The tracks put up here at MYSPACE are all excerpts of tracks with the solo project Melatonin:
"Maria Jardardottir's electro acoustic solo project, Melatonin, is founded on exploring her own voice as the only sound source. In Melatonin, Jardardottir blends her collection of musical styles and vocal expressions and techniques into one strong essence where improvisation is the core idiom; human, earthbound and elusive."
Melatonin dearly supports Norges Blindeforbund (The Norwegian Foundation for Blind and Seeing Disabled). Listening is a treasure for those who struggle to see.
Maria regularly works with other musicians as well as artists of other directions such as sound art, dance/choreography, film/animation, theatre, poets and multimedia artists.
She is a keen member of LIMA - Leeds Improvised Music Association.
LIMA
And, some of her collaborating friends and colleagues are/have been: Alan Ottesen, Alec Finlay, Alex Gunia, Audun Ellingsen, Bhupinder Singh Chaggar, Blanca Blanco, Cecilie Giskemo, Cecilie Vium Olesen, Chris Watson, Chris Bussey, Chris Sharkey, Christophe de Bezenac, Clive Powell, Colin Sutton, Dave Kane, Didrik Ingvaldsen, Elisabeth Nygrd, Emlyn 'Flame' Vaughan, Giuliano Modarelli, Graham Adey, Guro Schei Johansson, Janne Weidinger, Javier Geras, Jesse Bannister, Jesper G. Kristensen, John Barwood, Julie Bangsgaard Hansen, Kari Nergaard Bleivik, Kathleen Doherty, Keren Gelter, Lars Egegaard Sørensen, Laura Harrington, Laura Navndrup, Lyndon Riley, Makiko Aoyama, Matilde Mork, Matthew Bourne, Marie Gyselbrecht, Marie Hallager Andersen, Marie-Louise Stentebjerg, Martin Dahl, Mikkel Jensen, Mohamed Abbas Asani, Morten Flarup, Natasha Fewings, Ninon Foiret, Ove Volquartz, Paul Hession, Paul Moore, Petter Frost Fadnes, Pia Perez de Arce, Prisca Vilsbøl, Raila Knuuttila, Riaan Vosloo, Richard Ormrod, Rune Selsing, Rus Pearson, Saffron Beagley, Sam Hobbs, Sandra Wennerhag, Sankt Otten, Sebastian 'Baz' Hankins, Si Beddoe, Simon Kaylor, Sri R.N. Prakash, Staale Birkeland, Therese Ulvan, Thomai Maganari, Thomas Høst, Thomas Petri, Tore Hovde, Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud, Yael Gaathon.
Influences
The search and fight for love and bliss.
Sounds Like
From the February 2006 edition of the magazine Ruis published by the Belgian new music organization (K-RAA-K)3 : A feature called 5 Aanraders (5 Recommendations). Along names like Chris Watson, Massive Attack, Velvet Underground and The Cramps this is what was said about:
MARIA JARDARDOTTIR: Melatonin:
Een diepe, rijke en krachtige, bevelende stem die instrumentaal klinkt. Prachtige muziek uit het hart die je favoriete landschap in klank vertaalt.
Translated:
A deep, rich and experiencing voice that rings instrumentally. Magnificent music from the heart which communicates your favourite landscape of timbres.
Born in Oslo, Norway, in 1979, Maria Jardardottir is a performing and composing voice musician educated with a Bachelor and Master Degree in Jazz and Contemporary Music currently working free lance with international engagements. Through her education and in her work she has kept a strong focus on improvisation and extended voice techniques, Indian Classical music, world music and electro acoustic performance and composition.
Along with her electro acoustic solo project Melatonin which is the only project featured with music on this site, Maria's other main projects are:
- Curious Voice Duo with voice musician Elisabeth Nygaard: The two voice musicians have a mutual enormous and childlike curiosity for their instrument; the voice. They see the voice as an ever lasting mystery, and through playing with it musically, as in a childs playing, with the means of improvisation, composition or both, they are in company continuously astonished to discover new, secret depths and surfaces of its being and behaviour.
