ZWERM

Zwerm is an electric guitar quartet, with musicians from Belgium and The Netherlands.  The starting point is their common interest for new music: composed, improvised, experimental and performative, high and low culture.  The awareness of the similarities between these different elements and the challenge of presenting them in a meaningful way is very important.  In the twentieth century the elctric guitar has proved to be the instrument of low culture and underground music.  Nevertheless, it has found its way to composed music only very recently.  The gap between low culture/improvised music and contemporary/composed music is still big.  In this context we want ZWERM to be a group that is able to work in both directions.  A group which links things, uses/abuses traditions and navigates between the many styles, conceptions and stages which are representative for the music today.

The means:

• To build up a repertoire which can be played in different scenes, from rocknoise clubs to contemporary music festivals.  This way very diverse programs will be brought to life.  The central issue is the need of living, new music where novelty isn't the main goal but rather the result of working with people, situations and means of our time.
• A constant search for different stages, different presentation forms and different audiences.  Traditional stages and festivals will be approached but other environments are possible: galleries, museums, factories, clubs, squats...
• Collaboration with other musicians, composers and artists. 

ZWERM works in association with Champ d'Action

The Antwerp based ensemble for contemporary music Champ d'Action shares his experience with the young ensemble ZWERM.  Champ d'action helps ZWERM in different ways by giving artistic advice and structural/practical needs. 

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