Flux Summa: Jakob Draminsky Højmark

Screening + colloquium with Jakob Draminsky Højmark

Danish musician and composer (Copenhagen, 1959) with a special interest in stage music, electroacoustic, concrete music, intermedia, improvisation and micro-tuning.

Draminsky has made soundtracks for theatre, dance and video productions and has released several CDs under his own name. His catalogue also includes works for classical chamber ensembles, church organ and public multi-channel acousmatic systems, exploring the interplay between digital manipulations of the human voice and everyday life.

During the 1990s he appeared frequently as part of Pascal Comelade's band, as well as performing his own solo pieces for bass clarinet, sopranino saxophone and interactive computer.

Parallel to these activities, he developed a series of live concrete sound projects based on small to medium-sized construction machinery or kitchen equipment, and produced several chamber operas staged in collaboration with the Danish theatre Musikteatret Undergrunden and writer Peter Laugesen, the Catalan poet Enric Casasses, and the Japanese ensemble Noh Ryokusenkai, among others.

From 1990 to 2007 he was part of the experimental music scene in Barcelona while collaborating with artists and musicians such as Danish guitarist Jørgen Teller (Tzarina Q Cut), Japanese drummer Itoken, Japanese actor Noh Nakasho Noubu (Flower of Life), Danish fluxus artist Eric Andersen (Margrethe Fjorden) and American trumpeter Mark Cunningham (Aleatory Grammar).

After a break from music, dedicated to pursuing a Master's degree at the University of Copenhagen in Japanese Studies and culture-related narratives in technology, Draminsky returned in 2016 to his artistic activities. Now with a special focus on the relationship between sound and image, collaborating with Danish visual artists such as Nanna Gro Henningsen (A European Afternoon, De hjemvendte), Peter Land (Falden måne), Ole Valdemar (Valdemar i Tivoli) and Christina Weisgard (Yantra - frequencies in motion).

Other sound/image investigations include the MovieOnics idea linking ambient images with musical performance, Slow Sounds For A Busy World, a joint project with the Danish/Japanese group Excelsior All Stars with live music for the Danish silent film Himmelskibet - a trip to Mars by Holger-Madsen, as well as several projects with live music for Japanese silent films by Ozu Yasujiro and Kinugasa Teinosuke.

In 2017 his piece Yakushiji III was awarded 2nd prize in the international Henning Larsen Foundation competition on architecture and music.

In terms of improvisation, currently on electroacoustic melodica or electric guitar, Draminsky has recently joined forces with Danish bassist Henrik Olafsson in Blæst&Bue and Japanese drummer Sawada in the duo Tonegänger.

In this session we will watch a video with a selection of their performances between 1991 and 2015.

Interesting links:

www.summa-hvt.org 

www.fluxfestival.org 

By: HABITUAL VIDEO TEAM

Tuesdays of video 2023 builds on the proposals of: