Gyða Valtýsdóttir came to prominence with Icelandic electronic experimentalists, múm, in the 1990s and early 2000s. She left the band to study as a cellist and gained a twofold MA, as a classical player and a free improviser, and has journeyed with many bands and artists including Jónsi (of Sigur Ros fame), Aaron & Bryce Dessner (The National), Damien Rice, Colin Stetson and visual-artist Ragnar Kjartansson.

Her 2017 release, Epicycle, is a constellation of pieces by Schubert, Schumann, Messiaen, Partch, George Crumb and Hildegard von Bingen. The album topped ‘end of the year’ lists in her native country, received awards and accolades, inspiring one of Iceland’s most esteemed music critic to declare: ‘Here we have the rarest of things, an utterly unexplainable magic that goes way beyond the music itself, tugging ones heart forcefully.’ Arnar Eggert

For this special show, Gyða’s Epicycle trio will feature esteemed musicians Shahzad Ismaily & Julian Sartorius.

The beat has always been the defining element in the life of Julian Sartorius. Born in Thun (Switzerland), he began his first drum lessons at the age of five. With his rhythms pushing the boundaries of new music, hip-hop and a unique form of abstract electronica, Sartorius reveals the endless possibilities and range of his instruments. He often prepares his drums, works with unusual, unprocessed acoustic sounds and develops, beat by beat, an unheard environment of sound.

Julian Sartorius was taught by musicians such as Fabian Kuratli, Pierre Favre and Norbert Pfammatter at the Jazz Schools in Bern and Lucerne. He has collaborated with Matthew Herbert, Shahzad Ismaily, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dimlite, Merz, Fred Frith, Sophie Hunger, Rhys Chatham and many others, and has toured throughout Europe, South America, Japan, Canada and the US.

With his solo show he has toured widely throughout Europe, playing on bills with the likes of Deerhoof, Faust, Marc Ribot, Jaki Liebezeit, Arto Lindsay, and has released several solo albums, including the 12-LP-Box set Beat Diary, consisting of 365 beats and a companion photo book. His video installation Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen was shown in several art galleries. The web-project Morph, is another audiovisual work: Sartorius, on a daily basis, adds an element to his collage and modifies an 8-second-audio-loop. He has won several prestigious awards and in 2014 was nominated for the inaugural Swiss Music Prize along with a selection of the most influential Swiss musicians.