SAMO KUTIN & VID DRAŠLER (SLO)

Duo of unconventional, exploratory and improvisational minds of the Slovenian scene

Samo Kutin is an extremely active multi-instrumentalist, known for his use of unconventional and self-made musical instruments and sound-making objects. One of the traditional instruments in his repertoire is also the Hungarian medieval string instrument hurdy gurdy, which he can be often seen playing at the events of experimental and improvised music. In the field of ​​free improvisation he is intensively devoted to finding, discovering and manipulating the various potentialities of the hurdy gurdy. The extreme acoustic dimensions, from gentle noise to noisy drones, from soft blows to unbearable whimpers, he reaches through the preparation and amplification of the musical instrument, using both contact microphones and acoustic resonators.
He performs as a soloist and in a variety of bands, amongst others Širom, Bakalina Velika, Kačis, in improvised combinations (among others, duo with Jean-Luc Guionnet, Lee Paterson, Boris Baltschun, Daichi Yoshikawo etc.) and etno ensembles at international festivals and various stages. He also creates music for fairy tales, animations, theater, puppet and dance performances and regularly runs workshops for children.

Vid Drašler is from Bistrica ob Sotli, where he played in a jazz-rock band Zmajev rep and in the Malik. With the Balžalorsky / Drašler trio he made a breakthrough in Slovenian jazz. With no less subtlety he plays in a chanson-oriented Orkestrada. One of his next peaks is the Drašler – Karlovčec – Drašler trio whose noisy improvisation is in no way less clear than his earlier more structured work.
Vid has collaborated in several theatre productions as well as with the Kombo Kombo – a jazz orchestra lead by Zlatko Kavčič, with whom he also studied for four years. He has been active as a pedagogue and co-author of music and art events in the town of Vrhnika, where he is also the curator of a weekly workshop focused primarily on non-idiomatic improvisation.He has collaborated with the following musicians: Zlatko Kaučič, Vitja Balžalorsky, Jošt Drašler, Marko Karlovčec, Andrej Boštjančič, Andrej Fon, Tomaž Grom, Cene Resnik, Kaja Draksler, Mario Rechtern, Linda Sharrock, Petr Zelenka, Samo Kutin, Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec …