Nate Wooley knknighgh + Razen

knknighgh (pronounced knife) is a radical new take on the classic free jazz quartet tradition. Inspired by the minimalist poems of Aram Saroyan, Wooley wrote only one short and fragmented melody for this group, which consisted of three of the most interesting upcoming musicians in America today: Lotte Anker, Brandon Lopez, and Dre Hocevar. That group worked tirelessly on on pushing the simple 13 bar theme to its limits. Wooley wrote short fragmentary loop compositions that could be triggered by a simple auditory cue by anyone in the band, making this a form of composition by committee. The group finds new configurations of the almost non-existent material that give a fresh perspective on the free jazz aesthetic while forcing the players out of their comfort zones and into pure creative energy.

Kim Delcour schawm, bagpipe, bass flute, reed
Brecht Ameel santur, monochord, hummel
Paul Garriau hurdy gurdy

Razen improvises live avant-drones and deep listening experiences. These originated from the desire to play music in an ingenuous way, with old instruments, purely based on sounds. Razen is continuously searching for tone colour shocks and a primitive, hybrid sound alchemy. Influences from Renaissance, Baroque and Medieval music mixed with the world of eld recordings and 20th century composers such as Xenakis and Messiaen. Razen focuses on live improvisation, therefore a thorough knowledge of the context in which they perform is ultimately necessary and makes every concert unique.