Perth International Jazz Festival: Helen Svoboda (solo)

A “whimsical and free” solo performance for double bass and voice.

Helen Svoboda is a double bassist, vocalist and composer. In the words of the ABC Music Show’s Andrew Ford, she is “a musician who absolutely defies categorisation”. Her work explores the melodic potential of the contemporary double bass, intricately weaving extended techniques and overtones with vocal tessitura to explore themes of sonic unity amidst abstract songwriting. Her performance practice emits a childlike, quirky energy, with a flair for “allowing difficult ideas to sound whimsical and free”, according to vocalist Kristin Berardi.

For this performance, she presents a series of new solo works for double bass and voice, composed during her time in Finland as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme earlier this year. Inspired by the arctic biosphere on Suomenlinna, the materials feature extended overtone techniques and short songs akin to a stream of sonic consciousness.