"The tuba player and composer Robin Hayward was born in Brighton, England in 1969. He studied classical music at the University of Manchester and tuba at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he graduated in 1991. In following years he was active in the improvised and experimental music scenes in Manchester and London. Since 1998 he has been based in Berlin.

He has introduced revolutionary playing techniques to brass instruments, initially through the discovery of the 'noise-valve' in 1996, and later through the development of the first fully microtonal tuba in 2009. In 2012 he invented the Hayward Tuning Vine, partly out of a desire to visualise the harmonic space implicit within the microtonal tuba. In 2005 he founded the ensemble Zinc & Copper to explore brass chamber music from an experimental music perspective.

Robin Hayward has toured extensively both solo and in collaboration, and been featured in such festivals as Maerzmusik, Fri Resonans, Donaueschingen, TRANSIT festival, Ghent Festival of Flanders, Ostrava New Music Days, Sound Symposium, Kieler Tage für Neue Musik and Wien Modern. Collaborations include such musicians as Charles Curtis and Roberto Fabbriciani, along with composers such as Christian Wolff, Alvin Lucier and Eliane Radigue. His approach to the tuba has been documented in the solo releases Valve Division, States of Rushing, Nouveau Saxhorn Nouveau Basse and Rubble Master, along with numerous collaborative releases, such as with the microtonal tuba trio Microtub and the tuba and double bass duo Reidemeister Move. He has lectured at such institutions as Stuttgart Musikhochschule, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, UDK Berlin, Dartmouth College and Wesleyan University. He has also worked regularly with such orchestras as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and from 2002 to 2012 was a member of the new music ensemble KNM Berlin.

In 2012 the International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA) presented him with the Clifford Bevan Award for Excellence in Research for his 2011 article on the history and development of the microtonal tuba. In 2016 he received the ITEA's Jim and Jamie Self Creative Award for his work with the microtonal tuba and Hayward Tuning Vine."

"Born 1968 in Freiburg, grew up in Hamburg. Piano lessons since 1974. Studied piano at "Hochschule der Kunste" in Berlin. Since 1996 primarily active as improviser and composer in the areas of experimental and new music.

In the process of exploring the piano for new sound possibilities, she has reduced the instrument to strings, resonance board and metal frame. With the help of electronics to manipulate and amplify the sounds (sometimes to make parts of the sound audible which are inaudible without amplification), she has developed numerous new playing techniques, sounds, and ways of preparing the dismantled instrument. Because the original inside piano is very heavy, a piano builder (Bernd Bittmann, Berlin) constructed a new and lighter one for her.

She has worked intensively in the crossover area between composition and improvisation, and in the field between electronic and handmade sounds, with Berlin musicians such as Annette Krebs, Ignaz Schick, Axel Dörner, Robin Hayward and Burkhard Beins. She has composed for inside piano for interdisciplinary projects including film, dance, performance, etc."

"Pierre Borel is an improviser, composer and saxophonist born in Paris in 1987. He is working in field of improvised and experimental music. He lives in Berlin since 2006, and has performed in several european countries, Japan and USA. He attained a Masterdegree in Jazz Institut Berlin in 2008, and studies philosophy in Paris. Together with Florian Bergmann and Hannes Lingens, he is running the Umlaut Berlin Festival (1rst edition in 2009), and he is part of the european collectif Umlaut."

"Hannes Lingens is a drummer and accordionist active in the field ofcontemporary and experimental music.

He is part of the ensembles Obliq, Konzert Minimal, [ro], Die Hochstaplerand the musicians collective Umlaut Berlin.

He has worked with improvisors like Tetuzi Akiyama, Alexander Frangenheim,Madoka Kouno, Christof Kurzmann, Olaf Rupp and Matthias Schubert.

As an interpreter he has collaborated with composers Peter Ablinger, AntoineBeuger, Philip Corner, Sven-Åke Johansson, Catherine Lamb, Christian Kestenand Manfred Werder among others.

He also composes music himself."

"Derek Shirley, multi-instrumentalist (Kontrabass, cello, drums, electronics) based in Berlin. Active in the improvised/experimental music scene, focusing on low frequency minimalism in both improvised and composed realms. Performs actively with such groups as Monno, Vladislav Delay Quartet, HotelgŠste, MEK, obliq, coal oven, ruby3 and unununium. And in various collaborations with such musicians as: Sven Ake Johansson, Chris Abrahams, Steve Heather, Anat Cohavi, Tobias Delius, Antoine Chessex, Lucio Capece, Mika Vanio, Michael Thieke, Robin Hayward, Justin Haynes, Dave Bennett, Allesandro Bossetti, Tony Buck."