A proper earth-shaker from 2014! G.E.K. is the name of a long-lasting musical partnership between composer/saxophonist Johannes Lund (also Jooklo Group, Mats Gustafsson, John Chantler) and trombonist/multi instrumentalist Maria Bertel (Selvhenter, Nina Garcia); both leading figures on the Copenhagen experimental and improv scene.
In this set, recorded as part of a double-bill with the equally incendiary Tralten Eller Utpult, G.E.K. perform fully amplified, sending wave after wave of heady brass tones through a pair of cranked guitar stacks to produce a total blowout of densely visceral catharsis. Excoriating it may be, but there's nothing nihilistic about the sound produced - the duo transcending both instruments and amplification to create a joyously heady barrage to give yourself over to, utterly.
For those lucky enough to have been in the room that night (and hopefully for the handful of onlookers stood staring quizically in from the other side of OTO's rattling windows) this one has stuck long in the memory, and we're delighted to be able to share the recordings almost a decade later.
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Mixed and mastered by Oli Barrett
Cover photograph by Dawid Laskowski
Available as 320k MP3 or 24bit FLAC
Tracklisting:
1. Part 1 - 4.43
2. Part 2 - 11.06
3. Part 3 - 6.03
Whether in duo with saxophonist Johs Lund, in solo or with the band Selvhenter, Maria Bertel has been pushing the trombone in its physical limits while uncovering new territories for the instrument. Playing her horn through a stack of amps and developing distinctive extended techniques, she delivers ecstatic walls of textures redefining the trombone for the 21st century.
Lund is a Copenhagen based artist, mainly with focus on sound and performance.
In 2001 he started yoyooyoy, a music collective, with fellow musicians Andreas Führer, Anders Meldgaard and Toke Mortensen. yoyooyoy turned out to be the centre of Lund’s career the following years. within the collective he played in the groupes Fjernsyn Fjernsyn, Slütspürt, Yoke & Yohs, G.E.K., Forkert and Sumo Freunds.
Lund’s solo releases go against the normal assumptions of how a saxophone sounds. Having worked with guitar players Lund’s developed a characteristic sound, using intensity, persistence and endurance as main effects.
Beside the more steady groups Lund has worked together with, Dane T.S. Hawk, P.O. Jørgensen, Peter Brötzmann, Fred Lohnberg Holm, Mette Rasmussen, Jooklo Duo and Mats Gustafsson, among others.
Along with performing Lund has always been involved with arranging shows in the Copenhagen underground scene. In 2010 he started a venue for experimental and extreme music together with Sune Nielsen, Tobias Kirstein and Maria Bertel, called Mayhem. Mayhem has gained a high international reputation and has become a centre for the experimental music scene in Denmark.
