Breadbelly & JjaANnaA - Settings (2023)

for saxophone, gitanjo, objects, electronics, and chaos - 40 minutes
in collaboration with Adam Eriksson

Settings is a collaborative project from the Swedish-Belgian duo Breadbelly + JjaAnNaA.

Breadbelly + JjaAnNaA did their first collaboration in Stockholm in 2019 where they premiered the work Bantarrinettofon during the LjudOLjud Festival. The two musicians decided to continue their collaboration and in 2022-23 the duo did multiple intense workshop sessions in Stockholm, during which they co-created the half-open composition Settings. 

Settings is based on the concept of building a composite instrument as a part of the performance. The composition consists of a broadly fixed framework and leans heavily on the experimental improvisation background of both players. The performance starts with pure instrumental sounds, but quickly moves to other realms. As the piece unfolds, new connections are being made between the two players' instruments. The musicians continuously add new elements to their set-up, such as microphones, other instruments, and each other. Due to this progressive nature of the piece, the music is in a constant state of flux where the borders between different instruments, objects and musical materials are negotiable.
The title derives from the multiple meanings of the word Settings: 1 - a position of the controls on a machine or instrument. Which settings of the composite instrument we activate enable different results. 2 - the surroundings or place in which something is put. These settings make a sonic environment we can play in.