Kulturarchiv Europa

Name of the artist:
SAGASON

Members, line-up or contributors:
Jaba Verzellenberg (composition, instruments & vocals)
Sometimes the help of the lovely J.S. (vocals)

Year of origin/formation:
2018

Past releases:
Several albums and singles, incl:
Álfablót (2020)
Nine Worlds Within (2020)
Dancing with you shadows (2021)

Description of the music/project:
Sagason draws upon the stories of Pagan mythology, occult mysticism, and ancient Nordic and German folklore to produce magical cinematic soundscapes that harness the ability to teleport the listener away from the stresses of life to the very settings that inspired these songs. Created purely by traditional natural instruments, the human voice, and sounds of nature, Sagason is able to forge an all-encompassing immersion into mystic cultures through his atmospheric layerings and instrumentation. Sagason’s natural interest in the occult, and passion for the arts through music and painting, all shine through each track as each new album tells a fresh story from start to finish.

The Netherlands-born musician Sagason, now residing in Germany (Wolfsburg), continues to compose and release his original music inspired by the magi’s, the merlins and the shamans, by the sagas, the mystics and magic.

Please share with us, what is to be expected in the near future:
There will be coming a new album very soon. There are also some collaborations with some other pagan oriented artists in the making.

Sagason’s social media links:
SPOTIFY
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
BANDCAMP

Credits (header pic): Sagason, credits (artwork for upcoming album): Sagason

Name of the artist:
JOANA GUERRA

Members, line-up and contributors:
On my last album, “Chão Vermelho” (Red Ground), released in Nov 2020 by Miasmah Recordings, the following artists and musicians contributed:

Joana Guerra – cello, vocals, electric guitar, portuguese guitar, keyboard
Maria do Mar – violin in “Rajada”, “Lume”, “Oásis”, “White Animal”
Sofia Queiroz Orê-ibir – double bass in “Equinopes”
Carlos Godinho – percussion and objects in “Onna-bugeisha”, “Lume”, “Oásis”, “White Animal”
Bernardo Barata – additional vocals in “Equinopes”
Lyrics by June Nash in “Lume”, Joana Bértholo and Joana Guerra in “Equinopes”, Alix Sarrouy in “White Animal”
Recorded and mixed by Bernardo Barata, September and October 2019, Lisbon
Mastered by LUPO
Photography by André Cepeda
Artwork by Erik Skodvin

Year of origin/formation:
Joana Guerra (Lisbon, 1983) began exploring adventurous musical landscapes filled with acoustic experiments after completing her classical cello studies, in 2009. Besides producing her own solo releases, she is currently collaborating with countless other musicians and artists in various experimental improvisational music projects.

Country:
Portugal

Genre/s:
Experimental, Impressionist Folk, Improvised Music…

Past release/s:
as Joana Guerra:
“Chão Vermelho”, 2020, Miasmah Recordings
“Osso”, 2018
“Cavalos Vapor”, 2016
“Gralha”, 2013

Other projects:
The Alvaret Ensemble (with Joana Guerra and Olga Wojciechowska), “EA”, 2020, Laaps Records
Asimov and the Hidden Circus, “Flowers”, 2020
Joana Guerra & Gil Dionísico, “Alarming Kids”, 2019
Bande à Part, “Caixa Prego, 2014, Creative Sources Recordings

Short description of your music/project:
As a musician I moved to musical landscapes that could reflect my desire for acoustic experimentation and for the adoption of bolder sound references as well as extended techniques for cello, which led me to become part of Lisbon’s free improvisation movement.

In 2011, I started my solo project for cello and voice. Since the release of my first album, called Gralha (2013), I have worked incessantly. By the end of 2016, my second album, Cavalos Vapor, came out. I presented it in several important Portuguese venues: Casa da Música, Serralves Foundation, Salão Brazil, Festival Rescaldo, MIL, West Way Lab Guimarães, Fem Fest, Damas… as well as abroad: Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and São Tomé e Príncipe. Very recently, it came out my third solo album, OsSo, which is a composition for a choreographic installation.

