"Kaja Farszky (born in Croatia, based in Brussels, Belgium) is a versatile percussionist who is active as a soloist, but also collaborates with different chamber ensembles, orchestras, artists from different fields such as dance, theatre and visual arts. As a player dedicated to performing contemporary music as well as improviser, her life is marked strongly through work with composers and being involved in creations on a regular basis. Her approach to music performance is characterised by inspiring energy, but also by a clearly defined extramusical dramaturgical concept, carefully thought through. She dedicates equal attention to the visual elements as well as elements of the scene and her performances are characterised by a powerful artistic personality, both in the classical music performances and in the most challenging pieces of contemporary music literature. She is an active musician in classical, contemporary, improvisation and music-theatre scene, as well as the author of individual works and projects. Her musical life is largely marked by many guest performances in Europe and worldwide.

Having percussion instruments as a mode for expressing herself, she feels there are no limits in question what can be an instrument or which sounds are considered music, there's only the question what to do with particular sound in a particular moment. Kaja believes that percussion music at its best reveals and amplifies something fundamental about the composers and performers who engage it."

"Annette Giesriegl was born 1966 in Innsbruck, Austria and lives since 1990 in Graz, Austria. She is a vocalist who crosses boundaries, whose education started in jazz music. She studied jazz singing at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz with American vocalists Mark Murphy, Jay Clayton, Sheila Jordan and Andy Bey, during which time she placed particular emphasis on the study of improvisation, finished in 1997.She has spent years exploring the sonic range and potential of the voice and finds musical expression for the explorations in free improvisation.

She has been engaged in studies of overtone singing, throat singing and the work of vocalists such as Meredith Monk, Bobby Mc Ferrin and Sainkho Namtchylak, and has taken part in workshops with the French Bassist Joelle Leandre, Eddie Prevost from AMN and the vocalist Maggie Nichols and spent months in London studying Indian music with an emphasis on Indian vocal techniques.

She performs since over 15 years regularly in the free music scene in London and gigs with musicians such as Eddie Prevost, John Edwards, Veryan Weston, Steve Beresford, Alison Blunt, David Leahy, Rowland Sutherland and the radical free improvisation band: Primal Fruitcake.

She also uses electronics since the early 1990ies to heighten the expansion and range of vocal sound in her free improvisations.

Her work with Mia Zabelka, the extreme-violinist from Vienna, on a project called "ZOOM". Giesriegl does not "sing" a single tone on these recordings, but rather explores the sound perspectives of her "Stimmlos - Stimme" ("soundless - voice") and of her "soundful - voice". She is an explorer of vocal sound and expands her sonic spectrum using of electronics.

She furthermore developed the concert programme "Two Voices" together with Jay Clayton (NY) - who is one of the most important influences of Giesriegl - where the two singers create an entire "Free Jazz Vocal Ensemble" using electronic effects.

Her one and - so far - only JazzCD: Hear I Am, Giesriegl produced in 2003 with her Band Annett4tett: Stefan Heckel on Piano, Karl Sayer on Double Bass and Ingrid Oberkanins on Percussion

One of her projects is the duet Vocal Chordestra with the austrian percussionist and drummer Franz Schmuck, best known for his work with the ensemble "Broadlahn". On the CD "Free Ethno!" (EX 766-2), released in 2006, Giesriegl and Schmuck explore ethnic singing styles from all over the world, interweaving them with vocal sounds, electronics and percussion.

A CD with instant compositions was released in 2008 with the Vienna Improvisers String Trio (VIST AG) featuring Giesriegl on voice and electronics. In 2008 Giesriegl also had the joy to perform with Pierre Dorge´s New Jungle Orchestra (DK) with Performances in Kopenhagen and Vienna.

Giesriegl's musical boundaries also extend into the realms of contemporary music, as can be seen in her work with the tone poet Gerhard Rühm (Cologne/Vienna)....about Indian music...

