L’Ensemble ensEmble

Mari Kvien-Brunvoll was born in 1984 in Molde, Norway and plays jazz and folk music, focusing on vocals. Her first, eponymous album was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. In her solo appearances she distorts her voice with live sampling, surrounding it with percussion, noise, and bass line, and often plays kalimba, zither, and other small instruments. She is also part of the group Building Instrument with Stein Urheim, as well as Kvein & Sommer, a duo with Espen Sommer Eide.

Active as a performer and composer of jazz and improvised music, Romanian musician Georges Dumitriu plays viola, violin, and electric guitar, as well as live laptop electronics. His studies in classical music took him to Budapest, Groningen, Amsterdam, and NEW YORK. He has taught at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam and the Prins Claus Conservatorium Groningen. Dumitriu performs insternationally with a variety of projects (Sanem Kalfa, Kaja Draksler Octet, Alex Simu Quintet, Hidden Myth, I/O, Re-fuse, Steven Kamperman Trio, Nationale Opera & Ballet Amsterdam), and also leads the group DUMItRIO.

Kim Myhr is one of the leading voices on the experimental scene in Norway. He was born in Oslo in 1981. He is a composer and guitarist whose solo music can be described as an orchestral exploration of the 12-chord guitar. He has released two solo albums, “All Your Limbs Singing” (2014) and “Bloom” (2016); a third, “You I Me,” is due out in November. His collaborative album with Jenny Hval and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra in 2016 received rave reviews. Myhr is a member of the bands Mural and Circafia, and founded the independent recording company SOFA with Martin Taxt and Ingar Zach.

Toma Gouband was born in 1976 in Manosque, France, and started playing percussion at age 5. He studied with well-known teachers including Christian Salut in Toulouse and Jean-Marc Lajudie in Limoges. Gouband has played with important musicians including Evan Parker, Benoit Delbecq, Magic Malik, Bruno Chevillon, Joachim Bedendhorst, Will Guthrie, Michel Doneda, and others. He composes music in an entirely unique manner, creating sounds from stones on a drum set and using cymbals as resonators; in his project Ondulo, he produces sound installations using cell phones and bells. Among his many collaborations, the band Astropi (with Harmen Fraanje and Brice Sonia) stands out.