Inner Lift by the duo of celebrated experimental vocalists Sissel Vera Pettersen and Randi Pontoppidan presents the listener with the sound of two voices in a room. Sometimes the voices are heard separately and alone, a capella and unadornedly acoustic. More usually they are heard together, accompanied by a delicate tracery of subtle electronic treatments, or ritualistic-sounding instrumental effects culled from a ‘prepared’ zither and - in the wonderful closing track, ’Still Safe’ - the unearthly hum of Tibetan singing bowls. Whatever the individual method of each of the nine tracks, which range from miniatures of less than two minutes to the relatively epic eleven-minute ‘Raindrops', Inner Lift is all of a piece, revealing a rich and varied imaginative world for the two singers to roam far and wide in, exploring the breadth and the depth of what a human voicebox can do.

Sissel Vera Pettersen & Randi Pontoppidan are both cutting edge vocal improvisers, ...

Inner Lift by the duo of celebrated experimental vocalists Sissel Vera Pettersen and Randi Pontoppidan presents the listener with the sound of two voices in a room. Sometimes the voices are heard separately and alone, a capella and unadornedly acoustic. More usually they are heard together, accompanied by a delicate tracery of subtle electronic treatments, or ritualistic-sounding instrumental effects culled from a ‘prepared’ zither and - in the wonderful closing track, ’Still Safe’ - the unearthly hum of Tibetan singing bowls. Whatever the individual method of each of the nine tracks, which range from miniatures of less than two minutes to the relatively epic eleven-minute ‘Raindrops', Inner Lift is all of a piece, revealing a rich and varied imaginative world for the two singers to roam far and wide in, exploring the breadth and the depth of what a human voicebox can do.

Sissel Vera Pettersen & Randi Pontoppidan are both cutting edge vocal improvisers, working in a wide field of free improv, jazz and contemporary music. Through exploring the voice as an instrument, combining live electronics and extended vocal techniques, they create a world of mesmerising soundscapes. The core of their music is always the organic and natural pulse of the breathing body, in combination with live electronic processing. They have previously released three albums in three different trio constellations with Hans Sydow Lift vs Sydow in 2007, Thomas Agergaard Convocation in 2012 and Jakob Davidsen Silence Trio2 in 2018.

Sissel Vera Pettersen is artistic director of Trondheim Voices, and has collaborated with artists such as Chick Corea, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Marilyn Mazur, Jon Balke, Lionel Loueke, John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, Marc Ducret, and Terje Isungset. Randi Pontoppidan has toured worldwide with Theatre of Voices, and has collaborated with artists such as Greg Cohen, Joélle Léandre, Thomas Buckner, Simon Toldam, Jamaladeen Tacuma, and IKI....

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