Kristiansand, Norway, 27th April 2022
The ‘Festival of the Live Remix’, Punkt announced today it will re-connect with its international family in 2022 for the 18th edition. Following a Norway only festival in 2020 and 2021, Punkt Festival will take place 1 – 3 September at its home in Kristiansand, Norway.
The festival will make a return to original venue Teateret, taking over the entire building for its evening programme – a series of concerts and live remixes featuring a diverse array of exciting, experimental artists. This includes a tribute concert to Norway’s groundbreaking artist Sidsel Endreson, appearances from Bugge Wesseltoft, David Toop, Solveig Slettahjell, Dai Fujikura, Nils Petter Molvaær, indigenous Sámi project Avant Joik, the launch of new label Punkt Editions and more.
Punkt is the brainchild of musicians and record producers Jan Bang and Erik Honoré, who pioneered the method of the live remix in 2005 at the inaugural Punkt Festival. Punkt started as the ‘Festival of the Live Remix’ and is a unique, hugely respected annual three-day music event in Kristiansand, Norway that across 18 years has attracted a cult following by featuring celebrated Nordic musicians, plus some of the most cutting edge artists in the world, such as Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Laurie Anderson, John Paul Jones, Daniel Lanois and Thurston Moore.
The festival will open this year with a landmark concert on Thursday 1 September, seeing Punkt celebrate long-time friend and collaborator Sidsel Endresen for an extra special 70th anniversary tribute. Endresen is one of Norway’s most groundbreaking artists and has been hugely influential internationally, with a prolific and diverse career. The evening will feature many of the artists Endresen has worked with and inspired, including Bugge Wesseltoft, Nils Petter Molvær and Solveig Slettahjell, and more artists to be announced. Also the same evening British polymath David Toop will be joined by Torben Snekkestad and Søren Kjærgaard, to perform as a trio for an exciting one-off concert.
On Friday 2 September, Punkt Editions will launch, which is the brand new platform for Punkt related music, artwork and literature, organised as a sub-label of Jazzland Recordings. Punkt Editions will be an archive of 18 years of sonic experimentation, as well as a future-focussed label and arthouse. Punkt Editions will release live and studio recordings from the vaults, as well as brand new recordings produced or curated by Jan Bang and Erik Honoré. The evening’s concert will consist of music from Punkt Editions debut forthcoming release, Jan Bang and Dai Fujikura’s album ‘The Bow Maker’, plus the premiere of more exciting material to be released on the label.
The Friday evening will feature Avant Joik, the incredible project from Maja S. K. Ratkje (vocals and live electronics) and Katarina Barruk (vocals/joik). Avant Joik blends joik – the traditional, indigenous Sámi singing form – with an electronic, experimental palette, evoking the eerie, contemplative atmospheres of the north, with live visuals by Matti Aikio.
Friday will also feature a new acquaintance to the Punkt family, Karja/Renard/Wandinger, a next generation Estonian/French/German piano trio, who performed at Punkt@Banlieues Bleues in Paris in April. Following on from Paris, the trio will again be live remixed by Bang, Honoré, plus Eivind Aarset.
On Saturday 3 September, Punkt will present this year’s commissioned work from drummer, composer and Jaga Jazzist co-founder Martin Horntveth’s new project Gouldian Finch. There will be a performance of the piece ‘Superego’, with a band consisting of Ståle Storløkken on keyboards, Petter Eldh on bass and Martin Horntveth on drums and electronics, plus several guests including Oslo based rapper Vuyo.
The Saturday programme will also feature more next generation excellence, from the flautist Michaela Antalová and bassist Adrian Myhr, who as a duo released the stunning album ‘Zvony’ in 2021, plus Zenith Award winners Trio Heinz Herbert from Switzerland, who will perform their intricate and energetic blend of rhythms and textures.
With live remixes a key part of Punkt’s DNA, alongside Bang, Honoré and Aarset, the electronics/spoken word trio Bendik Baksaas, Fredrik Høyer and Tobias Grønborg are also confirmed as remixers, with more special guest live remixers to be announced in the coming months.
Punkt Festival also has a daytime programme of Punkt Seminars, to engage the festival’s diverse international music industry delegates, that will be curated and hosted this year by the hugely influential musician, journalist and author David Toop, to be announced soon.
Early bird tickets for Punkt are available now – Festival Pass (early bird-price 1490 NOK until 24 May) and Day Passes (Thursday 590 NOK, Friday and Saturday 690 NOK) are available here.
Programme & info: www.punktfestival.no
Ends.
Notes to editors:
About Punkt: Punkt is a creative organisation that was sparked by a concept: the live sampling and remix of music. At the heart of Punkt’s DNA is continuous creation and collaboration, with a shared creative ethos and artistic connection among its family of musicians and artists. Punkt is the brainchild of musicians and record producers Jan Bangs and Erik Honoré, who pioneered the live remix in 2005 at the first Punkt Festival – a unique, hugely respected annual three-day music event taking place in Kristiansand, Norway that is now in its 18th year. Punkt Festival is a creative community of like-minded musicians in an inclusive space, creating across boundaries and divides. With a distinctive programme aesthetic every year, the festival is a curated mix of celebrated Nordic and international musicians, who are attracted from the centres of international experimental music, from Brian Eno, David Sylvian and Daniel Lanois to Laurie Anderson, Thurston Moore and John Paul Jones. Most of the concerts at Punkt are remixed live, and the audience gets to hear the remixes immediately after each concert. In many cases, the remixers also invite musicians to interact with the remixes, making them a vehicle for continuous innovation and improvisation. Punkt International is a touring concept and takes Punkt concept to the world, earning an international reputation by working with creative collaborators across 27 cities to date, including the UK, Finland, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Estonia and Japan and more.
About Punkt Co-artistic director JAN BANG: An accomplished and influential composer, live performer, record producer, educator and curator, Jan Bang is a musical innovator and bridge-builder, consistently balancing progressive thinking with popular appeal. He creates new meeting places and musical intersections and is in demand as a collaborator and creator of new work. Jan Bang’s long-term collaborators include many of the world’s most progressive musicians -Sidsel Endresen, David Sylvian, Jon Hassell, Tigran Hamasyan, Nils Petter Molvær, Eivind Aarset, Arve Henriksen and Erik Honoré – with whom he co-founded Punkt Festival in 2005. He is also professor of electronic music at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway.
About Punkt Co-artistic director ERIK HONORÉ: Erik Honoré is a Norwegian writer, musician, record producer and sound engineer. He has released two critically acclaimed solo albums on the Hubro label, composed music for films, and written three novels for Norway’s largest publishing house, Gyldendal. He has recorded and performed live with Jon Hassell, Sidsel Endresen, Nils Petter Molvær, David Sylvian, Eivind Aarset and Arve Henriksen, and initiated the Punkt Festival in 2005 with Jan Bang, a concept that has been experienced by audiences in more than 25 cities around the world.
Punkt Design: Nina Birkeland. https://ninabirkeland.com/
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