! Also check out the new record Juxtaposition II (Blitzopposition) from the turbulent quartet of Oslo and Bergen-based improvisers Agnes Hvizdalek, Guro Moe, Håvard Skaset and Utku Tavil, bringing the house down with two voices, bass, guitar, and drums.
We’re excited to be part of this newly launched book of interviews:
Taking the Temperature: Crisis, Curating, and Musical Diversity edited by Brandon Farnsworth, Anna Jakobsson and Vanessa Massera. It reflects on some of the implications of the current situation for music and the performing arts, and how this connects to issues of curatorial practice and intersectional diversity issues in contemporary music.
Read it here!
For the third episode of our podcast, Borealis Samtale, you can hear composer, trombonist and academic George Lewis in conversation with Borealis Artistic Director Peter Meanwell, recorded at the festival earlier this year.
Listen to Borealis Samtale with George Lewis on our SoundCloud – or wherever you get your podcasts…
For this month’s Borealis Listening Club we’re thinking about Care – for each other, for ourselves – and how this comes across in different music we listen to. On the playlist: Jenny Gräf Sheppard gives electric guitars to older women with Alzheimer’s; Abdu Ali wants to be free with his body; and Cassandra Miller thinks about healing and gratitude through her new string quartet with voice in our “Long Listen”.
Join us in Studio 207, Wednesday 30th of September, 20–22 or via our Facebook page for the live stream.
Treat yourself and take a trip to the beautiful small town of Øystese by the Hardanger Fjord to experience new music by four emerging composers, Friday the 18th of September 19.00!
Aslak Bjørge Hermstad, Eva Pfitzenmaier, Hilde Annine Hasselberg and Steinar Yggeseth wrote new pieces for the trio YrrY as part of our Mentor Programme Borealis Ung Komponist. Their music premiered at Borealis 2020 and is now travelling to Øystese for an evening concert at Kunsthuset Kabuso where the yearly art exhibition Vestlandsutstillingen is open.
Fortunately August will not be completely without live events, and so do use Bergen’s cultural spaces – keeping a safe distance.
If you’re in Bergen make sure to catch the one night festival Jazzknappleik at USF Verftet, Friday 17.08, 20.00 featuring local stars Øyvind Torvund and Alwynne Pritchard on stage. If you prefer staying in why not watch the highly acclaimed documentary I am not your negro by Raoul Peck on NRK which takes its inspiration from an unfinished script by author James Baldwin. And for a deep listen check out Bergen local Inish Hedén’s new techno mix featuring a recording of F*Choir from Borealis 2020.