Parallax
Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud: Cymbals and percussion
Stian Omenas: Trumpet, percussion and Glockenspiel
Are Lothe Kolbeinsen: guitar, mbira and preparations
Paolo Pascolo: flute, sax
Mariano Bulligan: Cello, voice, el. composition
Miha Ciglar – solo
Parallax
This Norwegian trio is one of those rare and lucky collaborations where there is a great sense of chemistry from the very beginning. Are L Kolbeinsen and Ulrik I Thorsrud met for an informal improv session and hit it off immediately, but thought their music would benefit from adding a more melodic element. The choice fell on trumpeter Stian Omenås who, with his lyrical and open minded approach to improvisation, proved to be just what was needed to complete the music.
Rather than adhering to any particular “school” of improvising, Parallax’ music is a blend of the members’ musical preferences and influences with strong emphasis on interplay and listening. They have forged their own unique take on improvising that seamlessly draws on an array of influences ranging from Asian folk musics to traditional jazz and abstract soundscapes. The strong focus on interplay gives the music a strong sense of form and direction, and the result is often conceived of as being composed.
Since forming the group in 2008, they have toured extensively in Norway, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany and China, and have released two albums, “Live In The UK” on FMR, and “Krutthuset” on PlingMusic. They are collaborating with Hong Kong New Music Ensemble on a commissioned work to be premiered in HK may 2013.
They also collaborate with light designer Elisabeth Kjeldahl Nilsson on a production called “Lydrommet”; a project that exposes children to the world of improvised music (and lighting).
parallax.no/About.html
Mariano Bulligan
Italian artist, his path is between experimentation and academic music.
He plays cello, sings and makes electronic compositions in Agrapha Dogmata (Alessandro Seravalle, Ermes Ghirardini, Laura della Longa, Luigina Tusini) a fusion project of music, contemporary dance and visual arts. Plays cello in the Improvisation D.O.B. Orchestra (Giovanni Maier, Giorgio Pacorig, Paolo Pascolo, Michele Spanghero, Andrea Gulli, Mimmo Cogliandro, Ugo Boscain, Flavio Brumat, Gian Agresti, Gabriele Cancelli, Costanzo Tortorelli, Carlo Franceschinis). Within the DOB Orchestra and International Orchestra Brez Meja/Without Borders (DOB + COMBO, Slovenia) has played with Evan Parker, Saadet Turkoz, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Zlatko Kaučič, Giovanni Maier, Johannes Bauer. He has played with I 100 Celli di Giovanni Sollima, ORKA (Jens L. Thompsen – Faroe Islands), Armando Battiston, Benjamin Broening (USA), Parallax, Anders Tveit, Ida Helen Heidel (Nor), Anna Antonelli (I) Artur Majewski(Pol), SoUNdcellS Cello Duo (with Riccardo pes), Strepitz.
In March 2013 he has been “composer in residence” at Notam Center of Oslo (Norwegian Center for Technology in Music and Art) with PNEK Support (Production Network for Electronic Art – Norway). He worked at the Notam studios for a week on his project nOdes, collaborating with the experimental trio Parallax, the electronic artist Anders Tveit, the flutist and composer Ida Helen Heidel, performing with them in the Notam Center concert series LydMyren and at the presentation of the project nOdes.
From 2011 to 2012 (as winner of Leonardo Program European Scholarship) he worked as Chamber Music Collaborator at Salzburg Universität Mozarteum (Austria) in the class of Guitar of Prof. Matthias Seidel (ass. Marco Tamayo) and at Sandor Vegh Institute for Chamber Music (Universität Mozarteum). As member of Extatico Duo (with Hu Bin, guit – China) and other ensembles, he also performed at Solitär, Wiener Saal and Kleines Studio of the Universität Mozarteum and at the Concert Hall of Frohnburg Castle (Salzburg). With Extatico Duo he explore contemporary music and classical repertoire for this particular instrument combination, also working on the arrangements.
