The festival’s opening event will feature composer Ernests Valts Circenis with electronic works, a free improvisation duo of drummer Aaron Edgcomb and guitarist Kirsten Carey, and electro-acoustic composer, publisher, and event organizer John Chantler. The event will conclude with DJ sets by musician Nick Klein, who will perform a week later at Hanzas Perons, and sound artist Ģirts Reiniks, who also hosts the Skaņu Mežs radio show on Radio NABA.
Ernests Valts Circenis is a young Latvian composer. He graduated from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) under the mentorship of Jānis Petraškevičs and studied at the Lyon National Conservatory (FR) with professor Michele Tadini through an exchange program. He has participated in various masterclasses both in Latvia and abroad. Circenis has collaborated with the Latvian Radio Choir, Daile Theater, and the chamber orchestra Sinfonia Concertante, as well as with internationally recognized musicians like singer Helēna Sorokina and pianist Robert Fleitz. His works have been performed at festivals across Europe, including Latvian New Music Days, Latvian Music Festival, Empreintes(FR), and Druskomanija (LT). His compositions explore the peculiarities of music perception, the interaction of sound and space, and discursivity, which he implements in both instrumental and electronic music.
Circenis' performance Breath and Touch reflects on the softness and sensual sensory world inherent to human existence. It focuses on two key elements—breath, central to life, and touch, which forms much of our connection with the environment. How do these interact with sound? Can we feel what we hear? Can we touch breath?
Aaron Edgcomb is a composer, drummer/percussionist, and interdisciplinary artist based in New York. He works with improvisation, jazz, contemporary music, noise, and songs. He has collaborated with musicians like Chris Williams, Lisa Hoppe, Anthony Coleman, Ted Reichman, John Zorn, Ledah Finck, and Anna Webber. Edgcomb has presented his work across the US and Europe at venues and events like MoMA PS1, National Sawdust, Big Ears, and the Philharmonies of Paris and Hamburg, as well as in more DIY spaces like living rooms, garages, and basements.
Kirsten Carey is a composer, guitarist, shamisen (traditional Japanese string instrument) player, and sound engineer. Carey has performed worldwide and written music for the Netflix Japanese drama House of Ninjas, where she also plays the shamisen. Her music has been commissioned by prominent musicians such as the new music ensemble Latitude 49 and Boston’s Hinge Ensemble. She has composed for the independent film Taken For Granted and The One Piece Podcast, which ranks among the top five anime podcasts globally.
Edgcomb and Carey's album Mature Defense Mechanism was released on May 3rd by Relative Pitch Records, a label known for highlighting improvisational music by both established artists and emerging talents. The duo's performance is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
John Chantler is an Australian musician and organizer based in Stockholm, Sweden. He primarily works with synthesizers and electronics to create unpredictable and dynamic music. In 2019, he began developing a system for live performances consisting of battery-operated synthesizers/speakers that can be variably suspended, rotated, spun, and placed independently of typical concert/club infrastructures and traditional performer/audience interaction.
Chantler is a significant cultural figure in the experimental music field—he directs the Edition Festival in Stockholm and runs the Fönstret music label. He has collaborated with musicians such as Seymour Wright, Lawrence English, and Steve Noble. His music has been released on labels like Room40, Touch, and SUPERPANG. Chantler is a member of the innovative music platform SHAPE+, supported by the European Union, Pro Helvetia, and the Latvian Ministry of Culture.
Nick Klein is a sound artist, musician, and DJ who explores the energy generated by the interaction between sound and visual art, occasionally focusing on the social potential of this process. Klein is also passionate about noise, cooking, socializing, records, bars, synthesizers, and comedy. "The visceral sound of Nick Klein’s records is hard to pin down," writes the Miami New Times, noting his distinctive work with sound texture, volume, and recordings: "In Klein’s hands, media transforms into material."
Ģirts Reiniks is a DJ, sound artist, and graphic designer from Riga. He has been active in the local underground music scene since the early 2010s, playing in techno clubs, co-creating the Skaņu Mežs radio show, or freely playing experimental music for small audiences. His interest in a broad yet well-defined musical spectrum has led to performances in various contexts, not restricting himself to any specific genre. Reiniks' musical journey spans from intense and saturated to calm and elusive, and even strange and complex.
Following this concert, Skaņu Mežs 2024 will continue on October 4th and 5th. The festival's main guests will be the iconic electronic duo Autechre and the abstract rap project Armand Hammer.
Skaņu Mežs is part of the SHAPE+ innovative music platform and the "tekhnē" project, both supported by the European Union and the Latvian Ministry of Culture. SHAPE+ is also supported by Pro Helvetia. Nick Klein's new work is being developed within the framework of "tekhnē." The festival has also joined the NERDS (North European Resonance and Dissonance Society) network of experimental music festivals in Northern Europe.
More info: www.skanumezs.lv
