LiV - Music from the North


In English ...
This French-Norwegian collaboration started in 2013-2014 when Thierry Girault lived and worked in Tromsø - as a composer for the city’s big band. During this year he met Liv Hanne Haugen and Øystein Blix, with whom he started a musical collaboration exploring improvisation and experimentation.
Back in France guitarist Alain Kawczak joined and together they formed the band LIV. Since then they’ve toured regularly and played concerts in France, Swiss and Norway. Mixing traditional songs, pop and improvised music, the sound of LIV is inspired by the spaciousness of the nature in the northern part of Norway.
LIV is a collective of musicians from France and Norway that each bring in their own personal colours and styles blending it into a tapestry of sound and pictures, always in motion. Liv Hanne Haugen (voice), Øystein Blix (trombone and voice) Alain Kawczak (guitar) and Thierry Girault (keyboards, vocals).



En Français ...
Cette collaboration franco-norvégienne a commencé en 2013-2014 lorsque Thierry Girault (fondateur de la grande formation LEBOCAL ) a vécu et travaillé à Tromsø en tant que compositeur pour le big band de la ville. Au cours de cette année, il a rencontré Liv Hanne Haugen et Øystein Blix, avec qui il a commencé une collaboration musicale explorant l'improvisation et l'expérimentation.
De retour en France, le guitariste Alain Kawczak les rejoint et ensemble ils forment le groupe LIV.
Mélangeant des chants traditionnelles Sami (éleveurs de rennes ), de la pop et de la musique improvisée, l'univers de LIV est inspiré des grands espaces de la Norvège du Nord. Chacun des musiciens apportant, sa couleurs et son style en les mêlant à une tapisserie de sons et d'images, toujours en mouvement. Liv Hanne Haugen (voix), Øystein Blix (trombone et voix) Alain Kawczak (guitare) et Thierry Girault (claviers, voix )


liv hage

HAGE <<< NEW ALBUM Losen Record - Photo by Jamie M. Bivard
NOVEMBER 2021 with MARI BOINE as GUEST



KEMEDU

The resulting music played by the group is bold, innovative and very unique, which is pretty unusual these days, where individuality and experimentation become obsolete.

The music is quite diverse, moving between melodic, ambient and improvised parts. The unusual instrumentation, with the trombone as a lead instrument, adds to the mystique and the wonderful weirdness which prevails over this music. But Haugen's vocals are the most dominant factor which makes this music so wonderfully bizarre. She completely disregards any conventions whatsoever, using her voice to sing, howl, screech, scream, yell and whisper, whatever seems appropriate at a particular moment. Her wordless vocalese is hauntingly beautiful and extremely powerful. When all these factors are combined and intertwined into a tapestry of sounds, the result is simply overwhelming.

This music grows on the listener very persistently and I personally had a hard tie taking the CD out of my player after listening to it repeatedly several times in a row. What a magical experience! Happy International Women's Day to you Liv!

This is definitely the boldest and most surprising album I have heard so far from the Losen Records catalogue, and I have to salute the label's owner Odd Gjelsnes for his courage and vision that made him release this highly unusual, farsighted and non commercial music, against all odds. .


 




THE MUSICIANS



Thierry Girault

Is a french pianist and composer; he studied piano in conservatory of Geneva (Switzerland) and orchestration for 2 years in Los Angeles. He writes 15 years for his big band " Lebocal " with whom He got nationnals distinctions. He wrote  also for symphonic orchestra in MONTREUX (opening season) and Los Angeles, Back to France, he writes for string quartet., Opera....etc He recorded more than 5 albums  with Lebocal (label: harmonia mundi, bee jazz. Musea record..), played in big stage all over Europe, Swiss, Africa. (jazzhead Bremen, Manheim jazz festival, Berlin... Amr festival (Geneva) Café de la danse (Paris) Jazz Contreband (Geneva); (festival Saint Louis) Senegal....etc In 2015 , he won a jazz contest in Irtouksk (Russia), play for the MIDEM in CANNE with the chinese Guo Gan PRoject.
Recorded a CD, in Tromso with the band LIV (norvegian Label: Losen), in 2017 China tour with the Ehru master GUO GAN ( Beijing, Hong kong, XIAN ,Chengdu etc..)


Liv Hanne Haugen

Has her background as a danceartist with studies and work experiences from England, Holland and Belgium. She started her voice and musicwork as part of her stage-expression, and continued to develope this together with Belgian musicians such as Geert Waegeman, Anja Kowalski and Frederik Croene. In Norway she’s had close collaboration with a.o. the sami artist Mari Boine. Her voicework is influenced by ethnical sounds and ways of singing, and she’s driven by a curiosity to explore the voice as an unique instrument with endless possibilities of stretching, bending and twisting - making a myriad of exciting sounds and expressions. In 2014/15 she started the musical collaboration with the band LIV with musicians Girault and Kawczak. Blix and Haugen have done several artistic collaborations throughout the years. Liv Hanne runs her own dance company Haugen Productions in Tromsø together with her sister Anne Katrine Haugen. Kemedu is her first CD.


