Intonal Festival 2021: Sebastian Mullaert & Subchamber Ensmble present Natthall

An orchestral and electronic collaboration recorded in the grand Malmö Live concert hall.

We conclude our coverage of Intonal 2021’s highlights with arguably the festival’s most ambitious commission, a collaboration between Swedish producer Sebastian Mullaert and freeform Malmö collective Subchamber Ensmble. Titled Natthall, the collaboration is an attempt to connect the worlds of electronic and classical music with a fresh perspective..

Although Mullaert is best known for his electronic work across the years as one half of Minilogue, part of Circle of Live and under his own name, he started his musical career as a classical violinist and pianist. Natthall, which was filmed at the Malmö Live concert hall, sees Mullaert’s career come back to his origins, as he is joined by Nathan Larson on guitar, Gerda Holmquist on cello, Elina Nygren on viola and Lydia Holmlund on clarinet and aerophone.

Natthall is inspired by patterns, and the idea of subtle repetition. “Nature is an expression of patterns; trees, water, the weather,” Mullaert explains. “This mix of everything, bubbling away, feels very vital. Improvised music has the same power. It has all these different phases, and beautiful moments just spring out. For me, that’s a beautiful presentation of our life, and has the power to actually invite someone to relax into listening or dancing. Or just being in the moment.”

Intonal has been one of Sweden’s most exciting music festivals since its first edition was held in 2015. Run by the team behind the city’s Inkonst venue, the festival typically combines club nights with one-off experimental performances in stunning locations across the city.

Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the festival was able to return in physical form after a fallow year in 2020, with limited audiences allowed to attend a series of socially-distanced performances under local restrictions. “The point of a festival is to share experiences and emotions with friends and strangers alike; to form new bonds and memories with people that you never met before; to collectively partake in the making of something sublime,” the festival’s team writes. “This cannot be re-created digitally. Not in any form.”

Credits:

Recorded at Malmö Live for Intonal Festival 2021
Written and composed by Sebastian Mullaert
Video directed by Silas Bieri
Electronics, Piano – Sebastian Mullaert
Guitar – Nathan Larson
Cello – Gerda Holmquist
Viola, Musical Saw – Elina Nygren 
Clarinet, Aerophone – Lydia Holmlund

Director: Silas Bieri
Camera Operator: Ludvig Uppman, Alexis Rodríguez Cancino
Camera Assistant: Isabel Jahn
Sound Recordist: Mikael Körner
Sound Recording Assistant: Cora Onori
Lighting Operator: Maria Sjöström
Lighting Asistant: Rasmus Wessman
Venue Management and Production: Sanna Wettergren
Venue pre production: Per Frisell
Sound Postproduction: Silas Bieri, Sebastian Mullaert
Editing: Silas Bieri
Editing consultant: Emma Ribbing
Color Correction: Alexis Rodríguez Cancino

Malmö Live, Producer:  Anna Storåkers
Inkonst/Intonal Artistic director: Ulf Eriksson 
Intonal Producer: Mika Hallbäck & Lisa Blanning

Natthall Management: Niko Seizov [email protected]
Natthall Management Assistant: Valentina Palange
Natthall Bookings: Ralf Diemert [email protected]

Recorded at Malmö Live Konserthus, May 14th 2021

Audio and image production in-discourse AB creative productions 2021
Aired to Intonal Festival June 17th 2021
All music published by Manners McDade

Funded by: 
Region Skåne and Kulturrådet

Thanks to Inter Arts Center