Parallel to this, I have collaborated intensively on experimental, noise, rock, free jazz and improvised music: a duet of experimental lyrism with violinist Gil Dionísio; free improvisation trio Bande à Part, who released their debut album in 2014 by Creative Sources; with The Alvaret Ensemble; the Cornelius Cardew inspired ensemble ‘Tratado de Cardew’; the spoken word band Tapete; with the audiovisual project Concon; the sextet Lantana; in addition with many other collaborations with Mark Alban Lotz, Orquestra do Ruído (aka Associação Terapêutica do Ruído), Helena Espvall, Scout Niblett, Surma, Beat the Odds (Ricardo Jacinto, Elisabeth Coudoux, Pascal Niggenkemper), Trigger (Simon Hanes, Will Greene, Aaron Edgcomb), Scout Niblett, Tiago Sousa, João Ferro Martins, Mia Distonia, André Calvário, Cícero, Maria do Mar, Bernardo Álvares, João Sarnadas, Yaw Tembe, Pop Dell’Arte, among many others.
Since 2017, I have also been playing with the heavy psych band Asimov. In the same year, I was proud to be part of an artistic residence in Portugal, composed solely by wonderful women musicians: Joëlle Léandre, Susana Santos Silva, Angelica Salvi, Maria Radich and Maria do Mar, which culminated in a grand concert at Serralves Foundation (Porto) included in the program Jazz in the Park 2017, curated by Rui Eduardo Paes.
I’ve also been involved, as a composer and a performer, in projects from other artistic fields: in dance performance, I’ve worked with the choreographers Clara Andermatt, Madalena Victorino and Marina Nabais; in theatre, with the theatre company João Garcia Miguel; in cinema/documentary, I’ve made the soundtrack for Os campos em volta, by João Botelho, presented at Festival IndieLisboa 2015 and also for Peceras, by Asur Fuente.
This vibrant melting pot of artistic experience enriches my being as a musician and as a composer. I share this constant evolution with the audience during my live performances!

Most significant influences on your music:
Some of my early influences:
after finishing my cello studies at music school, I was really immersed into musicians who approached their instrument in a more rebellious and experimental way, especially string players, and who incorporated the so-called extended techniques, such as Tom Cora, Joelle Leandre, Tony Conrad, Carlos Zíngaro, Arthur Russell, Miguel Mira, etc.

Please share with us, what is to be expected in the near future:
I’ll be, in the end of September/beginning October in Leeuwarden (Netherlands) for three presentations.
At the end of September/beginning of October I will be in Leeuwarden (Netherlands) for 3 exchange presentations between Portuguese poets and musicians with local artists. One of the performances will be on October 2nd at the Explore the North festival.
After that, in addition to some concerts, I will be focused on new collaborations, creation processes and rehearsals, in Lisbon.

Joana Guerra’s website and social media links:
WEBSITE
BANDCAMP
FACEBOOK

Credits (header pic): João Duarte, credits (artwork for album “Chão Vermelho”): Erik Skodvin

Artist name:
ANIQO

Members, line-up and contributors:
Anita Goß (ANIQO), Torsten Füchsel (guitar), Illia Vovk (keys, synths) //// Live on drums: Alexander Lode /// Studio recorded drums: Nicolai Ziel // Producers: Guy Sternberg + Joe Cardamone

Year of origin:
2016

Country:
Germany

Genre/s:
Psychedelic folk, experimental rock, dark pop.