> Curious Voice Duo. Photo by Kathinka Walter
- Royst: A vocal quartet with Kari Nergaard Bleivik, Cecilie Giskemo and Anna Stott. Together they create and perform originally composed and improvised music for and with the voice. Their expression is versatile, human and courageous, and conveys a strong energy and a unified sound. They collect inspiration from jazz, contemporary music and vocal techniques, Norwegian folk music and other world musics.
She also co-runs and/or is member of various collaboration projects and amongst them are;
- Soiled: Consisting of Tore Hovde (guitar/electronics) and Maria Jardardottir (voice/electronics) is in essence the simplistic storytelling and melodic singer/-songwriter idea meeting filthy as well as delicate improvisation and the sound of dirty rock riffs, all original. An experimental duo collaboration where the traditional roles of each instrument are neatly appreciated as well as eagerly stomped on.
Soiled. Photo by Birgitta Haga.
- Endenor; which is a trio collaboration between German reeds and woodwind player Ove Volquartz, English guitarist Chris Sharkey and Norwegian voice musician Maria Jardardottir. The three musicians have hugely different and resourceful musical backgrounds and meet on the grounds of totally free and anarchist improvisation, also at times infused with the utilization of the Norwegian poems of Jardardottir.
Endenor. Review from concert at The Apex, Germany tour May 2006, Gottinger Tageblat.
Maria has also done various commissions working in collaboration with artists from different fields and creative directions:
- The Danish music festival Roskilde Festival of 2006 commissioned a cross art collaboration project, "meet the mind that moves", conceived by Danish choreographer and dancer Matilde Mørk wherein Maria Jardardottir contributed as main performing and composing musician. Maria brought in her electro acoustic voice based solo project Melatonin with which she wrote and performed an original 45 minute music piece for the show.
"meet the mind that moves", Mork-Dans 2006. Photo by Morten Flarup.
- Maria was booked as solist to perform with The Silhouette Ensemble and The Saffron Beagley Jazz Orchestra in a two act show debuting two inspirational and original jazz projects lead and conducted by composer and saxophonist Saffron Beagley: From program notes: The Silhouette Ensemble presents a collaborative performance combining jazz, cross cultural music and voice in an original live sound track by Saffron Beagley, with shadows by Armchair Puppet Theatre animating the enchanting story The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck. The Saffron Beagley Jazz Orchestra: Graceful, sometimes raucous and always adventurous, Saffron's innovative compositions are written for her 17 outstanding Yorkshire musicians. The performance will include pieces by Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler. The debut performance was at The Wardrobe in Leeds, England, 31st of May 2006.
- Maria Jardardottir was in 2005 commissioned to collaborate with artist, poet and publisher Alec Finlay, sound recordist Chris Watson and folk singer Clive Powell in the lyrical multimedia piece "siren"; a field recording of a sung performance accompanied by the swelling flow of high tide at dawn in a Northern English harbour, - subsequently and beautifully composed by Watson into a poetic field of sound.
hey Maria, thanks a lot!! I really appreciate that.....nice to meet you :) would you like some free downloads? I have a few from both vocalists I can give away... just send me a myspace message with the subject "downloads" and I'll take care of ya :)
Thank you so much... My EP, A Moment to Break, is now available on iTunes and Amazon. You can also join my mailing list at www.jamielynnnoon.com-- I couldn't be more grateful for the love and support!
Hello, it's always a pleasure to contact my friends. First, thanks for your friendship and if you have time, there are some new videos on my page. Life is beautiful but today don't forget 9/11. All the best - Pat.
ArtistSon Clair Title From the Bridge Duration 15'00 Date of Release 18th August 2009 Format zip · 35.4 MB
From the Bridge is an audio-montage of sounds recorded from the same location over an 18 hour period. The audio material was recorded on 4 separate mono channels and mixed in surround sound for optimum spatial representation.
Hi you guys! We just wanted to let you know that we..re playing a gig at studentersamfundet, Edgar, the 9th of July, 22.00. New songs + psyched band = good times. See you there!
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