Simmering with quiet intensity, Norwegian quartet Lemur aim for the world of chamber music with their collective improvisations. The ensemble develops a subtle, poetic music side by side with broadly painted soundscapes, balancing the beauty of a single pitch and the complexity of a sound cloud. Lemur works without any preconceived structures, allowing the shape of their music to grow from the necessity of the moment, informed only by the wisdom of rehearsal, discussion and evaluation. The result is a new chamber music of the finest build, "a golden balance of ethos and pathos, nuance and chaos".

Lemur was formed in 2006. SInce their debut in Trondheim they have performed i Norway, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Taiwan, Macau, China, England and Scotland. Their two albums on +3db records have been met with much critical acclaim. Lemur has collaborated with Paul Lytton, Julia Eckhardt, Mats Gustafsson, Amit Sen, John Hegre, Dickson Dee, Trondheim Sinfonietta, N Ensemble and Tom Løberg. They also contributed to the punk poet Patrick Fitzgeralds release "Spirit of the Revolution" from 2007.

ABOUT

Lemur

  • Lemur has crafted a golden
    balance of ethos and pathos,
    nuance and chaos.

    Hannis Brown, Tokafi

  • Very noticeable.

    MUSIQUE REACTION

  • The ten minute track "Dzibilchaltun" is among the best I have heard in a long time.

    Magnus Nygren, Sound of music

  • Not boring for a second and recommended without any reservations.

    DE-BUG

  • Simply an immense album.

    OCTOPUS

  • Chamber music of the finest build.

    Bad Alchemy

  • Lemur gave an impression of controlling a great arsenal of possibilities, more than they used this night. It makes you want to listen to them again.

    Carl Kristian Johansen, Ballade

  • It is obvious that the quartet is influenced by electronic music also in the acoustical context. In this sense they create a new chambermusic and they do this absolutely brilliant.

    Bergens tidende

  • The seven highly interesting and very different tracks are fragilely and inspiredly played. They have a cuoriously dark tention but are at the same time clear and never amorph. Highly recommended.

    Terz

  • Ultimately, however this music was created, its restrained misery reveals a lot of soul.

    Nick Ilott, Hair Entertainment

  • A great album.

    OCTOPUS

  • Chamber music of the finest build.

    RIF RAF

LATEST

RELEASE

  • aigean

    Lemur Aigéan +3DB011 2010

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    Lemur
    |||||||
    +3DB011
    2010

    Listen & buy:
    Platekompaniet • Amazon • iTunes • Spotify

    Lemurs album "IIIIIII" is a document from their debut tour: recorded in one session at Grieghallen Studio and presented in its original order. These seven tracks portrays an ensemble on the edge of defining a new sound and their musical identity.
    Throught the tracks, the four musicians unite as one sound-generating body, manipulating their instruments into making sounds one would believe to be electronic. The result is a music defying old or new esthetics, but instead searching for the ultimate sound experience using these exact instrument in the hands of these particular musicians.
    Although making a clear contrast to "the northern sound" of Norwegian jazz – "IIIIIII" brings beautiful soundscapes side by side with frantic phrasing and inspired solo playing.

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    Lemur
    Aigéan
    +3DB011
    2010

    Listen & buy
    Spotify • iTunes • Platekompaniet • Amazon





    Lemur presents their latest position in the quest for a new improvised chamber music: Acoustic sound-oriented music from four highly original players.

    "Aigéan" is Lemur's awaited follow-up of the acclaimed debut "IIIIIIII" from two years ago. Continuing their work to develop an improvised chamber music with an emphasis on sonic experimentation and ensemble character, the ensemble delivers a darker and more fragile album. More open to explore the particulars in each piece, the ensemble seems to strenghten their sound and delivers a truly insisting and strongly crafted album.

    Lemur has found their position as one of Europe's truly original improvising ensembles. The four instrumentalists combine their work from classic composition, noise, chamber music and free jazz making a highly surprising and unique blend of contemporary sound and attitude. Since their first performances in 2006 the ensemble has done a series of tours in Scandinavia, Europe and Asia – to great acclaim.

PROJECTS

ONGOING & PREVIOUS

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    Critical Band
    Critical Band is a site specific composition for 9 musicians and a historic church room.

