ABOUT
SILENT FIRES
SILENT FIRES
UNCONVENTIONAL QUARTET
Born in Oslo (Norway), Silent Fires reunites four young bandleaders from the european improvised music scene: singer Karoline Wallace, trumpeter Hilde Marie Holsen, violinist Håkon Aase and pianist-composer Alessandro Sgobbio. Their cross-genre intermixture of lyrics and acoustic-electronic fragments – merged into written and improvised soundscapes – investigates the theme of spirituality in its multiple meanings. Their live performances feature contemporary dancer, Synne Garvik, offering a multi-art experience of improvised music and realtime choreography. Silent Fires released ”Forests” on December 2019 under AMP Music & Records (Norway), receiving +40 reviews and performing in Oslo, Berlin, Paris, Porto. ”Forests” has been reviewed as ”a first rate debut album, full of promise for the future” (All About Jazz), featured on a video reportage on Swiss national TV La1, and selected as “album of the month” by Italian Magazine Musica Jazz and Europe Jazz Network. Their new album will be released in 2024.
Silent Fires er eit norsk-italiensk elektroakustisk ensemble med tilhald i Oslo, initiert av Alessandro Sgobbio (piano, komposisjonar), og er i tillegg med Hilde Marie Holsen (trompet, effektar), Håkon Aase (fiolin), Karoline Wallace (vokal) og Synne Garvik (dans). Musikk og tekst — på engelsk, italiensk og norsk — er skriven av Sgobbio, og omhandlar spiritualitet i ei utvida tyding. Det musikalske resultatet vert ein dialog mellom melodiske fragment av ulike bøner, akustisk stille og elektroniske flengjer, i både strenge og lause former der musikarane gjennom eksperimentering og improvisasjon får rom til å kommentere dei komponerte strukturane. Silent Fires vart starta opp i 2016, og ensemblet har sidan det spelt fleire konsertar i Italia, Frankrike, Tyskland, Portugal og Norge. Kvartetten girte fredag 6. desember 2019 ut albumet Forests med AMP Records, “en veldig spennende og annerledes musikalsk utflukt med veldig dyktige folk og et herlig kollektiv” (Tor Hammerø, Nettavisen). Et nytt album av bandet kommer i 2024.
about
The Band
Short Biographies
KAROLINE WALLACE – vocals
Karoline Wallace is a singer, composer and arranger. She composes and arranges for her bands, for wind orchestras, choirs, string quartets, big bands. She has a master’s degree in composing and music performance from the Rhythmic Music Academy in Copenhagen with semesters done at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.
HILDE MARIE HOLSEN – trumpet, effects
Hilde Marie Holsen blends the mournful tone of the brass instrument with the explorative field of electronic music to make music that lists somewhere between jazz, the contemporary and drone music. Holsen’s debut album «Ask» was released on the Norwegian label Hubro in 2015, and hit the shelves with critical acclaim from amongst others The Guardian, The Wire and The Quietus. In 2018, Holsen followed up with her second solo album, «Lazuli», also released on Hubro, and was claimed to be «an almost shockingly complete musical statement».
SYNNE GARVIK – dance
Synne Garvik graduated with a BA in modern and contemporary dance from the University of Stavanger, Institute for music and dance in 2016. Synne has worked in different productions such as: “Suite Transformé” and “WOW!” in Todelt Aften 2017 and 2019, MASS in Iceland 2018, and various performances connected with the company. She is based in Haugesund, and is currently working as a freelancer, teacher and as chairman for Kompani Haugesund.
HÅKON AASE – violin
Norwegian violinist Håkon Aase is an outstanding presence in the Norwegian and International scene. In these recent years, Håkon has recorded and toured extensively worldwide with the Thomas Strønen’s TiAbG as well as the Mathias Eick 5et (ECM Records). Håkon earns a master’s degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music (Oslo) and has released several albums with his own personal projects Yūgen, Duetrost and Filosofer.
ALESSANDRO SGOBBIO – piano, composition
Since his debut piano solo album “Aforismi Protestanti”, Alessandro keeps expanding his own personal vocabulary of compositions, improvisations and spiritual explorations throughout music. He’s earned master’s degrees at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Oslo, Norway) and the Boito Conservatory of Music (Parma, Italy). Alessandro has released 13 albums as a leader, co-leader, pianist, composer and producer, including the bands HITRA, Debra’s Dream Sextet and CHARM trio. His recent album “Piano Music” has been voted one of the best albums of 2022 in Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, Germany and Italy.