We Jazz 2024

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Study on Overtones / Improvisation at Ställbergs Gruva was recorded during the May-June 2024 Ung Nordisk Musik composer residency at Ställbergs Gruva, an abandoned iron ore mine. Hartikainen was selected as Finland's representative composer for this residency, which held a theme of "Specificity+." Through site-specific explorations within the Örebro region, questions were asked about the location’s specificity: what significance does it have, to whom does it belong, and what is its relationship to change and transformation?

The recording took place in the old elevator machinery hall of the mine, which originally operated the first elevator that transported miners as deep as 500 meters, where they then switched to another elevator to descend further. The acoustics of the hall were extraordinary; the overtones resonated with astonishing brightness, inviting an exploration of harmonic resonances. With the hall's long reverb and natural support, even a solo saxophone could create walls of sound. Hartikainen's mastery of saxophone overtones made the improvisation sound polyphonic, creating a rich tapestry of sound that filled the space with complex, interwoven layers of melody and harmony, which eventually unraveled into a single note.

Heli Hartikainen (Finland) – tenor saxophone, recording Kaj Mäki-Ullakko (Finland) – mixing, mastering

Study On Overtones / Improvisation At Ställbergs Gruva

Award-winning avantgarde saxophonist, composer and sound artist from Helsinki, Finland