Jenny Graf (Metalux) and Chiara Giovando (PCPCG) are Harrius, a duo from Baltimore, MD. Their first LP Enter the Cotton Ring was released on Ehse records in 2005. Described as a “bizarre dream of a record… this is willfully weirdly its own brand of wonder! It works a deep subconscious rupture…like a blood vessel mic’d up to volcano level.”
Harrius creates a strange and perplexing sound that straddles the line between psychedelic folk and electronic improv via BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Never resting on either side of the fence, they build soft arenas of song that are alternately revealed and consumed by a dense field of electronics. Far removed from any “noise” record professing the same instrumentation; Harrius uses vocals and violin to blend in and out analog electronic hiccups and tidal waves. Both their recordings and live performances yield carefully sculpted composition.
The duo has also recently completed a short film, “Proud Flesh”, a kind of psychedelic Western shot in the Badlands of South Dakota that is scheduled to Premiere in Baltimore on July 11th 2008.
For their ISSUE Project Room Performance, Chiara will be playing violin electronics and voice and Jenny will be playing Trinu, an instrument designed with Peter Blasser and voice.
The Moth is a Swedish improv/electronic duo comprised of Martin Öhman and Erika Alexandersson. With drums, voice and live electronics, attractive as well as repulsive soundscapes take form. The Moth use no pre-recorded tracks since they are very fond of creating in the spur of the moment. And that’s what you’ll hear at ISSUE Project Room - the spur of the moment!
Erika Alexandersson and Martin Öhman decided to form a band. At first the music was acoustic (it still is sometimes…), but after a while as moth´s do “the moth” went through a transformation and reinkarnated as an impro/electronica duo.
Martin Öhman has received a lot of attention for his unorthodox way of playing. Martin uses fans, razors or whatever he can to create a different sound. In The Moth, Martin uses drums and cymbals, amplified with the help of contact microphones and manipulated through various guitar effects and custom made electronics. In recent years he’s built a reputation as a highly sought after composer by composing for bands, filmscores and other projects. In 2005 he put together and composed for an ensemble with The Moth partner Erika Alexandersson, world famous bassplayer Anders Jormin and trumpet phenomenon Arve Henriksen from the norwegian improv/electronica group Supersilent.
Erika Alexandersson has spent time tearing down the vocal boundaries and investigating the sound possibilities of the human voice. As a result, her singing stretches from melodic simplicity to making free improvised lyrics and transforming the human native sounds into music. Apart from The Moth, Erika Alexandersson appeared with the Swedish indie-pop band Loney, Dear, and with her other duo, Josef och Erika, that recently was nominated a Swedish Grammy for their second album. Erika is also about to release her debut solo album in Japan during the fall 2008.