2008 and 2009 Giesriegl was also invited to work with classical indian musicians from the Bhavan Center London (UK), where they performed together with her and the austrian musicians Stefan Heckel and Franz Schmuck compositions by Heckel, Schmuck and herself.

Her long termed collaboration with UK composer Veryan Weston led 2010 to a project called: Vociferous Choir, performing Westons´s composition Tessellations II for 9 singers, with performances in Austria and the UK and the piece was recorded by BBC London and released as a CD by EMANEM 2011.

Since 2011 Giesriegl also takes part in a fusion project with fantastic austrian composer Denovaire, where she performes in a 14 musicians orchestra the piece "CHEST" as the singer and the Indian harmonium player. She learned to play the Indian Harmonium during her studies of Indian classical Music in 2003 in London and uses/used it in various settings like with Cordula Boesze on Theremin at the Interpenetration Festival in Graz 2009, or with the New Jungle Orchestra 2008.

Over the years Giesriegl took and takes part in the London Improvisers Orchestra, The Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, The GIS Orchestra (A), and she is one founder and organiser of the Styrian Improvisers Orchestra, which exists since April 2012 and performs regularly in Graz. Giesriegl developed her skills of conducting Improvisers Orchestras since many years.

Inspired by Maggie Nichols the "Gathering" in London, Giesriegl founded in 2011 together with german dancer Monika Schabus a Gathering in Austria near Graz, where musicians and dancers take part in a monthly evening experiencing the magic of Free Improvisation.

Her latest projects are TRIO REDOX with Katharina Klement (p), Kaja Farszky (marimba) - CD released in 2017 (CS459); the BARCODE QUARTET with Elisabeth Harnik (p), Alison Blunt (v), Josef Klammer (dr) - CD released 2012 (SLAMCD288), with a concert tour in 2013 in Australia and New Zealand ( Soundout Festival 2013) and Brasil in 2015, CD released on CDBaby: (Live in Brasil); and has released the CD "puzzling" in May 2014 at AUT records, which presents the work of her Duo Project with Claudia Cervenca (A) called PATCHWORK VOICES.

Since 2012 Giesriegl is a member of the leading team of V:NM Graz, Association for promotion and dissemination of New Music, based in Graz, organising a festival every second year: www.vnm.mur.at

New Jungle Orchestra (DK), Veryan Weston (UK), Lol Coxhill (UK), Maggie Nichols (UK), Elisabeth Harnik (A), Denovaire (A), Alison Blunt (UK), Jay Clayton (US), John Edwards (UK), Mark Sanders (UK), Manon Liu Winter (A), Franz Schmuck (A), Franz Hautzinger (A), Simon Nabatov (D), Elisabeth Flunger (L/A), Dena Derose (US/A), Mat Wilson (US), Armin Pokorn (A), Steve Beresford (UK), Stefan Heckel (A), Mia Zabelka (A), Marcio Mathos (UK), Eddie Prevost (UK), Rowland Sutherland (UK), Iris Ederer (UK/A), Tony Marsh (UK), Jon Rose (OZ), Alexis Porfiriadis (GR), Michael Fischer (A), David Leahy (UK), Clementine Gasser (A), Emre Kartari (TK), Ewald Oberleitner (A), Karl Sayer (A), Ingrid Oberkanins (A), Hamid Drake (US), Tim Daisy (US), Gerhard Rühm (D/A), Bill Noertker (US), David Boyce (US), David Mihaly (US), Claudia Cervenca (A), Jaap Blonk (NL), Josef Klammer (A), Jean Marc Foussat (FR), Soizic Lebrat (FR), Matilda Rolfsson (N), Irene Kepl (A), London Improvisers Orchestra (UK), Vienna Improvisers Orchestra (A), Styrian Improvisers Orchestra (A), GIS Orchestra Wels (A), and many more wonderful and amazing musicians...."

