Connect Insomnia & Ekko - Premiere JP

For the Connect Insomnia & Ekko program MUTEK.JP joined forces with two of the leading Norwegian festivals of electronic music and art, in order to present 4 of the finest musical endeavors this Nordic country has on offer.

Tromsø’s Insomnia Festival will present the collaborative performance of Elina Waage Mikalsen & Ingrid Kristensen Bjørnaali at the Arctic cathedral as part of the festival’s annual involvement in the SHAPE Platform. In addition the interdisciplinary collective Tacobitch, will take over the program co-presented by the European festival association WeAreEurope. Both performances were recorded past October during the 2020 edition of Insomnia Festival.

Ekkofestival in Bergen was host to the cymbal explorations of Super Heavy Metal and a contemporary orchestral collaboration «Silencio & the Echo Bolero Stars» by Lars Horntveth with the BIT20 Ensemble, Ståle Storløkken & Axel Skalstad, which will now be presented as part of the Connect program. The performances were recorded in November 2020 as part of the 17th edition of Ekkofestival.

Originally envisioned as a physical exchange of artists, the participating partners have been quick to adapt the project's frame to the virtual environment. Maintaining the projects aim to foster artistic exchange between Norway and Japan was only possible through the generous support by Music Norway, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo, the European SHAPE Platform for Innovative Music and Audiovisual Art, and WeAreEurope.