Colin Stetson x Stian Westerhus - 1017 / Oli Steidle & The killing Popes "Ego kills“

Colin Stetson X Stian Westerhus – 1017

1017 is the joint project of two giants of avant-garde jazz and experimental music: star saxophonist Colin Stetson and Norwegian guitarist and singer Stian Westerhus. In the winter of 2023, the two musicians will join forces for a tour of Europe.

A saxophonist from an early age, Colin Stetson has built a well-deserved reputation on the jazz and rock scenes as an exceptionally gifted and innovative musician. Well known for his singular approach to live performance, his mastery of circular breathing enables him to blow continuously into his instrument for several minutes at a time. His albums testify to his ability to adapt to all kinds of environments, and he has also composed the soundtracks for numerous films, TV series and video games (Heredity, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Red Dead Redemption 2, Mayday, etc.).

Equally talented is Stian Westerhus, known for his experimental guitar style. For over twenty years, the Norwegian has been at the forefront of his generation, pushing the boundaries and stretching the perception of our musical heritage. His expressive playing and voice shatter preconceptions about electric guitar and singing, as much as they seduce audiences and critics alike.

Colin Stetson

Some things, they say, are meant to be, and certainly it sometimes looks that way for Colin Stetson, whose recorded output, not to mention studio and live collaborations – with, among others, Lou Reed, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Chemical Brothers, Bon Iver and Bill Laswell – has proven as prolific as it’s praiseworthy. There’s the story of how, though he began playing alto saxophone aged nine, his formal studies only started at 15, when he quickly learned the tricky art of circular breathing in a single afternoon. There’s another about how one day, before his lesson even began, he stunned Donald Sinta, his renowned University of Michigan professor, with a warm-up technique so mind-bending the teacher simply walked out, returning a week later, relieved, to declare, “See, I can do it too!” Then there’s the time he ended up working with Tom Waits. “I literally moved to San Francisco,” Stetson recalls, with no little amazement, “because I wanted to be closer to where he was in the hopes I might cross paths with him. A year and a half later, he called me out of the blue.”
 

Stian Westerhus

Guitarist Stian Westerhus is known to stretch soundscapes. Those who have heard his solo work won’t ever be the same again. He has also made lasting impressions in bands like Puma, Monolithic, Jaga Jazzist, Nils Petter Molvær Trio and Ulver, and he has also made two fantastic albums with Norwegian singer Sidsel Endresen.

Oli Steidle & the killing Popes: "Ego kills“

Mastermind, drummer, and composer Oliver Steidle introduces his Future-Jazz band Killing Popes.

The winner of the New German Jazz Prize in 2008 and 2010, the German Jazz Prize in 2021 (Band of the Year with PHILM), and the German Jazz Prize in 2022 (in the category "Drummer of the Year"), Oliver Steidle is primarily known for his collaborations with Der Rote Bereich, Peter Brötzmann, Philm, SoKo Steidle, or Klima Kalima. He has been internationally active for years and is, according to the press, one of the leading figures in the ever-evolving young Berlin avant-garde scene. The list of musicians he has worked with could go on endlessly: Louis Sclavis, Tomasz Stanko, Aki Takase, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Sean Bergin, Tristan Honsinger, Trevor Dunn, Andrea Parkins, and more.

This band serves as his experimental playground for developing new rhythmic ideas and weaving together music styles that influenced him in his youth: Hip-Hop, Punk, Grindcore. These music styles also carry a strong sociopolitical character, much like jazz did in its heyday. As a stylistic foundation, the compositions encompass everything that defines jazz today: rhythmic complexity, catchy melodies, and room for improvisation.