Sofia Labropoulou is a Kanun player, composer, and improviser who has developed a distinct sound by masterfully blending the worlds of folk, classical Ottoman, western Medieval, experimental, and contemporary music.
As a soloist, she collaborates with renowned composers, musicians, and orchestras from all over the world, she composes music and presents Kanun and Greek folk music master classes worldwide. Her first personal album “Sisyphus” was released in December 2020 (Odradek Records).
She currently lives in Vienna.

“Tracing down his childhood memories, Iran born composer and multi-instrumentalist Alireza Toghiyani recalls his first encounter with music as being extremely haptic – as the son of an instrument maker who has ever since specialized in building the Santur (Persian dulcimer) he has been surrounded by materials which were to become well balanced instruments.
Listening to his music one inevitably takes notice of his sensibility in treating instruments, extracting their most unusual and magical sounds. His academic background and his subsequent withdrawal from the world of academia as well as his latest venture into electronics add to the versatility of his musical approaches which always seem to oscillate between intuitive play and the purest form of composition.” (Text: Clemens Sellaoui)

Anna Tsombanis is a German saxophone player who started her musical career in Berlin. For her masters she moved to Vienna where she has been working as a freelance musician.
She has already been active in different international projects such as BuJazzO, APQ (Anna Tsombanis & Paul Van de Calseijde Quartet), Berlin Jazz Composers Orchestra etc. and was honored to work with musicians such as Thomas Gansch, WDR Big Band, Django Bates, Nils Klein, Jiggs Whigham etc.

Miriam Adefris – harp, effects
Mona Matbou Riahi – clarinette, effects
Lukas Kranzelbinder – double bass, e-bass
“Dance of Gentleness” is the title of the programme of the newly formed trio of Miriam Adefris, Lukas Kranzelbinder and Mona Matbou Riahi. While Riahi and Kranzelbinder have known each other for many years and recorded a joint album as part of the 2018 SWR NewJazzMeeting led by the Carinthian bassist, contact with Miriam Adefris initially came about by chance.
When British saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (with whom Kranzelbinder has already collaborated several times in his band Shake Stew) promoted a joint concert with the harpist in London via social media, Lukas Kranzelbinder became aware of the musician and invited her without further ado as a guest musician to Shake Stew’s home gig at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
After this brilliant debut, the desire for further joint concerts was great and so the ideal trio partner was found in Mona Matbou Riahi. The Iranian clarinettist had already cooperated with Miriam Adefris in the “Wetter etc.” project. And so it was perhaps destined that the paths of these three exceptional musicians would cross sooner or later.

Rdeča Raketa (Red Rocket) is the electronic music duo of Maja Osojnik and Matija Schellander. Their new project “… and cannot reach the silence” deals with the current world of misunderstandings, communicating past each other, willingly and unwillingly overlooking or ignoring each other’s meanings via various fast-paced forms and platforms of communication; and, with that, the tightening of incompatible parallel “realities.” It explores forms of violence; physical and verbal, external and self-inflicted. It explores forms of power; the dangerous thin line between giving power to and giving power over oneself, and forms of subjugation and addiction on both societal and, more significantly, on interpersonal levels.

Modular synthesizers and cut-up samples mixed with manipulated CD players and recordings of acoustic instruments and Lield recordings, along with elaborate sound processing, ultimately creates a wondrously heterogeneous mixture. For this project, they have invited a video artist Patrick K.-H. (Vienna/St. Petersburg) to collaborate with.
The abstract-concrete video of Patrick K.-H. comes out of his works in analog collage and naturally bears its qualities, such as characteristic imprecise cuts and overlapping of typographical standards that otherwise don’t meet.

bass.bass.bass.
bass.bass.bass.
bass.bass.bass.

Nine double basses.
The singularity of the individuals meets the collective.
A sound experiment.

