Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø
acoustic and amplified trombone
Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø is a trombonist and sound artist based in Berlin and Trondheim, focusing on live performance as well as a wide range of compositional and cross disciplinary projects. His current solo setup consists of heavily amplified trombone, analogue electronics and selected sound files, and undulates between claustrophobic tension and moments of ecstatic release. Breath is at the core of the project, and Nørstebø utilizes an air compressor-like use of lungs, nuanced microphone technique and gain adjustments in order to unearth the intense physicality of inherent low volume sound material, which he combines with a full range of acoustic material.
Nørstebø started his solo trajectory in 2007. His first record (“SOLO”, 2011) contained wildly different stream of consciousness improvisations, while his second solo release (“Melting into foreground”, 2015) was more of a compositional work, focusing on the inner energy of sound and the tension between empty and filled spaces. “DYSTOPIAN DANCING” from 2022, his third solo release, showcases a raw version of his highly amplified material, along with an expanded section for “object orchestra”.
Henrik has toured extensively on five continents since 2010, and released numerous records, spanning from solo to large groups. His collaborative projects include duos with Audrey Chen (BEAM SPLITTER), Daniel Lercher and JD Zazie, new music ensemble Aksiom and a myriad of collaborations with improvisers, visual artists, dancers, entities from around the world.
His main collaboration is the amplified voice and trombone duo BEAM SPLITTER with Audrey Chen, started in 2015. Since 2020, the have been organizing DEDICATED PLAY, an ongoing concert series and collaborative artistic project, where they have invited a diverse array of artists from around the world. While spinning a thread through the larger story of migration across continents/oceans and establishing the concept of home in shared relationships, they are seeking to bring together the commonalities of these experiences and express this communication in sonic language and music. In the past 2022 and 2023 seasons, they worked and recorded with: Mo’ong Pribadi, Hyunhye Seo, Elaine Mitchener, Mariam Rezaei, Pat Thomas & Orphy Robinson (Black top), Carla Boregas, Mauricio Takara, Mieko Suzuki, Pak Yan Lau, Eivind Lønning & Espen Reinersten (Streifenjunko), Hugo Esquinca and Yara Mekawei. The most recent iteration of the project came in the form of the Dedicated play festival, curated with Hyunhye Angela Seo from Xiu Xiu and performed over six days in Berlin and London, featuring a line-up of Seo and Jamie Stewart, in addition to artists like Tashi Dorji, Thom Nguyen, Che Chen, Victoria Shen, Alex Zhang Hungtai and Susie Ibarra.
He has toured actively since 2010, and played at clubs and festivals all over Europe, as well as in Russia, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Argentina. Festival performances include a.o. : Huddersfield contemporary music festival (UK), A l’arme! festival (Berlin/DE), Gogolfest (Kiev/UA), Fete quaqua (London/UK), Nattjazz (Bergen/NO), Jazzfest Berlin (DE), Kongsberg jazzfestival (NO), Festival Akouphene (Geneva/CH), Maerzmusik (Berlin/DE), Citadelic festival (Ghent/BE), Angelica festival (Bologna/IT), V:NM festival (Graz/AT), Joyful noise (Biel/CH), Music Unlimited (Wels/AT), Borealis (Bergen/NO), Brand! festival (Mechelen/BE), CTM festival (Berlin/DE), Zoom in festival (Bern/CH), Avant art festival (Warsaw/PL), Simultan festival (Timisoara/RO), Umeå jazzfestival (Umeå/SE), Météo festival (Mulhouse/FR), Gothenburg art sounds (SE), SoundOut (Canberra/AU) and Ultima contemporary music festival (Oslo,NO).
Nørstebø is also an experienced ensemble player, having performed live and on recordings stretching from the fairest pop to the strangest noise. He is a founding member of Oslo based new music ensemble "Aksiom", and has released three records with the 12-piece freejazzpop-band "Skadedyr" on Hubro. He has also appeared in groups like Johan Lindvall's "Torg" (Jazzland), Mette Henriette "Ø" (ECM), Trondheim jazz orchestra, Dan Peter Sundland elevenette and Nate Wooley's "Seven storey mountain V".
Educated in improvised music and jazz from the music academies in Gothenburg (BA) and Oslo (MA), he is based in Berlin and Trondheim.
” (...) On both pieces, Nørstebø keeps his compositional structures clear through a balanced use of filled and empty space. The silences he allows between passages of sound tend to act as boundaries separating sections into disjunctive events defined by dramatic changes in timbre as well as in organization and dynamics. And despite his deliberate distorting and dismantling of the trombone’s conventional voice, he allows a fundamental warmth to pervade both performances.”
- Avant music news, Daniel Barbiero (USA)
