Deaf Center

Deaf Center

Deaf Center is comprised of two musicians and old friends, Erik Skodvin (aka Svarte Greiner, and the man responsible for the Miasmah label) and Otto Totland (also of Nest). The duo grew up together in the coastal Norwegian town of Langesund, and while they have now gone their separate ways with Erik residing in Berlin, their musical compatibility is undeniable. Deaf Center debuted in 2004 with the ‘Neon City’ EP for t…he Type label. The acclaim of this record prompted the duo to work hard on a full-length album, and in 2005 ‘Pale Ravine’ emerged, again on the Type label. This record is still considered the pinnacle of a certain subgenre of dark, cinematic music and was followed by a wave of artists influenced by its shadowy sound. The duo toured infrequently, but would occasionally appear for special shows with Totland on piano and Skodvin working with guitar, effects and laptop. Eventually after a six-year hiatus, the band’s sophomore album ‘Owl Splinters’ was released in 2011 and is set to continue the flawless Deaf Center legacy.
http://typerecords.com/art​ists/deaf-center

Islaja

Islaja is the recording alias of Merja Kokkonen, a musician and visual artist from Helsinki, currently based in Berlin. Her debut album Meritie (Fonal, 2004) gained praise in international music media such as The Wire, Dusted Magazine and WFMU. The follow up release Palaa Aurinkoon (Fonal 2005) caused even more excitement and created quite a stir. 2007 saw the release of her third album Ulual yyy (Fonal 2006) and released a live cd « Blaze Mountain Recordings » on Ecstatic Peace label. Her latest album is called Keraaminen Pää and is released on Fonal Records September 14th 2010. Islaja records her music at home using a rainbow of instruments to accompany her personal vocal delivery sang in Finnish. She has already played numerous large festivals including Eurosonic, by:Larm, Sonar, Itsenäisyysyö at the B2 club in Moscow, Russia and All Tomorrows Parties 200 curated by Thurston Moore. Animal Collective invited Islaja to play a two week support tour with them in Europe. Islaja is also a member of Hertta Lussu Ässä, a free folk super trio with Lau Nau and Kuupuu.
http://islaja.com/

Simon James Phillips

Simon is a Berlin based pianist from Australia - he trained as a classical pianist but is now primarily an experimental improvising pianist. This change in direction is due largely to the desire to be a more actively creative musician, as opposed to an interpretive one. Simon is attracted to art and music that allows the audience to more actively participate in its perception. He is particularly interested in trying to replicate the mechanical and repetitive sounds that surround us. The human mechanism is never as perfectly uniform as the machine - it is this imperfection that appeals to him. He is also interested in the perception of time and how music might effect that perception. His influences artistically include; the films of Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Béla Tarr and the theatre of Christoph Marthaler and the music of Charlemagne Palestine, Morton Feldman, Oren Ambarchi, Jean Sibelius and his favourite pianist and collaborator Chris Abrahams. As an improvising pianist, Simon performs both solo and with larger groups. He is a member of PEDAL, a duo with pianist Chris Abrahams (of THE NECKS) – their first album was released in April 2008, through German label STAUBGOLD. Simon has a duo ensemble with trumpeter Nils Ostendorf and is a member of THE SPLITTER ORCHESTER, a large improvising ensemble including the best of Berlins improv scene. Simons debut record « Chair » is due out on sonic pieces in the near future.
http://www.simonjamesphill​ips.com/

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http://www.sonicpieces.com​/
http://www.miasmah.com/