The German electronic pioneer and father of microhouse and clicks & cuts effects, Jan Jelinek, live-transforms old samples and sound fragments into trippy electronic soundscapes on a modular synth. His impressive body of work ranges from sound collages and electroacoustic music to minimalist drone, released on his own label Faitiche. Anton Friisgaard opens the night.

German musician Jan Jelinek has been one of the most intriguing figures in the Berlin electronica scene since the late 1990s, pioneering microhouse and clicks & cuts effects. His distinctive ability lies in creating impressive electronic sound collages from samples of old rock and jazz records, mixed beyond recognition, and transformations of sound fragments from various recording devices such as tape recorders, digital samplers, and media players. All sounds are dissected, split, and reassembled, gaining new life in abstract, repetitive loops. All of this happens live!

Jan Jelinek has been incredibly prolific throughout his career. He began releasing music in 1998, initially under the pseudonyms Farben and Gramm, and later under his own name. A few years later, his sound collages were played at the Young Media Pavilion at the EXPO2000 World Exhibition in Hannover. He has collaborated with artists such as Sarah Morris and German author Thomas Meinecke, as well as the Japanese improvisation ensemble Computer Soup. He has created audiovisual performances with video artist Karl Kliem at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and is also part of the improvisation trio Groupshow with Andrew Pekler and Hanno Leichtmann.

Notably, Jelinek has released a multitude of albums and EPs, including on his own label Faitiche, established in 2008. Faitiche has not only served as a platform for Jelinek’s own experiments but also for collaborative projects and colleagues in the electronic scene he navigates. The sixteen releases so far include a collaboration with vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita and works by the fictional sound researcher Ursula Bogner, whose scores, drawings, and writings have been presented and performed worldwide. Since 2012, Jelinek has written and produced experimental radio pieces for the state radio station SWR. Whether under the pseudonym Gesellschaft zur Emanzipation des Samples, like Ursula Bogner, or under his own name, Jelinek’s body of work spans from field recording collages to electroacoustic music and minimalist drone. What they all have in common is that they are pieced together live from samples and sound fragments. Despite his incredibly active career, Jelinek has been away from the live scene for several years, making this concert at ALICE a unique opportunity to experience the German electronic pioneer.

Anton Friisgaard
Anton Friisgaard recently departed from his ambient alter-ago Hviledag, to widen the possibilities of his musical landscape. His curiosity has taken him on live-explorations with classical ensembles, and ambient church events, as well as into the worlds of clubs and body-shaking sound systems. Embracing this wide array of sonic cultures and expressions has nurtured a musical agility and ability to create from a deep love for the multiplicity of expressions within music. Anton Friisgaard’s live shows are performed on reel-to-reel tape machines, which are fed a wide range of audio like acoustic piano, digital audio, and granular sampling. The tape loops develop and degrade as they repeat, creating a trance-inducing and evolving soundscape, creating sonic, ceremonial experiences providing a space for transcendence for contemporary souls.

ALICE at Stairway
While the concert hall at Nørre Allé 7 is undergoing renovation, ALICE is located at the music venue Stairway in Vanløse.