Cantadoras I: Sofia Jernberg

The celebrated Ethiopian-Swedish soprano, performer and composer moves between contemporary composition, noise, free jazz and experimental vocal art. Her voice ranges five octaves, from guttural growls to crystalline overtones, from microtonal glissandi to percussive sonic explosions. An instrument of resistance and exploration – wild, precise, unpredictable.

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What can a voice be? Ritual, resistance, myth and knowledge keeper? Visionary, memory and healing? The new series Cantadoras brings together outstanding women artists who radically pose this question, each in their own way, tradition and practice. Various vocal techniques meet improvisation and performance, spiritual practice meets political resistance, centuries-old traditions meet progressive sonic art. In the first season, the new concert series by Unlimited combines overtone singing from Tuva, Persian vocal traditions from Iran, music from Karnataka, Ukrainian polyphonic singing and Ethiopian-Swedish vocal art.