BEAM SPLITTER - AUDREY CHEN / Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø
(voice, electronics, trombone)
... as with many seemingly incongruous pairings, what defines the subtle union of this duo are the deeper synergies that are simmering beneath the surface.
BEAM SPLITTER are: Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø (NO) and Audrey Chen (US). Using the trombone and voice, they maneuver a balance between fragility, intimacy, the ecstatic and measured control. They share a common sense of pulse and an inherent understanding of the way they each aurally manage and let go of every consecutive moment. The lungs release through to mouths to bell, back and forth like a tactile breathing exchange.
Since beginning their collaboration in 2015, Nørstebø and Chen have been extensively touring the globe, in Europe, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, and the USA. They have taken part in larger commissioned works at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires and largely conceptualized a theatrical adaptation of MEDEA in front of the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine (for butoh dancers and musicians) produced by the Ukho Agency. They have shared their collaborative projects with artists such as Phil Minton, Bob Ostertag, Michael Vorfeld, Thomas Rohrer, Valentin Tszin, Flavia Ghisalberti and Leonel Kaplan. Beam Splitter will release their debut album in 2017.
"Beam Splitter is highly improvised, extremely crafted and held in an iron will for experimentation."
- Jean Louis Fernandez, La Nacion, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2016.
