Deserted Village

Murmansk in Brussels

Murmansk

Info

The members of Murmansk met at an improv workshop hosted by Eddie Prevost, percussionist with the legendary AMM in late 2001. Ever since, Murmansk have met semi-regularly to record their improvisations and play in churches, theatres, galleries and even pubs around Ireland.

The members of Murmansk coalesced into the expanding Deserted Village collective and label. The First Deserted Village CD-R was the debut Murmansk album. Their second album "End of Navigation" is available from the Norwegian label Humbug. Their third “Craterscrape” is avialable from Belgiums Imvated label. This year, Murmansk have played the Galway Arts Festival, toured Belgium and Holland and played at the Dublin Fringe Festival in the famous spiegeltent.

The members of Murmansk are multi-instrumentalists continuously refining their approach to making music. Acoustic and electric, analogue and digital, found objects prepared and home made instruments and good old fashioned extended technique are all employed in a Murmansk performance. Particular techniques and sound sources are unimportant in themselves, the goal is always to create a cohesive and moving piece. While free improv often alienates listeners because it sounds emotionless or experimental for it’s own sake. a successful Murmansk performance affects the listener in a visceral way and creates its own atmosphere.

The six members of Murmansk are all involved in a diverse range of other projects and come from different backgrounds; some have studied modern composition, jazz and others are self-taught. This enriches the music and creates tensions in the performances, which can be resolved in unexpected ways or not at all.