Outstanding improvisers Noël Akchoté, Tony Buck and Vesna Pisarović drew on poravna - a hidden gem of traditional vocal forms from the area around the Vrbas River, as they experiment with traditional forms, twisting and deconstructing them. This versatile musical trio takes these forms as a starting point for further musical development, as well as inspiration for creating their own musical expression, layered and exceptionally engaging. They invite us into an idiosyncratic musical world composed of tensions, contrasts, and even contradictions. Traditional forms and melodies are superimposed over the layer of noise and improvisation, thus becoming a pattern for collective experimentation. Within their own texture and meaning, the sung lyrics are intriguingly displaced from the fixed transfer of meaning, creating a mystical interplay with the buzzing and repetitive sounds of the instruments. Whether we call it avant-folk, punk sevdah, or something else, the miraculous beauty of this music cannot fail to astonish.
The French guitarist-improviser Noël Akchoté (FR) is a frighteningly competent and active person. He has recorded a lot of music in various styles, he writes about music in the Austrian magazine Skug, he is the owner of a record label, he produces many different groups and participates in various projects. He started guitar at the age of 8 and soon started studying with a list of prominent jazz musicians. During the early 90's, he started to explore beyond jazz, also playing more experimental and improvised music. The list of the musicians with whom Akchote played, performed and created, is not only extremely large, but it covers an immense diversity of music genres and poetics, emphasizing his musical versatility, openness and virtuosity. Just to name a few: David Grubbs, Luc Ferrari, Marc Ribot, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Blixa Bargeld, Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Fennesz and many many more.
Tony Buck (AU) is one of Australia’s most creative and adventurous drummers. He has been involved in projects in a diversity of genres, crossing the boundaries between jazz, electronic and improvised music: from The Necks, to the Peril, and through his numerous collaborations with artists such as John Zorn, Tom Cora, Phil Minton, Keiji Haino, The EX, Peter Brotzmann, Roy Chowdury, Clifford Jordan, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, Wayne Horvitz, and many others.
Vesna Pisarović (HR) was for almost a decade mainly a renowned singer of popular music, in Croatia and other countries of the former Yugoslavia. Since a dramatic turn in her professional career, and an opening towards the jazz and improvised music idioms she has collaborated with many artists, including Greg Cohen, Chris Abrahams, Joe Fonda, John Betsch, Axel Dörner, Zlatko Kaučič, Gerhard Gschlößl, Zeno de Rossi, Dieb 13, Gebhard Ullmann, Tristan Honsinger, Tobias Delius, Francesco Bigoni, Giorgio Pacorig, Martin Sasse, Wolfgang Schmidtke, Frederick Köster, Clayton Thomas, Steve Heather, Jan Roder and many others. She currently lives and works between Zagreb and Berlin.
