2014 Artists: Foyn Trio!, Five38 and LABtrio for Friday night at 12 Points

Friday night at 12 Points 2014 in Umea will be hopping with three innovative acts from Denmark, France and Belgium.

Two Danes and a Norwegian comprise the Aarhus based Foyn Trio!, but their sound speaks to the wider creative energies of many young musicians across Scandinavia today. Pivoting on the voice of Live Foyn Friis, here is soulful, unhurried music that speaks for itself in an impressionistic space where categorization seems especially futile. Guitarist Alex Jønsson and bassist Jens Madsen are primarily concerned with texture, painting in loops and colours and their own voices, adding to the music’s panoramic feel.

The name of Parisienne duo Five38 comes from the mathematics that five plus 38 equals forty three; the total number of strings available to harpist Rafaelle Rinaudo and bassist Fanny Lasfargues. That’s a lot of sonic possibilities, and they are not shy about exploring all of them. Both members of the renowned COAX collective, this is a new project and their sense of discovery is palpable. For the harp in particular, this is unexplored terrain, dark, distorted and liberated completely from its historical constraints.

Belgians LAB Trio are our only piano trio, and might also be the youngest performers at 12 Points 2014. Based in Ghent, they’ve won a raft of awards and they exemplify the qualities that have become a hallmark of jazz in Belgium, with music that is fresh, intelligent and contemporary in its aspect. There’s an urban sensibility with bass ostinatos and grooves that evoke the late Esbjorn Svensson and original writing that assimilates the wider tradition of piano trio.

More information and music from these three groups and the other 2014 acts HERE