"Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg ( JM VS ). Voice, performance, improvised music. Brussels. Born 1955. Member of Brussels' Inaudible Collective & Workshops since 1984. Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg develops vocal improvisation and voice extended techniques from low throat singing to high falsetto, overtones and yodels, mouth noises etc.. . " Phonoetry " (phonésie in french) describes the poésie sonore of his solo voice performance " ORYNX " (Orynx -Phonésie cd Inaudible 003.)

Solos in London, Lille, Slovakia, Liège and Brussels. Interested in telepathic interplay and adapting his sounds with different partners/ groupings. Worked with pianist Guy Strale and percussion poet and graphic artist Kris Vanderstraeten,first as a guitar player(...). Became vocalist gradually since the early 90's. Gingko 4 -JMVS, Guy Strale, flutist Adelheid Sieuw and guitarist Jan-Huib Nas- performed some years. (Freedom of The City 2006 cd Emanem 4139). Duos: guitarist John Russell, percussionnist Javier Carmona, singer Mara Pigeon, G. Strale, A. Sieuw and guitarist Pascal Marzan. The Mercelis Concert: John Russell / JM VS / Jean Demey (dblebass) cd Inaudible 006. SUREAU : Kris Vanderstraeten / Jean Demey / Van Schouwburg (Creative Sources CS112). Garden Gift: Adelheid Sieuw / John Russell / Jean Demey / JM VS Hurta Cordel 08 Madrid Performed with Jacques Foschia, Mike Goyvaerts, Lawrence Casserley, Paul Hubweber, Gianni Mimmo, David Leahy, Phil Minton and Ute Wassermann, Marco Loprieno, Jacques Fauville, Jean Coulon, José Bedeur, Michaël Delia,Timo Van Luyck, Hugh Metcalfe....

Festivals: Freedom of the City London, Sons Libérés Brussels, Hermes Ear Nitra, La Malterie Lille, Bevrijdt de Muziek Antwerpen, Hard Gaan Hasselt, Hurta Cordel 2008 Madrid with Garden Gift, R de Choc 08 Paris. Benjamin Péret's Poems Performance with Jacques Foschia's radios. Workestra of Inaudible.Since 1999, Inaudible has organized continuously workshops & concerts with Belgian and Foreign improvisers in Brussels. Inaudible members : Strale / JM VS / Nas / Sieuw / Loprieno / Legros / Demey etc... JMVS writes on the subject of improvised musics and his "Spontaneous Music Ensemble and John Stevens' Story" (1965-1994) was published in french magazine Improjazz.

Current groups are : Sureau with Kris Vanderstraeten percussion and Jean Demey double bass. Duos with Marjolaine Charbin piano and Audrey Lauro, sax alto. Garden Gift with Jean Demey, John Russell, guitar, Adelheid Sieuw, flutes & J-MVS. MouthWind with Lawrence Casserley and players Hubweber, Charbin, Sieuw and Foschia.

Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg belongs to the band : Adam Bohman / Zsolt Sörès/ Oli Mayne/ J-M Van Schouwburg. Works with composer and electro-acoustic musician Dario Palermo. Projects and performances with Adelheid Sieuw, John Russell, Lawrence Casserley, Jacques Foschia, Gianni Mimmo, Angelo Contini, Paul Dunmall, Paul Hubweber and some others. Performed also with Mike Goyvaerts, Mara Pigeon, David Leahy, Javier Carmona, Phil Minton, Ute Wassermann, Pascal Marzan, Dan Warburton, Pat Wichers, Gianni Mimmo, Enzo Rocco, Stefano Giust, Mick Beck, John Jasnoch, Hugh Metcalfe, Heddy Boubeker, .... Extracts of Orynx were selected in Peter Strickland's Katalin Varga soundtrack. Will play his singer's role in the movie Berberian Sound Studio of director Strickland."

"Noel Taylor's main instruments belong to the clarinet family - soprano, alto and bass clarinet. He lives in Lisbon, Portugal, where he moved in 2017. He has performed widely in the UK, Portugal, Germany, Poland and Italy. He is a dedicated improviser, but his work also includes short compositions, conductions with large scale orchestras, and organising musical events. .

Recent projects have involved the trio 'Redstart' , 'Splatter (with Anna Kaluza, Pedro Velasco & Tom Greenhalgh), 'Happenstance' (with Chris Biscoe, Tom Greenhalgh, Guillaume Viltard), Grimwald (with Steve Beresford, Terry Day & Roberto Sassi). 'Plank' (with Pedro Velasco,Rachel Musson, Asuman Biswas) and 'Bay's Leap' (with James Barralet & Clare Simmonds)

Splatter have released three albums to date. Many other ad-hoc partnerships have happened along the way - always with the emphasis on improvisation. Two of these shorter collaborations have resulted in CD releases, one with Niko Meinhold and one with Alberto Popolla.

Noel Taylor is a member of the London Improvisers Orchestra, where he is one of the most frequent conductors. He has also led conductions with the Berlin Improvisers Orchestra and at festivals. He has played with Rome's Iato Orchestra. He has performed in Krakow in Poland, Germany, Italy, Sicily and Portugal, as well as London & other parts of the UK.

Other musicians he has performed with include Theo Jorgensmann, Claudio Puntin, Shabaka Hutchings, Eugenio Colombo, Steve Beresford, Mick Beck, Carlos Zingaro, Harrison Smith, Mark Sanders, Terry Day, Dominic Lash, Rafal Mazur, Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Noble, Liam Noble, Luca Venitucci, Stefano Guist, diatribes, Pat Thomas, Lawrence Casserley, Satoko Fukuda, Henrik Wallsdorf, Tony Marsh & Veryan Weston, Nick Stephens, Fumi Okiji, Marcio Mattos,Ricardo Tejero, Alex Ward, Orphy Robinson & many others.

His most regular collaborators have been Guillaume Viltard, Chris Biscoe, Alberto Popolla, Andrea Caputo, Anna Kaluza, Niko Meinhold, Julie Kjaer, Beibei Wang, Tommaso Vespo, Benedict Taylor, Noura Sanatian, Pedro Velasco , Tom Greenhalgh, Clare Simmonds, James Barralet, Tom Wheatley & John Garcia.

From 2009-2013 he curated a series of events called the Luna Fringe, a series of monthly events at Arch1 in West Ham. Bay's Leap toured Portugal in 2018 and a modified version of Spaltter, which included lthe Portuguese drummer Pedro Melo Alves and guitarist Luis Marins, also toured in 2018."

Joao Madeira: "I was born in Lisboa and I've dedicated most of my energy to the doublebass since I was 12. When I went to study at the Conservatório de Lisboa my role model was doublebassist João Panta Nunes, and lately my studies were oriented by Jorge Lee, at Cascais. I have a degree in Musicology, investigation work on Fado's candidature to World Immaterial Heritage by UNESCO, and coordination of the Music Department at INATEL/FNAT. Since 1999 I have a strong activity (studio and performance) in several styles and genres, but improvised music and original composition (whatever the style...) are the places where my musical language riches its higher satisfaction and plenitude. In the recordings you are about to hear it's me who plays all the instruments. My passion is at the simple act of artistic creation. For me, music is all about musicians and genuine expression! It doesn't matter the genre neither the instrument per si. In theater I have collaborations (musician, composer, actor) with Companhia do Chapitô and Artistas Unidos, amongst others. I also love books (...) I've studied aesthetics and Portuguese literature since I remember, and love to read and write poetry."