Previous releases:
Deep Sea Fish – single July 2021 via SPRINGSTOFF
Must Surrender 2021 – single May 2021 via SPRINGSTOFF
LoveLife – single November 2019 via Duchess Box Records
Fake – single June 2019 Duchess Box Records

About ANIQO:
ANIQO’s music is often described as dark and subversive. The project of now Berlin-based artist Anita Goß moves between extremes. With a commitment to minimalism and an appetite for mixing “light and dark” in innovative songs, she forges her own unique sound that falls somewhere between the genres of dark wave, psychedelic rock, singer-songwriter and folk – inspired by rock icons and songwriters, such as David Bowie, Beth Gibbons, John Lennon, PJ Harvey, Arcade Fire and Sharon van Etten. ANIQO recorded her first songs in Los Angeles in 2017 with producer and musician Joe Cardamone, who has worked with Mark Lanegan, Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and James Williamson. ANIQO has received recognition from magazines such as Far Out Magazine, Spiegel Online, New Noise Mag, Psychedelic Baby and Post Punk, as well as John Kennedy on Radio X. Among others, the band Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club published her songs and videos on their website. As Far Out Magazine aptly described in 2018, “The darkly subversive pop noire finds a challenging and productive vehicle in ANIQO, and she’s not afraid to keep turning her work on its head.”

2019 saw the release of the first official singles via Berlin-based UK label Duchess Box Records.

Together with producer Guy Sternberg (Kings of Convenience, Yoko Ono, Zweiraumwohnung, Feist, Giant Sand), who already recorded her single LoveLife in his Berlin studio Low Swing in 2019, and her regular bandmates Torsten Füchsel (Herbst in Peking, Me to my Wall) and Illia Vovk (Nights Out), she recorded her first album BIRTH in the Corona summer of 2020, which will be released in March 2022 via the Berlin-based label SPRINGSTOFF. A very personal, stirring, liberating, touching but also socio-critical debut, full of dark light moments and fine musical elements.

Please share with us what to expect in the near future:
Upcoming releases:
Single “Fear” – release on 01.10.2021
Single “Balance” – release in Nov 2021
Album “BIRTH” – release in March 2022 on vinyl, digital and CD via SPRINGSTOFF, distributed by Broken Silence

Next concert:
Thursday, 09/16/2021 at Ballhaus Berlin with ROM – The drummer from Zwitschermaschine at 7pm.

ANIQO’s website and social media links:
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE
INSTAGRAM
SPOTIFY

Credits (header pic): Peter Hoennemann, Credits (artwork for single “Fear”): Pegman Graphics, Christoph von Budea

The British/Norwegian artist James Welburn, whose instrumental “Peak” from the album “Hold” appeared in the first UNEARTHED broadcast (July 19th, 2021), was kind enough to answer some questions and enrich Kulturarchiv Europa with some exclusive informations on his artistic journey and background:

Artist-, project- or bandname:
JAMES WELBURN

Members:
I am the main artist and producer (under my own name) but occasionally have guests. My guests usually spend a few days in the studio with me, whereas I might work on the compositions and mixes for way longer, sometimes over a few years 🙂

Year of origin/formation:
Whilst I have been experimenting with music and sound since I was a teenager, I started this project seriously back in 2012. After I had just spent a decade working in the Berlin music software industry and realised my heart was really in the music making and not in the music technology aspects. I decided to put as much focus and time into my music as I had on any major project I’d been been hired to do in the preceding years. For me this would be the only way to reach the deeper, more powerful creative results.

Country:
I’ve lived in Lillehammer, Norway since 2014 (for seven years). Before that I was in Berlin, Germany from 2002 (for twelve years). I grew up in London, UK with an English father and Portuguese mother. We travelled to Portugal and her large family over there every summer. Although my passport is British, when I combine all these different periods by now I consider myself European! I have spent nearly 20 years living outside of the UK and was half English to begin with.

Genre/s:
Experimental, heavy guitar music with electronic elements. Discogs also mention; Drone, Post Rock, Dark Ambient, Noise.
Since I started adding electronic beats, I also sometimes get tagged as Techno on some music sites (it is definitely another influence).
Finally I studied Sound Art and worked as a Sound Designer for short films and television in my early twenties, so there are some further influences there. People often describe my music as cinematic or like a film soundtrack, although it is originally created to be a pure sound world.

