Something Else continues at Musta Kissa with a double-bill featuring a visit by long-running sax-bass duo of Jonathan Bäckström and Marcus Wärnheim, plus a first trio meeting of vocalist/theatre artist Annika Fuhrmann, percussionist Teemu Mustonen, and cellist Wilson Tanner Smith.

Free entry, suggested donation €5-€15 (mobilepay or cash)

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About:

Swedish alto saxophonist Marcus Wärnheim and Finnish double bass player Jonathan Bäckström have been playing together as a duo since 2018. Through a long-lasting close collaborative process they are consequently pushing the limits of the intimate duo setting, exploring sound by embracing the spontaneous, pre-determined and arbitrary.
https://on.soundcloud.com/H8nDZnbMTuCCePe16

MARUCS WÄRNHEIM is a Swedish alto saxophonist and improviser, currently based in Amsterdam. His artistic output is primarily based in a genuine curiosity of sound, which he works with through intense listening and a thorough research of the physical possibilities of his instrument. In recent years he has been preoccupied with acoustic solo performances, improvisational meetings, interpretation of other’s compositions as a sideman, as well as trans-disciplinary collaborations with dancers and circus artists.
https://www.instagram.com/marcus.warnheim/

JONATHAN BÄCKSTRÖM is a Finnish double bassist and composer. He works within the broader spectrum of jazz, free improvisation and contemporary music. He is currently pursuing the master’s program at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In spring 2024 he debuted as a leader on the Finnish record label We Jazz Records with a critically acclaimed quartet album. During the span of ten years, he has worked extensively as a side musician and freelancer both in Finland and internationally. With his compositional work, he is blending written material with free improvisation, aiming to create a microcosm that explores the relationship between performer and composer, fostering an environment of innovation and reflection.
https://jonathanbackstrom.com/

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ANNIKA FUHRMANN is a German-Finnish versatile singer, musician, and sound artist, who feels most at home in the fields of experimental music theater, sound art, improvisation, and contemporary music. Annika graduated from the Sibelius Academy with a master’s degree in music. In recent years, she has actively sought to break away from her classical singing background. Instead of technical perfection, she is interested in the diverse use of the human voice as an expressive tool with a direct and unadorned connection to the listener.
https://annikafuhrmann.com/

WILSON TANNER SMITH is a cellist, composer, improviser, and music-theatre artist currently based in Helsinki, with roots in the improvised music and performance communities of Chicago.
As a cellist/improviser he frequently collaborates across music, theatre, and dance projects, and has performed at venues such as the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Estonia Kontserdisaal, the Ragdale Foundation (Chicago), Deutsches SchauspielHaus (Hamburg), Narva Art Center/Kreenholm Factory, Le Périscope (Lyon), and the Mullbau (Lucerne). He is also a member of the improvising quartet Mad Myth Science, whose debut album was released August 2023 to acclaim from The Wire, the Quietus, Chicago Reader, and Stereogum.
www.wilsontannersmith.com

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SOMETHING ELSE is a concert series for improvised music focused on new meetings of musicians from across Helsinki’s free improv, experimental, jazz, electronic, and global music communities, hosted at Kallio’s Musta Kissa bar. New small-ensemble groupings are highlighted each time, with an emphasis on surprise, difference, curiosity, energy, and connection. Hosted by Wilson Tanner Smith.