MURAL consists of Australian windplayer Jim Denley, with Norwegians Kim Myhr (guitar) and Ingar Zach (percussion). They have performed as the trio in South America, Canada, Europe, the USA and Lebanon, releasing three CDs, Nectars of Emergence (Sofa), Doom and Promise (recorded at the Rothko Chapel, Houston and released on their publications), and a studio album Tempera (con-v).
The second is the first cd released on Rothko Chapel Publications and is documentation of the special relationship MURAL has to the Rothko chapel. In the piece on that CD, «doom and promise», MURAL captures both a heavy gravity as well as a touching lightness, like an everchanging dance within the tension of opposites. The last year, MURAL have been collaborating with Norwegian video pioneer Kjell Bjørgeengen, so the scale of the work is expanding beyond time and the sonic to the audiovisual.
Photo: Ben Doyle
About Nectars of Emergence (2010)
«a haunting world of breathtaking timbral beauty …an extraordinary creation
– The Wire Magazine
About Live at the Rothko Chapel (2011)
«You are in a strange universe, full of surprise and wonder. It is as sweet as it is dark.»
– Free Jazz
JIM DENLEY’s engagement with experimental and improvised music stretches back over 40 years — he remembers vividly attending Teletopa concerts as a 14 year old — it was a major influence. Collaborations, his radio feature for the ABC won the Prix Italia in 1989. His CD Through Fire, Crevice and the Hidden Valley, recorded in the Budawang Mountains, received an Honorary mention in the Digital Musics category of the Prix Ars Electronica 2008. John Shand in the Sydney Morning Herald said: «This is music at it’s most primal, enhancing the beauty of creation.» In 1990 he was a member of Derek Bailey’s Company for a week of concerts in London. He co-founded the electro-acoustic text/music group Machine for Making Sense.
KIM MYHR is an active voice of the creative music scene in Norway, both as a composer and as a guitarist, with frequent performances throughout Europe, Australia, Asia and North – as well as South-America. Myhr’s first solo record was released january 2014. His solo music explores the acoustic possibilities of the 12-string guitar, and can remind the listener of early music of Ligeti and of Morton Feldman, but it also contains an energy and simplicity similar to american folk music. As a composer, Myhr wrote «stems and cages» for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra in 2009, a large ensemble including Sidsel Endresen, Christian Wallumrød, Jim Denley among others. The music was released on the CD «stems and cages» in 2010, and received wide critical acclaim. Kim wrote another piece for the orchestra for the 2012 Ultima festival called «In the end his voice will be the sound of paper», this time featuring the voice of Jenny Hval. More activity is expected for this project in 2014. Myhr works frequently with dance, notably writing music for productions by italian choreographer Francesco Scavetta, and in 2014 a new collaboration with dancer Orfee Schuijt.
INGAR ZACH is one of the leading percussionists/improvisers from Norway. He is known for the wide range of sounds in his drum kit and he uses his percussion in a very dynamic but still energetic way. Now living in Madrid, he concentrates on his solo work and his regular ensembles Huntsville, Mural and Dans les arbres. He has been dedicated to experimental music for the last ten years and he is now touring and recording with his regular ensembles but in Europe, Canada, USA, South America and Asia. His elaborated and critically aclaimed solowork is to be heard on his 4 solo releases, “ Percussion Music”, “ IN”, “ Music for Tinguely” and «M.O.S.”. He founded the Norwegian label for improvised and contemporary music, SOFA, together with guitar player, Ivar Grydeland in May 2000.