Chrysakis, Thanos / James O'Sullivan / Jerry Wigens

Syneuma

Label: Aural Terrains Country: Greece/UK

About the Artists

Thanos Chrysakis' output consists of composition, performance, and installation. He was born in Athens in 1971, residing in the UK since 1998. With several albums to his name his work has also appeared in festivals and events in several countries; to name but a few : CYNETart Festival, Festspielhaus Hellerau - Dresden, Academy of Arts / M:AI (Museum für Architektur und Ingenieurkunst NRW)- Berlin, Diapason Gallery - New York, XXII "Sound Ways" International New Music Festival - St Petersburg, Artus Contemporary Arts Studio - Budapest, CRUCE Gallery - Madrid, Fylkingen - Stockholm, Relative (Cross) Hearings festival - Budapest, ZEPPELIN festival - Barcelona, Festival de Música Contemporanea "Ramiro Guerra" - Monterrey, Störung festival - Barcelona, BMIC Cutting Edge concert series - The Warehouse - London . It has also received airplay -among others- by RAI radio 3, BBC radio 3, Radio Portugal Antenna 2, Radio Nacional de España, FM Brussel, Polskie Radio (Warsaw), Elektramusic (Strasbourg), and Onda Sonora - Radio Circulo de Bellas Artes (CBA) (Madrid). He composes for electronics, acoustic instruments and environmental sounds, focusing on the structural and aesthetic capacity of sonic matter. His work was amongst the selected works at the International Competition de Musique et d'Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges 2005, in the category œuvre d'art sonore électroacoustique, while received an honorary mention in 2006 at the 7th International Electroacoustic Competition Musica Viva in Lisbon. Recent compositions include: ΕΚΝΗΨΙΣ (Aural Terrains 2012), ΜΑΓΜΑ (Monochrome Vision 2011) Subterranean Sky (Aural Terrains 2010), Milieu Interieur I/II (for Chris Cundy [solo bass and contra-bass clarinet] 2012), EIRMOS I / II (for Wilfrido Terrazas [solo flute/bass flute] 2011), ERRINA (for Alexander Bruck [solo viola] 2011). His current performing projects are: a Trio with Wade Matthews and Dario Bernal-Villegas, and the trio 'Syneuma' with James O'Sullivan and Jerry Wigens.

Current and upcoming projects for 2012-13 include a residency at Visby centre for composers in Sweden, a series of compositions for Chris Cundy (bass and contrabass clarinet), Jason Adler (bass clarinet), Wilfrido Terrazas (flutes), Kate Ryder (piano), Claire Chase (bass flute), Natalia Pérez Turner (cello), Tzenka Dianova (piano), and Dana Jessen (bassoon).

James O'Sullivan is a London-based electric guitar player. He has performed in numerous groupings of musicians, many of whom he met through Eddie Prevost's weekly improvisational workshop. In addition, he is the founder, alongside longtime friend and collaborator David Hurn, of Four Seasons Television, which explores the relationship between improvisation, composition, recording and performance. His activities span the two poles from free improvisation to more 'composed' song forms, and he has collaborated with songwriters, improvisors, improvising songwriters and other permutations of these elements in an attempt to unpack ideas of terms such as 'free', 'composed', 'technique', 'melody', 'noise', 'rhythm' and 'improvise'.

Jerry Wigens is an improviser and composer who plays guitar and clarinet. Most of his musical activity has taken place in London although he has also performed in Zurich, Geneva, Berlin and Athens. His interest in improvisation started at an early age and he attended John Stevens' workshops at the age of nineteen. Since then he has worked in various musical contexts including rock, jazz and contemporary classical and has performed with Eddie Prevost, George Lewis, Sylvia Hallett and Walter Cardew, among many others. He has also had work performed by guitarist Alan Thomas and contemporary ensemble Vamos. He has studied with Roger Redgate and participates in Eddie Prévost's workshop sessions which he has occasionally convened in Prévost's absence. He also plays guitar in prog/improv band Astrakan.

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