Marcus Wärnheim and Jonathan Bäckström are on tour performing acoustic improvised music together and alone. The duo has been playing together in different settings for most of their respective career and remain frequent collaborators in many projects. This evening they will be performing a shorter solo performance each before embarking on a longer musical journey together.

About the artists and their work:

Jonathan Bäckström is a bassist, composer, improviser and band leader based in Helsinki. He works within the broader spectrum of free improvisation, free jazz, jazz and contemporary music. Co-founder of the inter-disciplinary artist run collective Collision art Collective.

His solo work explores new perspectives of the double bass. The process consists of un-learning internalised material using extended technique, props and improvisation. The music opens new doors into unexplored landscapes and textures.

Marcus Wärnheim is a Swedish reed player and an emerging improviser based in Amsterdam, where he moved after graduating from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Marcus’ expression ranges from minimalistic exploration of timbres to explosive free jazz. He is currently active in projects based in Sweden, Denmark and Finland that involve musicians and performers from all over Europe.

Marcus’ solo work is an ongoing work in process, where he is discovering the physical reality of the alto saxophone. Through un-linear repetitiveness, extended techniques and spatial awareness he questions, distorts and extends his musical language into hypnotic dreamscapes.