Reviewing

Experimental improvised music from Berlin

Burkhard Beins, Mazen Kerbage, Michael Vorfeld

Photo by Misha

The Ensemble

Burkhard Beins (D) – Percussion

Mazen Kerbage (LB) – Trumpet

Michael Vorfeld. (D) – Percussion 

Since its foundation in 2015 the Berlin-based trio Sawt Out has shaped and refined its profile as a prominent improvisational unit. With their unusual acoustic instrumentation of trumpet and two sets of percussion these three gentlemen create bewildering sound worlds rich in detail and of tight musical interaction. Sawt Out has played numerous concerts throughout Europe, Asia and beyond. This current tour is their first live appearance in the US.

Excerpt from the performance:

PRESS QUOTES:

Sawt Out should be listened to the same way as satellite photos from a distant planet are observed.

Ken Waxman, Jazzword

This set works quite well on its own terms and will certainly be enjoyed by listeners with a taste for active, visceral improv.

Brian Olewnick, Just Outside

The dynamic excursions are so unpredictable and rich in sonic data that joining the rational mayhem becomes a convenient solution to defy disorientation.

Massimo Ricci, The Squid’s Ear

WEBSITE:
https://mazenkerbaj.com/sawtout/

Burkhard Beins

Burkhard Beins is a  German composer-performer known for his work in experimental music and sound art, particularly for his innovative use of percussion combined with selected sound objects. Additionally, he works with live electronics and analog synthesizers, plays bass guitar, and has conceived several sound installations.

Mazen Kerbaj

Mazen Kerbaj is a Lebanese comics author, visual artist, and musician born in Beirut in 1975. He also works on selective illustration and design projects and has taught at the American University of Beirut. 

Kerbaj is the author of more than 15 books, and his short stories and drawings have been published in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. His work has been translated into more than ten languages in various local and international publications. His paintings, drawings, videos, live performances and installations have been shown as part of numerous solo and collective exhibitions, in galleries, museums and art fairs around the world.

Michael Vorfeld

Michael Vorfeld is a sound and visual artist based in Berlin, Germany.
His installations generally focus on the spatialization of light, using minimalist
architecture and sound design to attain pure, crystalline shapes. His music is
centered on his use of bowed cymbals and homemade string instruments to create
shimmering, microtonal music rich in overtones. He has performed in Europe, Japan,
and America solo or with other improvisers and occasionally dancers. His work has
been documented mainly by the German label NURNICHTNUR, but also on Hybrid, AufRhur,
X-Tract, and Trente Oiseaux.