Past release/s with release year:

Below are my solo releases:

James Welburn – ‘Sleeper in the Void’ (2021)
Label: Miasmah – mia 050
My second LP, featuring contributions by Tomas Järmyr, Hilde Marie Holsen & Juliana Venter.

James Welburn – ‘Trondheim Sessions’ (2017)
Label: Cloudchamber #cc12
Solo experimental electric bass.

James Welburn – ‘Hold’ (2015)
Label: Miasmah – mia 031
My debut LP, featuring drums by Tony Buck (The Necks)

There are further releases I have been involved which are all listed on my website below.

Most significant influences on your music:
Working with Tony Buck (drummer of The Necks) both in the group Transmit (active between 2011 & 2017) and also on my first album ‘Hold’ has been enormously influential in many ways. Some of those ways are allowing myself creative freedom, minimalism in music, restraint in performance or getting deep into the process of idea generation and evolution. I was additionally impacted by the New York Minimal Drone composer Phill Niblock who I assisted on a couple of his projects in Berlin. Einstuerzende Neubauten were my gate way out of conventional rock music into sonic experimentation. The Young Gods and Fennesz introduced me to processed guitar sounds. Pan Sonic and Mika Vainio showed me electronic music can have heavy energy and depth whilst still being minimalistic. Swans showed me the extremes of musical intensities that are possible, in many different directions. Deathprod was my gateway to the Norwegian experimental sound world. Ofcourse every musician I have worked with since my earliest years, has been influential more or less. Other than that, watching nature from all of its shimmering beauty to its brutal power. Human nature. Living my share of both challenging and beautiful years.

Short description of your music/project:

“Chasing hypnotic fragments of bass guitar noise … driven by relentless beats”

My roots as an experimental rock musician and sound artist merged with my years of experience working in the Berlin music software scene. Part of my previous jobs at Ableton and Native Instruments were to investigate the working practices of artists (predominantly electronic musicians). Naturally I got influenced by some of the things I saw. Still, even by 2012 it was uncommon in underground rock to involve computers and lap tops. At some point I realised it was just a natural part of my evolution to combine everything I had been exposed to since my earliest days. However a key part is I come at my compositions from the perspective of an electronic sound artist, exploring sonics and textures unconventionally outside of the rock format first.
As a starting point I’ll often combine a distorted bass guitar with metal objects and explore it with drone software made by Robert Henke (aka Monolake). Only after a sound world is discovered will I add in the traditional elements of drums, riffs and musical figures.

Please share with us, what is to be expected in the future:
Some live shows will happen here and there but mainly I will be heading back into my studio to search for more sound worlds and music. Collaborations happen sometimes, but because I invest so much time and energy into what I do my main focus is to make as much high quality music as I can in this lifetime 🙂

James Welburn’s website and social media links:

WEBSITE
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
BANDCAMP

(Albumcover: James Welburn – Hold, Photocredit header: James Welburn live in Bratislava, Slovakia. Photo by Jana Makroczy)

Artist-, project- or bandname:
Milenasong

Members:
Sabrina Milena (vocals, guitar, lyrics, etc.)

Year of origin/formation:
2001 (active until 2014)

Country:
Norway/Slovenia/Germany

Genre/s:
Experimental, Folk, Singer/Songwriter

Releases:
Seven Sisters (2007)
My Lovely Swan (recorded 2005, released 2014)
Moth Factory (recorded 2006, released 2014)