Judith Ferstl
Helene Glüxam
Thatiana Gomes
Anna Reisigl
Emily Smejkal
Peter Herbert
Philipp Kienberger
Tobias Vedovelli
Walter Singer

Avin Ahmadi is an Iranian musician, Oud player, and vocalist born on a winter day of 2004 in Tehran. Avin expresses her deepest emotions and thoughts through her creative process, inviting listeners on a profound and transformative journey. Her musical journey began at a young age with a true passion for the “Oud.” Guided by esteemed masters and studying at Tehran’s music conservatory, she continued her musical path and expanded her skills on the Oud. She has graced renowned venues in Tehran as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles. Currently studying music in Vienna, she explores the realms of world music, constantly learning, exploring, playing with melodies and rhythms, expanding her musical perspective towards Eastern music, despite her Western abode.

Morvarid Tahmasbi is a Media Music student and a young talented “Kamancheh” player, born in October 2000 in Iran. She has been taking “Kamancheh” lessons since she was eight years old. In Iran, she has collaborated with several talented musicians, gaining experience in various ensembles. Currently based in Vienna, she runs her own projects, where improvisation plays a significant role.

A new experimental duo project by Georg Vogel and Pamelia Stickney, two virtuostic musicians with a passion for harmony and appreciation for diverse musical styles, who specialize in performing on instruments built with the capacity for reaching microtonal intervals – the Claviton and the Theremin.

What is a Claviton?
Its sound resembles a harpsichord when acoustic, and with the use of midi, many more sound colors are accessible. The main feature of the Claviton keyboard instrument is the multi-tone/microtonal keyboard with multiple upper keys divided to enable enharmonic differentiation as independent pitches; an octave is comprised of 31 tones.

In doing so, a tradition is taken up again which had its heyday on harpsichords and organs in the 16th and early 17th centuries and then fell into oblivion.

What is a Theremin?
Invented over 100 years ago, it is the grandfather of keyboard synthesizers. What sets it apart from the later generation of synths is the fact that it is the only instrument which is played without any physical contact. There is one antenna for pitch control, and another for controlling volume level – the movements of the hands/body of the performer create an interference within the electromagnetic fields of the antennae which with skilled hands can be shaped to resemble a human voice or a stringed instrument – which are capable of producing microtones.

Georg and Pamelia will be ‘Turning the Screws’, stretching the listeners ears to experience new sensations in harmony with original compositions (influenced by classical and jazz styles) exploring the rich microntonal palette that is possible with their unique instruments.

Veronika J. König (*1997 in the Black Forest), studied in Vienna, swapped black metal and punk for the computer while still in her teens – FARCE was born. First EP and concerts in Vienna’s underground, discovered by journalist Katharina Seidler, nationwide airplay on FM4. In 2018, the Austrian festival hat trick of Popfest, Donaufestival and Hyperreality, with the album Heavy Listening attracting Europe-wide attention. At home in the feminist underground as well as the international avant-garde, König is passionate about promoting young talent in the queer music scene.

Bassplayer Beate Wiesinger studied electric bass at the University of Performing Arts Vienna and doublebass at the Anton-Bruckner Privatuniversität and Högskolan für Scen och Musik Göteborg.
She was given the BMUKK Startstipendium in 2017, Burghausen Nachwuchs-Jazzpreis in 2016 and was part of „New Austrian Sound of Music“ (NASOM) 2020/21 and Young Nordic Jazz Comets 2014.
Beate is the founder of the 7 piece Jazz/Space Pop band e c h o boomer and co-founder of Duo 4675 which she is leading with her sister saxophonist Astrid Wiesinger.

Viola Hammer is a pianist, composer and arranger. She has previously led projects such as her trio and the 11-piece formation Heartbeat Project, in which she combines chamber music-oriented, lyrical compositions with elements from minimal and electronic music. Currently she presents the program of her solo piano debut CD Places, which was released in February 2020 on the Ö1-Edition Contemporary Jazz. Viola Hammer is also active internationally as a sidewoman in various jazz and world music projects.