Hesperidium by April Twelves

Alice and Ole create original music for prepared sarods, violins, viola, slide guitar and electronics. Born out of a series of improvisations, this project explores the colours, textures and resonances from encounters with Indian classical instruments. Both the Hindustani slide guitar and Karnatic violin have an intercultural story after traveling to India from Hawaii and Europe, respectively.

‘Hesperidium’ is a personal response of 8 pieces, or segments, which explore the parallel musical concepts that Indian classical music has in a contemporary context in relation to string playing. In particular, the rich sonorities that are made possible through the sympathetic strings of the sarods and slide guitar, as well as using experimental techniques and sampling the instruments with live electronics.

This album experiments with the sense of time, for both performers and audience – expanding time on many levels, from the macro scale of timelessness to the micro details of moving between notes in a considered way. April Twelves make slow music for an immersive and inquisitive listening experience.

Alice and Ole met while studying in London at the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Their collaborative work began in 2013 with performances at the Forge, London, and Østre, Bergen. They revisited the project in 2018 with the aim to develop it further and record an album. They’re very excited that the album represents where this experimental process has led to and are looking forward to sharing more versions of this project live. The duo name is the date of both Alice and Ole’s birthdays!
Alice Barron (plays with Nigel Kennedy; iyatraQuartet; London Sinfonietta; Sam Lee; and at Shakespeare’s Globe) - violin, viola, loop pedal, prepared violin, bowed sarods. www.alicebarron.co.uk
Ole André Farstad (plays with Meelodi, Abbath, Tres Musicos, Odisea 4tet, Masheena, String pa string) - prepared sarods, Hindustani slide guitar, electronics. www.oleplingpong.com

Alice and Ole met while studying in London at the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Their collaborative work began in 2013 with performances at the Forge, London, and Østre, Bergen. They revisited the project in 2018 with the aim to develop it further and record an album. They’re very excited that the album represents where this experimental process has led to.