Karl Naegelen
composer, performer

Karl Naegelen studied composition at the Conservatoire de région de Lyon and then at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon. He studied with Robert Pascal, Denis Lorrain and François Roux, and completed his training at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg with Peter Hamel. He also took part in numerous masterclasses, notably in Berlin with Georges Aperghis. Fascinated by improvisation and non-European music, he spent several periods in Surakarta on the island of Java in Indonesia, and seeks to preserve, in his writing, the flexibility and spontaneity characteristic of music with an oral tradition, through a constant search for sound qualities and timbres. He writes for the Orchestre national de Lyon, the Orchestre national de Lille, the Ensemble Résonance Contemporaine, the Quatuor Béla, the Quatuor Pli, the Ensemble Linea, the Duo Bergamasque, the Ricciotti Ensemble... His works are performed in France (festivals Musica, Musique-action...) as well as abroad (Germany, USA, Japan...).

Sylvain Darrifourcq
percussionist

Sylvain Darrifourcq was trained in classical percussion before moving on to rock bands, but he discovered jazz late in life. 2004 marked the debut of the Emile Parisien quartet, which won an award at the Victoires du Jazz. An energetic drummer with a syncretic, gestural style, he collaborates with improvisers and composers on the frontiers of music: Q with Julien Desprez and Fanny Lasfargues, MILESDAVISQUINTET! with Valentin Ceccaldi and Xavier Camarasa, Le Pantin and Dans L'entre by Guillaume Hermen. His precise, swift and inventive playing lends itself to all kinds of experimentation. He has performed with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France (conducted by Pierre-André Valade), Joëlle Léandre, Michel Portal, Louis Sclavis, Marc Ducret, Tony Malaby, Akosh Szelevényi, Andrea Parkins, Benoit Delbecq... Fascinated by questions of temporality, space and rupture in music, he now creates a highly personal language built around the notions of "poly-speed" and "physicality". His research has led him to collaborate with choreographers/dancers, video artists and visual artists (Zimoun, SMITH, Liz Santoro...), and to shift his activity towards the fields of performance and sound installation.

Toma Gouband
drummer
Toma Gouband began playing jazz drums at the age of 5 with several teachers, including Jean-Marc Lajudie and Christian Salut in Toulouse. Over time, the instrument is transformed by encounters, discoveries and inventions, leading him to develop a play with sounding stones and numbers, but also materials and a set of hundreds of bells (in black clay) made as his work unfolds. He plays with the ensembles Trance Map by Evan Parker and Matt Wright, Fenêtre Ovale by composer Karl Naegelen, Eve Risser, Joris Ruhl and Amaryllis Billet. He leads two projects, Trio O with Benoit Delbecq and Nelson Veras and Par 4 Chemins with Harmen Fraanje, Brice Soniano and Magic Malik. Toma Gouband also experiments with dance - Iwanna Massaki, Kana Nakamura - and sound installations. With Athénor, he shares a number of projects that question modes of listening, play and encounter. These experiences have given rise to the InSitu ensemble, created with Fabrice Arnaud-Crémon, Christophe Havard and Aurélie Maisonneuve, and which collaborates with composer Karl Naegelen.