The Squid's Ear Magazine


Jarret, Paul / Karin Johansson / Donovan Von Martens : Hemisphere / Hemisfar (Havtorn Records)

Paul Jarret, Karin Johansson, and Donovan Von Martens explore the dynamic interplay of prepared strings through experimental techniques and preparations, blending nature-inspired improvisation with echoes of Feldman, Bailey, and Debussy, creating a sharp, imaginative, and evolving soundscape that bridges improvisation, composition, and sound painting
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Paul Jarret-guitar, prepared guitar

Karin Johansson-piano, prepared piano

Donovan Von Martens-double bass


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Label: Havtorn Records
Catalog ID: HR087
Squidco Product Code: 35578

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: Sweden
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Skogen Studio, in Osterbymo, Sweden, by Martin Ohman.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The music is never the same. It verifies its positions and conditions, its peculiar way of listening to the cavities, the motions started, the tensions between sound and silence, tone and memory. Nature is present not only as trees and clouds, light and shadows. It is a readiness for what is constantly changing, a heightened awareness on the minimal variations in the materials and processes at hand, what it means to slowly examine a rough surface, the transformation of a rhythm, a melodic phrase emerging and disappearing.

The fact that the three musicians are playing one string instrument each, has for certain its significance. The three members of the trio communicate and put questions to each other, through the experimental playing techniques used. The 13 tracks that constitute the album Hémisphère consist of a series of concentrated and condensed situations, defined by the vibrations arising on and beside the strings, through different sets of preparations and interferences.

And now and then what is created starts to sound like completely different instruments, as if somebody played the clarinet or was blowing a bamboo. The room of nature is widened, and the music travels, from day to night and back to the light of day. Improvisation becomes composition and composition becomes sound painting in a way that triggers the imagination and the unbounded exploration of sounds.

You can hear echoes from the minimalism of Morton Feldman, the freeform playing of Derek Bailey, the impressionism of Claude Debussy. But the sharpness of the music is not the result of stylistic purity. It has to do with the open and free attitude to what it means to make music together."-Magnus Haglund, writer and critic, Gothenburg


Artist Biographies

"As an active composer, improviser and project leader, guitarist Paul Jarret deploys a highly personal sound and universe through his various groups, projects and collaborations, which have earned him recognition on the French and European jazz scene.

First and foremost a musician of jazz and improvised music in all their diversity, Paul Jarret is undeniably influenced by contemporary English and Scandinavian alternative rock groups, as well as by certain pop and metal bands. He is also passionate about traditional music from Northern Europe (Scandinavia, the UK), early music and 20th-century French and American composers. He remains deeply attached to the jazz tradition and its standards, even going so far as to practice radical free improvisation.

The projects he develops as leader (Pj5, EMMA, Ghost Songs) or co-leader (Sweet Dog, Jarret/Johansson/Von Martens trio, HARPA) each have their own identity, borrowing from these different musical currents. They are the different facets of the same musical universe, which has won Paul Jarret several prizes and awards (Concours National de Jazz à La Défense, Jazz Migration, Talents Adami Jazz, Génération Spedidam...).

His sideman activity is also developing in France (Ophelia by Ellinoa, The Source by Arnault Cuisinier, VIND by Loïs Le Van, le Grand Schwab by Raphaël Schwab) as well as in Europe (in Germany with Été Large by Luise Volkmann, in the Netherlands with Maison Moderne by Steven Kamperman).

In 2018, he joined the Pégazz et l'Hélicon collective, one of the most active on the Paris scene. In 2019 he won the Talents Adami Jazz award, forming the group Ghost Songs with American drummer Jim Black, Belgian keyboardist Jozef Dumoulin and saxophonist Julien Pontvianne. In 2023, he created his own large ensemble, the Acoustic Large Ensemble (A.L.E.), with fourteen musicians for whom he writes the entire repertoire,. He is also currently working on a solo set.

In 2024, he creates his new quartet TILIA, with German saxophonist Philipp Gropper, Korean drummer Sun-Mi Hong and French double bassist Étienne Renard.

Paul Jarret is strongly committed to ecology and sustainable development, and defends these values in particular within the Grands Formats federation."

-Paul Jarret Website (https://www.pauljarret.com/bio)
1/7/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Karin Johansson" pianist / composer / accordionist. Improvised music / experimental / jazz / music for theatre and contemporary dance."

-Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/karinjohansson)
1/6/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"I am a musician and filmmaker based in Gothenburg, Sweden. As a bass player, I collaborate with musicians across Europe, focusing on initiating, developing, andimmersing myself in projects where improvisation is central. My primary focus is on jazz and free improvisation, though my projects also span noise, folk, ambient, and pop genres. I am an active participant in Gothenburg and Sweden's music scene, also working as an organizer, booking agent, andfor the record label Havtorn Records. I'm currently working in musical projects together with Lisa Ullén, Hannah Tolf, Paul Jarret (FR), Karin Johansson, Cole Schmidt (CA), Malin Wättring, Christian Jormin and ingroups as Hollow Ship, Lisen Rylander Löve Oceans, Gårdon and Levure Sauvage. In addition to my musical pursuits, I am a director and cinematographer. I have directed, written, and filmed numerous art, short, music, and dance films, collaborating with a diverse rangeof international artists and organisations, such as Naoko Sakata (JP), IlDance, Liza Penkova, Maria Norseth Garli (NO), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, PARSE,Nils Berg Cinemascope, Isabel Sörling, Geiger, Toby Kassel (GB), Ingeborg Zackariassen (NO) and Danscentrum Väst. My recent work includes the music documentary/concert film "Poems for Orchestra," featuring Anders Jormin and Bohuslän Big Band,as well as the film installation "Collective," created in collaboration with Cha Blasco and Ingeborg Zackariassen,which was a part of Cha Blasco's exhibition at Röda Sten Konsthall, summer 2024. I highly value collaborative work and take a responsive, active, and cooperative role in the projects I am involved in,often participating in arranging and project management. In my artistic practice, I am drawn to forums and working methods where people can meet across borders,cultures, ages, and language barriers. I seek to create opportunities for these encounters,aiming to develop and foster dialogue and mutual challenge."

-Donovan Von Martens Website (https://donovanvonmartens.com/about.html)
1/7/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Clairseme 06:31

2. Det ar sent nu 05:33

3. Tiden 05:47

4. La Murmuration des Oiseaux 02:56

5. Snaren 03:07

6. I det Forflutna 03:45

7. Les Traces Visibles 01:16

8. Dans un Moment 01:55

9. Fondre 03:21

10. Skuggsang 04:00

11. Frost 02:56

12. L'Aube 05:45

13. Star 05:30

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Instruments with Preparations
New in Improvised Music
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