About

Dans les arbres is an improvising ensemble comprising French clarinettist Xavier Charles and the three Norwegians pianist Christian Wallumrød, guitarist Ivar Grydeland, and percussionist Ingar Zach.

“This unique improvising quartet (…) continues to fine-tune its artistic concept with a rare sense of accord, and shared responsibilities.” (ECM Records)

The group’s idiosyncratic inhabitants form unusual combinations of airy, wooden, metallic sounds, prepared strings and tampered drum heads. Their world of sounds and the fine sense of communication, lead to collective playing and spontaneous group- composing named to be in a “class of its own”. Their music moves gently but steadily ahead on broad planes of sound. The dynamic textural sceneries evolve as Dans les arbres harnesses its wealth of unorthodox extended techniques.

Since the recording of their first album in 2006, Dans les arbres has performed more than 150 concerts around the globe. The two releases on ECM Records and one on Hubro – the self-titled debut “Dans Les Arbres” (2008), “Canopée” (2012) and “Phosphorescence” (2017) have received praise from reviewers and audiences alike. In October 2019 the group’s fourth album “Volatil” was released on the label SOFA, and in November 2019 they launched “Mausoleum” – their first download-only-album on Bandcamp. Dans les arbres was nominated for the prestigious Nordic Music Prize 2015.

Dans les arbres have performed with guest musicians such as Yumiko Tanaka, Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O ́Rourke, Alexander Ruck Santos, Australian Speak Percussion, the Norwegian duo Vilde & Inga and The Norwegian Wind Ensemble. Together with singers and Oslo Sinfonietta they performed the piece “About Nature” by Henrik Hellstenius at the Oslo Opera House in 2015.

“There’s no end to the delights of this quite magical disc. The finest composition, like improvisation, ultimately relies on intuition, and these players seem to have an innate grasp of the right combination of sounds and textures. Dans les arbres must be one of the finest ECM Improv releases – indeed, releases from any label – in recent years.” (The Wire)