GROUPS
Traktor
photo: Seán Kelly
Olga Ksendzovska - church organ / piano
John Bisset - lap steel guitar
Traktor explore the interaction between the church organ and lap steel guitar.
Olga and John were invited to play in The Fisherman's Chapel in Leigh-on-Sea. There is a small organ there, as well as the piano they were expecting. Olga tried out the organ during the sound check and the sustained tones from the pipes, played with the sustained tones from the lap steel, using ebows, created 'beats' (periodic and repeating fluctuations in intensity when two sounds of very similar frequencies interfere with one another), so they were kind of playing each other's instrument. This is a rich area of improvisational synergy and the duo has since sought out other places to play.
They have played across the UK, where very few organs are actually perfectly tuned, provoking unpredictable and intriguing effects.
John Bisset - lap steel guitar
Traktor explore the interaction between the church organ and lap steel guitar.
Olga and John were invited to play in The Fisherman's Chapel in Leigh-on-Sea. There is a small organ there, as well as the piano they were expecting. Olga tried out the organ during the sound check and the sustained tones from the pipes, played with the sustained tones from the lap steel, using ebows, created 'beats' (periodic and repeating fluctuations in intensity when two sounds of very similar frequencies interfere with one another), so they were kind of playing each other's instrument. This is a rich area of improvisational synergy and the duo has since sought out other places to play.
They have played across the UK, where very few organs are actually perfectly tuned, provoking unpredictable and intriguing effects.
GARFORD / BISSET
photo: Seán Kelly
George Garford - alto saxophone
John Bisset - lap steel guitar
Intersecting contemporary jazz, new music and free improvisation.
John and George met in 2023 at weekly sessions at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama finding a musical connection which bridged their thirty-five year age gap, and a friendship formed within the ageless sharing of simultaneous heartbreak - from which their cd 'from tenderness, a revolution' emerged.
'Disarmingly personal, it’s a reminder that the roots of much contemporary improvised music are at least partly in the blues and that people over time make music for much the same reasons.' Dominic Rivron, INTERNATIONAL TIMES.
John Bisset - lap steel guitar
Intersecting contemporary jazz, new music and free improvisation.
John and George met in 2023 at weekly sessions at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama finding a musical connection which bridged their thirty-five year age gap, and a friendship formed within the ageless sharing of simultaneous heartbreak - from which their cd 'from tenderness, a revolution' emerged.
'Disarmingly personal, it’s a reminder that the roots of much contemporary improvised music are at least partly in the blues and that people over time make music for much the same reasons.' Dominic Rivron, INTERNATIONAL TIMES.
verbo i voda
photo: Seán Kelly
Milana Sarukhanyan - soprano
John Bisset - lap steel
Dive into the essence of sound where Ukrainian folk intertwines with the avant-garde. Verbo I Voda - a synergy of Milana Sarukhanyan's haunting soprano and John Bisset's innovative lap steel - invites you on a journey through soundscapes untold.
Envision a realm where operatic grandeur meets the rawness of Slavic folklore, where ambient strings and rhythmic patterns craft a backdrop for tales as old as time itself. This duo, birthed from a spontaneous meeting in London's vibrant underground scene, brings together the worlds of abstract sound, whispered poetry, and the sheer power of vocal and instrumental improvisation.
From their first captivating performance to the brink of releasing an album that traverses the emotional landscape with grace and audacity, Verbo I Voda has touched souls and ignited imaginations across stages and greenhouses alike.
John Bisset - lap steel
Dive into the essence of sound where Ukrainian folk intertwines with the avant-garde. Verbo I Voda - a synergy of Milana Sarukhanyan's haunting soprano and John Bisset's innovative lap steel - invites you on a journey through soundscapes untold.
Envision a realm where operatic grandeur meets the rawness of Slavic folklore, where ambient strings and rhythmic patterns craft a backdrop for tales as old as time itself. This duo, birthed from a spontaneous meeting in London's vibrant underground scene, brings together the worlds of abstract sound, whispered poetry, and the sheer power of vocal and instrumental improvisation.
From their first captivating performance to the brink of releasing an album that traverses the emotional landscape with grace and audacity, Verbo I Voda has touched souls and ignited imaginations across stages and greenhouses alike.
CD 2024: verbo i voda 'Dark music for dark times ~ echoes of Cathy Berberian, vocalising fairy tales in a nocturnal forest ~ shadows and phantoms illuminated by patches of moonlight ~ electronic apparitions twist and flicker ~ then disappear into the crisp cold air' Ashley Wales
TheThreeFeet
Iris Colomb - performance/text
Andrew Ciccone - percussion/objects
John Bisset - lapsteel guitar
Andrew Ciccone - percussion/objects
John Bisset - lapsteel guitar