Short description:
“As a former student of art & sound, it felt only natural for Milenasong to start painting with music. Ten years ago she released her debut album “Seven Sisters”, as well as her first release, the EP “Can’t Tape Forever”, when based in Berlin until 2007. 2008 onwards forced her to reroute her focus completely, due to serious illness, as well as greeting her daughter to this world. Since April 2011 she has been working on her 2nd album – “moodSEY”. It was started in London, mixed at Bauteil3 in Berlin, with final touches being done in Oslo, where she now lives.
The album is like the 3 tarot-cards: The Tower, The High Priestess and Aeon in one – a piece about upheaval, reflection, transformation – the very things in life we can’t control. It will be released on her Mi Ka Label in Spring/Summer 2018.
Current waves: Allowing things to be what they are, cooperating with given health, weather and the likeminded ones, for possibilities to keep unfolding.”
Monika Enterprises, 2017

Links:
BANDCAMP

Artist-, project- or bandname:
The Coast Ghost

Members:
Yaroslav Shitenkov (vocals, guitar, programming, lyrics etc.)

Year of formation:
2019

Country:
Russia

City:
Rostov-On-Don

Genre/s:
No Folk

Past release/s:
THE COAST GHOST – THE COAST GHOST (01/21/2020)
THE COAST GHOST – SILENT LAMENT (12/31/2020)

Upcoming releases:
New record would be released later this summer

The artist is saying:
“Most of the world’s phenomena have several sides, some of which are polar. Bright and beautiful flowers with a dizzy aroma are rooted in the soil saturated with ashes; true love is familiar to those who have learned what emptiness and loneliness are, and life is so brightly shaded by a series of birth and death.

In my musical researches I often turn to this “looking-glass” side, it gives me a special “breeding ground” and strength to move forward as well as understanding of things in my own life.”

Inspire:
dried flowers and nightjars

Website, social media and other relevant links:
BANDCAMP
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
SOUNDCLOUD

Photo credits: The Coast Ghost

Artist-, project- or bandname:
Tigermask

Members:
T.K. (singer/songwriter/musician/producer)

Year of formation:
I’ve been writing songs since around 2006/07, Tigermask became a thing around 2014 when I began recording Ovum.

Country:
UK

Genre/s:
Alternative/Psychedelic Folk-Rock

Past release/s:
Ovum (LP/2015)
Timeless (single/2019)

Upcoming release:
Cocoon (album/30th July 2021)

The artist is saying:
“When I was around 13 years old, I became very ill. I managed to finish school, but my health gradually got worse as I got older, lasting into my late teens. I became more and more isolated as time went on. It was during this period that I began writing, mostly as a way of venting the frustration and emotion I had no other way of expressing.

The writing slowly evolved into “song” form at a time I’d also started teaching myself how to play the guitar and piano, as well as teaching myself how to record/produce music (I originally wanted to be a dj, but got drawn in by the likes of Bob Dylan / JimiHendrix etc!) – I decided I wanted to tell the story of my decline into ill health and eventual recovery, through music, and so the concept of recording a trilogy of albums was born. Ovum, Cocoon and Moth (which I have not yet recorded).

The story has since taken on a little more of a fantasy element (inspired in part by the kind of myths you find in Blues and Folk music), while Ovum has a diary-like, confessional feel in places, I’ve tried to take Cocoon in a little more of a cinematic direction.

I’m inspired by film as much as any music. If you imagine Spaghetti Westerns vs David Lynch….. that’s the kind of feel I’m going for with my music! It’s been important to me that I record everything myself and soak up as much of my home surroundings as possible to try and keep the concept as honest as I could – both Ovum and Cocoon were recorded at home in a bedroom ‘studio’, making use of around 12-13 instruments I’ve accumulated and learned to play over the years (guitar, piano, banjo, ukulele, violin, cello and harp to name a few).

Tigermask was born when I began getting my life back together. Up until fairly recently, I’ve been quite private about my creative side, keeping it hidden from friends/family, and it sounds stupid, but by creating this character, I feel it’s helped me to remain open/honest with my songwriting in way I wouldn’t have been otherwise.”

Website, social media and other relevant links:

WEBSITE
COCOON PRE-SALE LINKS
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE

Credits (header pic & artwork for album “Cocoon”): Tigermask