  • CRITICAL BAND

    The project takes the shape of a group composition between the four members of the group, incorporating knowledge about the different performance spaces gathered through a collaboration with the specialists at Arup Acoustic.

    The piece will be performed by an extended version of Lemur with tuba, cello, trumpet, bass clarinet and soprano saxophone added to the quartet.

    "Sound has always been fundamental to the human experience. Extensive study has shown that cave paintings by early man show more detail and colour intensity in areas of the caves with the most resonant acoustic properties. The relationship between architecture and sound evolved from the caves, through ancient monuments, religious buildings and purpose built music spaces to the early 20th century. Our collaboration with Lemur started in 2009 and we are commited to the projects ambition to explore and exploit the church room as a musical instrument." Raj Patel, Arup Acoustic


NEWS

FROM TWITTER

THE BAND

MEMBERS

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    Michael Duch Bass

  • band_habbestad

    Bjørnar Habbestad Flute

  • band_tafjord

    Hild Sofie Tafjord Horn

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    Lene Grenager Cello

  • MICHAEL DUCH (1978)

    Improvisor, researcher and double bass player. He completed his project "Free Improvisation - Method and Genre" as a research-fellow at the University of Trondheim (NTNU) late October 2010. Michael has been involved in about 30 recordings released in various formats, and has played solo-concerts in Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Oslo, Tromsø, Glasgow, Gothenburgh, Athens and London. He performs regularly with his trio with Rhodri Davies and John Tilbury, the rockband Dog & Sky, dronetrio TRICYCLE , acoustic postnoise with ORIGAMI TACET and ad hoc collaborations with performers like Otomo Yoshihide, Taku Sugimoto, Sachiko M, Mark Wastell, Mattin, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann, Jaap Blonk, Gert-Jan Prins, Christian Wolff, Tony Conrad ao.

  • BJØRNAR HABBESTAD (1976)

    Flutist educated in Bergen, London and Amsterdam. Works as a soloist, chamber and ensemble musician in Scandinavia, Europe, Asia and the US, covering musical grounds from classical contemporary to noise, electro-acoustic and free improvised music. Habbestad has collaborated with a a range of composers in both the acoustic and electroacoustic domain and is responsible for the Norwegian premieres of works by Sciarrino, Ferneyhough, Nono and others. Recent activity includes a commision for the opening of the Borealisfestival with Pascal Baltazar (FR), the solo part in Luigi Nono`s epic work "IO - frammento dal prometeo" at the Bergen Festival and a collaboration with Berlin based percussionist Burkhardt Beins. Habbestad is a founding member of the N-Collective, Artistic Director of +3DB records and a co-curator at Lydgalleriet, a Bergen based gallery for sound art.

  • HILD SOFIE TAFJORD (1974)

    Performer and composer playing horn and electronics. She studied jazz and improvised music at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Tafjord has made music for dance, film, theater, installations/ sculptures, done performances, workshops and site specific concerts. Her work has taken her through Europe, USA, Canada and Asia, both with her solo project and in bands like LEMUR, SPUNK, AGRARE, TRINACRIA and PHANTOM ORCHARD ORCHESTRA. She has collaborated with numerous artists like Wolf Eyes, Campbell Kneale, Matmos, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins, Otomo Yoshihide, Fred Frith, Zu, Evan Parker etc. She participates on more than 30 releases at a.o. Rune Grammofon, Asphodel, Pica Disk, ECM, Universal, Moserobie, Jazzland, ImpRecords and OHM Records.

  • LENE GRENAGER (1969)

    Works as cellist, composer and producer. She has composed music for many types of ensembles from solo to orchestra, with different adaptations of notation and improvisation. Her main ensembles in addition to Lemur is SPUNK and Jernberg/Grenager-duo. She has collaborated with musician such as Joelle Leandre, Ellen Fullmann, Lucio Caprece, Mats Gustafsson, Sten Sandell and Mattin and has participated on festivals such as FIMAV Victoriaville, Ultima Oslo, Stockholm New Music, Huddersfield, November music, All Ears, Wels Unlimited and Molde International Jazzfestival. She has contributed on some 20 recordings as composer, musician and producer of which three are dedicated to her own compositions. The album Systema naturae (Øra Fonogram) was nominated to two Norwegian Grammys in 2010. www.grenager.no

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