In 2013 they recorded their original arrangement of “Ouverture de I Masnadieri” for the production of the Conservatory “Licinio Refice” of Frosinone “é – dedicato a Verdi” for the 200th Jubelee of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth.
He played in the Universität Mozarteum Symphony Orchestra, Euro Symphony SFK Orchestra, Estonian Music and Theatre Academy Symphony Orchestra, Klagenfurt Landeskonservatorium Symphony Orchestra (guest cello substitute), Academia Simphonica (It), I 100 Celli di Giovanni Sollima, Wien Klang Sinfonietta (2nd cello), being conducted among the others by Giovanni Sollima (IT), Ernest Hoetzl (A), Franz Anton Krager (USA), Peter Burwik (A), Carlos Chamorro (S), Erki Pehk (Est), Cecilia Rydinger Alin (Sve), M. Alexei Kornienko (RU), Ernst Reijseger (NL), Pierangelo Pelucchi (I), Jean Bernard Matter (Fr), Enrico Melozzi (IT).
myspace.com/bulliganmariano
Paolo Pascolo
Flute and saxophone player active since 2003 in the field of experimental and improvised music. He collaborated with musicians such Giancarlo Schiaffini, Giorgio Pacorig, Giovanni Maier, Tristan Honsinger, Phil Minton, John Paul Jones, Takehishe Kosugi, Kawabata Makoto, Hartmut Geerken, Daniele D’Agaro, U.T. Ghandi, Piero Bittolo Bon, Enrico Sartori, Stefano Giust, Alberto Novello aka Jestern, Matjaz Mancek, Maurizio Abate, David Vanzan, Virginia Genta, Bruno Romani and bands like Improvvirus sound experience, Asabikeshiinh and Ronin ( for the soundtrack of Alina Marrazzi’s “Vogliamo anche le rose”2008). He published records for Palomar records, Dobialabel, Qbico, Troglosound, Setola di Maiale and Ghost records. He played in Italy, Slovenija, Hrvatska, USA, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Serbia, Denmark, Finland, England and Germany in jazz and improvised and electroacoustic bands such as Devil?Man (Palomar records), Res_et (Dobialabel), Phophonix Orchestra, Neokarma Jooklo (Troglosound & Qbico), Dob Orchestra (Palomar), Aghe Clope (Setola di Maiale) and h bar (Dobialabel).
He collaborated also in theater field with Mattatoioscenico (CPT 70% D’Acqua, selected for the Premio Scenario’s final 2007), Tristan Honsinger (Abbastanza 2008)(Paolo Fagiolo (Through Hate and Anger 2009), and Merce Cunningham Dance Company (Nearly Ninety 2010).
He is the cultural director of Dobialab Cultural Centre and of the intercultural exchange project Live – Musiche di Sconfine.
Miha Ciglar – solo
Miha Ciglar is an audio engineer and sound artist, working at the intersection of art and technology. In 2009 he obtained his MSc degree at the Institute for Electronic Music (IEM). Since 2001 he has performed his own compositions for various acoustic instruments, electro-acoustical performances, interactive dance performances, computer music and audiovisual installations at many international arts festivals.
He is exploring a composition approach where pain is introduced as a central reference for selection and temporal arrangement of sonic objects. By connecting the performer’s (composer’s) body to the electronic circuit of the instrument, or to an electronic instance of the sound that is being generated, he is able to experience the sound in a haptic way, which influences his musical decisions and thus generates rather unconventional results.
His recent artistic work is focused on the design of new interfaces for musical expression, experimenting with interaction concepts based on real-time gesture (motion sequence) recognition. In his research work from the field of Music Information Retrieval, he is exploring the practical implementation of different timbre analysis techniques.
In 2008 he founded IRZU – the Institute for Sonic Arts Research in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The institute is operating as a non governmental organization. It is based on an interdisciplinary concept and is carrying out artistic productions in the field of electronic music, audio technology research as well as educational activities. In 2009 he organized and curated the sonic arts festival EearZoom, one of IRZU’s first major projects.
ciglar.mur.at
Admission: 5 €.
Organized by: Zavod Sploh and Menza pri koritu.