"Katharina Klement Born in 1963 in Graz, Austria
Studies: piano, composition and course in electro-acoustic and experimental music at Vienna Music University
guest course "music technology" at University of York, U.K.
Private studies in dance improvisation and plastic arts/sculpture

"Composer-performer" in the field of notated and improvised, instrumental and electronic music.Emphasis on spatial conceptions, crossover projects in music, text, video, performance. Numerous multi-channel compositions in combination with instrument(s) and /or vocals, particular interest lays on the piano and its extended playing techniques, sound installations, founder and member of numerous ensembles for improvised music (soundog, USE, monocle, subshrubs, deepseafish-K, REDOX).

Several awards and prizes, among others Max-Brand Preis 1994, "publicity-Preis" of SKE/austro mechana 2001, Austrian federal scholarship for composition 2002 and 2011,
Förderungspreis of city Vienna 2002, Elektronikpreis Viktring 2004, "honorary mention" at Prix ars electronica Linz 2006, Austrian Kunstpreis category music 2013.

residencies:
University of York/GB 1995
Komponistenforum Mittersill/Austria 2004
Druskininkaj/Lithuania 2011
Belgrade/Serbia 2014
Ohain/Belgium 2014

Composition works i.a. for Austrian radio and television, "jeunesse" Austria, City of Vienna, Styria Province, ensembles (like low frequency orchestra, ensemble recherche,ensemble PHACE, trio GREIFER) and soloists (like Annelie Gahl, Robert Gillinger), Nobelprizeseminar Vienna, Linz cultural capital 09, dramagraz, Trigonale Carinthia, Theater Marie Aarau, festival e-may Vienna, musikprotokoll Graz Austria, Klangforum Wien, Kammerorchester Wien, institute for media-archeology Austria


Concerts in Austria and abroad (including Festival Kaleidophon Ulrichsberg, Tage für Neue Musik Zürich, Radiokulturhaus Wien, Offenes Kulturhaus Linz, festival Inventionen Berlin, festival Midi-Alternativa Moscow, festival Wien Modern, collection Essl Klosterneuburg, festival VNM Graz, Cologne, London, Wroclaw, Pula, Trondheim, Hotel Pupik/Austria, gallery O´artoteca Milano, SECCA North Carolina, "roulette" New York, festival reheat Kleylehof, festival unlimited Wels, festival Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf, Festivalet d`Hivern de Música Improvisada, Barcelona, Klangspuren Schwaz, Festival Arts Stay Slovenia, festival Sexing Sounds Chicago

since 2006 lecturer at the course for electronic media and computer music, university for music and performing arts Vienna (electroacoustic music, composition, improvisation)

2010 - 2014 cooperation in the project "Knowledge through Art"
(supported by the Austrian Science Fund)
2012 - 2014 cooperation in the project "Patterns of Intuition"
(supported by the Austrian Science Fund)

cooperations among others with Oskar Aichinger, Lynn Book, Alessandro Bossetti, Cordula Boesze, Peter Brandlmayr, Angélica Castelló, dieb13, Kaja Farszky, Eva Furrer, Annelie Gahl, Nikolaus Gansterer, Susanna Gartmayer, Annette Giesriegl, Robert Gillinger, Thomas Grill, Seppo Gründler, Elisabeth Harnik, Peter Herbert, Josef Klammer, Heinz-Peter Linshalm, Thomas List, Urusla Mihelic, Josef Novotny, Maja Osojnik, Pia Palme, Arturo Parra, Wolfgang Reisinger, Billy Roisz, Alfred Reiter, Elisabeth Schimana, Annette Schönmüller, Marianne Schuppe, Hannes Schweiger, Martin Siewert, Hermann Stangassinger, Burkhard Stangl, Daniel Studer, Petra Stump, Judith Unterpertinger, Tamara Wilhelm, Manon Liu Winter

several CD-publications, founded own CD label KalK

Lives in Vienna