Alain Kawczak

French guitarist and composer. studied in Paris with Pierre Cullaz. his career is marked by beautiful meetings, Chilean Angel Parra, Marc Ducret, Larry Coryell. It is leading to two albums with Guillaume Perret and Thierry Girault, and other parts he is arranger for the song.


Oystein Blix

has been quite central in both the organisation and as a musician with new music and jazz in Northern Norway for more than 25 years. He has participated on around a dozen CD ́s with the last one being «It ́s OK to Play» under his own name on Losen Records. He is an arts teacher at the Tromsø High School.He has toured Japan and Europe with his own band – «Blix Band» and is often heard playing with both African and Russian musicians


 



Live in Annecy 2016 at Le Brise Glace




 



Matzi
Traditional sami yoik


Orbina
Traditional sami yoik


Nymphe Boréale
Music by T.Girault



 



PRESS..


PHOTOS

NEWS AND CONCERTS




Surrounded by green plants, lovely smelling flowers, georgious people serving georgious food LIV enjoyed a 4 days residence in Ferme de Chosal in July 2017.
The possibility to work together in a quiet and inspiring place works wonders for both music and soul, and three new songs were created. The residence ended with a lunch concert and an evening concert for the people in and around La Chosal, followed by a concert in Annemasse the day after. From then on it was ‘on the road’ and next stop was A Coté in the village Motiers, Swiss Jura.
An intimate and special place run by special people. A real recommendation. Our next concert in the festival of Mardis des rives, Osselle was due to stormy weather conditions, held inside the local church. Overwhelming accoustics, people pushing to get inside, Jesus and God watching, created magic and new hights for LIV! To be the opening concert of féte de Genéve on the Ile Rousseau (in the middle of the marvelous lake Leman), was hot. The 36 degrees Geneve offered that day, together with a warm crowd also added to a great end of our tour and stay together with LIV, summer 2017.


Click on Chosal to see the photo reportage...



- Mo 16.November2021 ESPACE RENCONTRE(Jazz aux Carrés FRANCE)
- Mo 21.October 2019 Skjervøy kulturhus (NORWAY)
- Tue 22.October 2019 Alta, Barila pub (NORWAY)
- Wed 23.October 2019 Hammerfest, Arctic cultural center
- Thu 24.October 2019 Kjøllefjord, Lebesby cultural house, 2concerts
- Fri 25.October 2019 Vadsø, Vadsø jazzklubb (NORWAY)
- Sat 26.October 2019 Båtsfjord, Båtsfjord brygge (NORWAY)
- Sat 2.November 2019 Tromsø, Tromsø jazzklubb (NORWAY)

- From 28.10 to 2.11 2019 CD-recording A new CD is coming

- 24 March 2019 Musée d'Etnographie de GENEVA
- 23 March 2019 Musée d'Etnographie de GENEVA

- 21 april 2018 Val d'Aoste à 21h00 (ITALIA) .
- 25 april 2018 Auditorium Annemasse
- 27 april 2018 Music Conservatory concert de midi Annecy (FRANCE) .
- 27 april 2018 Mont Saxonnex organised by 'La roue libre' 21h00 (FRANCE) .

- 24 October 2017 Private concert, Tromsø (NORWAY)
- 25 October 2017 Tromsdalen (NORWAY)
- 26 October 2017 Nyksund, Arthurbrygga (NORWAY)
- 27 October 2017 Leknes, Meieriet kultursenter (NORWAY)
- 28 October 2017 Helnessund, Nybrygga (NORWAY)


- 25 to 28 july Residence & Concert at Ferme de Chosal à Copponex (FRANCE)
- 29 july 2017 - Musica l'été (ANNEMASSE-FRANCE)
- 30 july A place in Jura Mountains
- 1 august 'Mardi des rives' à Osselle (BESANÇON - FRANCE)
- 3 august at Geneva's festivities (GENEVA-SWISS)
- 23 October 2016 - CITE SENIOR (GENEVA-SWISS)
- 22 October 2016 - THEATRE DU LAVOIR (PONTARLIER-FRANCE)
- 21 October 2016 - LE BRISE GLACE (ANNECY-FRANCE)
- 20 October 2016 - LA SOIERIE (FAVERGE-FRANCE)

For the 2 & 3 september and the October Tour Liv invites Beatrice Graf on drums and loopers
- 3 september 2016 - Bodø (NORWAY)
Venue: Dama di. Showtime: 21.00. Facebookpage: Dama di.
- 2 september 2016 - Misvær (NORWAY)
Venue: Ysteriet. Showtime 21.00. Facebookpage: Ysteriet Kro og Scene As
- 14 august 2016 - Sommarøy Hotell (NORWAY)
- 13 august 2016 - HELLA (NORWAY)
- 12 august 2016 - Tromsø jazzfestival (NORWAY)
Venue is Fjellheisen. Showtime is 18.00-19.00. www.tromsojazzfestival.no
Facebookpage: Tromsø jazzfestival.


 



THANKS FOR VISITING US

Fill out the form below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.


CONTACT US



Download HD Pictures !!

Download Tech specs !!

   +33 6 71 58 56 63  Thierry Girault
   Contact in France

   +47 99 57 15 57   Blix Oystein
   Contact in Norway

  LiV