Øy
Fra Øy til Åh!
Originally, the dancers imitated the music, the music the dancers, and that was part of what made the multimodal form of expression, tap dance and music, so alive. With the duo Øy, tap dancer Janne Eraker and electronic musician Kristoffer Lislegaard take two-part music-dance to new heights, and give the audience a concert form you've never seen before
This concert will therefore suit any curious ear (and eye!), regardless of age.
Those who know their music history know that tap dancing and jazz go hand in hand. Or foot in shoes. How was it again? The historical roots of tap dancing go back hundreds of years, and for many it is only associated with Broadway musicals and old movies. Tap dancing as we know it today is much more recent, and characterized by colonialist trends such as minstrel shows - not unlike Dixieland jazz.
However, tap dancing is much more.
Besides being intricate musical structures, clapping and body music were originally a form of communication introduced and used by slaves in the United States. In addition to the song forms that gradually became spirituals and blues and street jazz, which Moldejazz's audience is well familiar with.
The name Island must be said to point to at least one thing, the fact that Eraker is limited to, and supported by, the small "island" she moves on while she and Kristoffer play. The plate she is standing on is connected to Lislegaard's electronics, which process it in real time. The movements modulate various parameters and trigger sequencing or become concrete audio signals for processing and sampling. According to them themselves, the result is a two-way communication where both respond to each other's contributions. What is controlled changes live in the moment as part of the improvisation.
Eraker and Lislegaard started working together in 2019, and have gone by the name Øy since 2020. They have managed to become an integral part of Norway's cross-border art environment, and have been heard on concert stages and festivals around the country. Particularly noteworthy is a concert from 2020 that was streamed from Lufthavana Mir in Oslo (with audience), to an audience in Vienna, Austria. An excerpt can be seen in the video below. Future plans include Eraker's solo record Movements for Listening, which will be released on 3 November, and work on a full-length Øy album, which is already underway. In other words, there is a lot to look forward to.
Øy's process is highly sensitive and listening. It envelops the audience in a very active sphere. At the same time, the aural and visual outcome can vary greatly from time to time, ranging from small and crackling noises to sustained and melodious parts. The constant is the Island as a bounded whole, surrounded by the world as an ocean.