Suhina Klubi is a periodic concert series focused on improvised sound art. The club has been organized in Helsinki since 2018, with the aim of creating an intersection between artists searching for new modes of expression and a curious, open-minded audience. Suhina Klubi presents both established Finnish and international artists and also provides performance opportunities for previously unheard-of ensembles.
In the fourth concert of Suhina Klubi’s ongoing spring season, we proudly present: Phil Minton & Kriton Beyer as duo, and a solo performance by Teemu Korpipää. In addition to the 26.3. concert, Phil Minton is hosting a free workshop on Wednesday 25.3. — more info & sign-up instructions below!
The MINTON–BEYER DUO seems like a study of the phenomenon of the voice with two different instruments: the human voice and the daxophone.
Phil Minton (b. 1940, Great Britain), perhaps the best-known vocal artist in free improvisation, is known for his remarkable extended vocal techniques that span the entire spectrum of human expression: from simple breathing, to murmurs, grumbling and whispering, to whistling, burping and rattling, screaming and moaning – from shrill highs to rumbling lows, all part of his vocabulary. And all his vocal abilities are always paired with an extraordinary, unique presence and an absolutely unfiltered expression.
Kriton Beyer in turn, uses his still quite obscure instrument, the daxophone, in an extremely voice-like way, often imitating human and animal sounds and speech patterns that seem to have been built into the nature and character of the instrument. Compared to other instruments, it seems to be very easy to imitate animal sounds and voices, from bird song to grunting, roaring, cawing, croaking, chattering, cooing and chirping of various animal species on the daxophone. All of this has been well researched and practically tested by Kriton Beyer in cross-species communication with his daxophone as an instrument and is also audibly processed in the musical dialogue in the work in this duo.
Acoustically, despite the speed, changeability and abundance of musical information, the sound of this duo is simple, clear, unambiguous and direct and therefore very intimate and never artificial. The two voices complement each other equally, without one ever covering up the other. They move gracefully somewhere between the animal and the human, sometimes comical and grotesque, sometimes subtle and fragile, in an intuitive musical exchange of blows between two multifaceted voices of different natures.
Phil Minton and Kriton Beyer have been working together in a duo constellation since 2022 and will be going on a European tour for the second time in March of 2026.
www.kritonbeyer.com/mintonbeyer
Teemu Korpipää is, among other things, a musician, improviser, mixer, builder, and composer. A collector of strange sounds, a strummer of rubber bands. He hopes to one day figure out what he wants to be when he grows up — and to add a few more hours to the day.
“If that’s not formal enough, I also have something like this — though I don’t like it very much.”
Teemu Korpipää is a recording engineer, sound technician, mixer, builder, audio consultant, composer, musician, and improviser. As an expert in electronic and experimental music, he can be found designing sound for a contemporary dance performance just as easily as building MIDI controllers into a giant cajón. A trademark of Korpipää’s work is his ability to move fluidly in the space between sound design and music.
Event is supported by: Kone Foundation.
Photo credits (Minton-Beyer): © Christina Marx
Suhina Klubi is a periodic concert series focused on improvised sound art. The club has been organized in Helsinki since 2018, with the aim of creating an intersection between artists searching for new modes of expression and a curious, open-minded audience. Suhina Klubi presents both established Finnish and international artists and also provides performance opportunities for previously unheard-of ensembles.
In the fourth concert of Suhina Klubi’s ongoing spring season, we proudly present: Phil Minton & Kriton Beyer as duo, and a solo performance by Teemu Korpipää. In addition to the 26.3. concert, Phil Minton is hosting a free workshop on Wednesday 25.3. — more info & sign-up instructions below!
The MINTON–BEYER DUO seems like a study of the phenomenon of the voice with two different instruments: the human voice and the daxophone.
Phil Minton (b. 1940, Great Britain), perhaps the best-known vocal artist in free improvisation, is known for his remarkable extended vocal techniques that span the entire spectrum of human expression: from simple breathing, to murmurs, grumbling and whispering, to whistling, burping and rattling, screaming and moaning – from shrill highs to rumbling lows, all part of his vocabulary. And all his vocal abilities are always paired with an extraordinary, unique presence and an absolutely unfiltered expression.
Kriton Beyer in turn, uses his still quite obscure instrument, the daxophone, in an extremely voice-like way, often imitating human and animal sounds and speech patterns that seem to have been built into the nature and character of the instrument. Compared to other instruments, it seems to be very easy to imitate animal sounds and voices, from bird song to grunting, roaring, cawing, croaking, chattering, cooing and chirping of various animal species on the daxophone. All of this has been well researched and practically tested by Kriton Beyer in cross-species communication with his daxophone as an instrument and is also audibly processed in the musical dialogue in the work in this duo.
Acoustically, despite the speed, changeability and abundance of musical information, the sound of this duo is simple, clear, unambiguous and direct and therefore very intimate and never artificial. The two voices complement each other equally, without one ever covering up the other. They move gracefully somewhere between the animal and the human, sometimes comical and grotesque, sometimes subtle and fragile, in an intuitive musical exchange of blows between two multifaceted voices of different natures.
Phil Minton and Kriton Beyer have been working together in a duo constellation since 2022 and will be going on a European tour for the second time in March of 2026.
www.kritonbeyer.com/mintonbeyer
Teemu Korpipää is, among other things, a musician, improviser, mixer, builder, and composer. A collector of strange sounds, a strummer of rubber bands. He hopes to one day figure out what he wants to be when he grows up — and to add a few more hours to the day.
“If that’s not formal enough, I also have something like this — though I don’t like it very much.”
Teemu Korpipää is a recording engineer, sound technician, mixer, builder, audio consultant, composer, musician, and improviser. As an expert in electronic and experimental music, he can be found designing sound for a contemporary dance performance just as easily as building MIDI controllers into a giant cajón. A trademark of Korpipää’s work is his ability to move fluidly in the space between sound design and music.
Event is supported by: Kone Foundation.
Photo credits (Minton-Beyer): © Christina Marx
FREE WORKSHOP W/ PHIL MINTON: 25.03.26 at Hietsun Paviljonki (Hiekkarannantie 9, 00100 Helsinki)
In addition to his concert (26.3.26) at Toinen Kerros, legendary singer/voice improviser Phil Minton is hosting a workshop at Hietsun Paviljonki on Wednesday, March 25th at 6 PM. The workshop is free and will last 2–3 hours — everyone interested in improvisation is welcome!
Workshop’s concept, Minton’s own “Feral Choir”, is based on collective vocal improvisation. It originated in the late 1980’s when Minton was asked to do some workshops with ‘non-singers’ — amateurs with no previous musical interest or experience. In Minton’s own words: “My recent experience of working with singers, many of whom think they cannot sing, has strengthened my conviction that the human voice is capable of so much more than is generally understood. In the workshops I have encouraged participants to realise that anyone who can breathe, is capable of producing sounds that give a positive aesthetic contribution to the human condition and many of these contributions are without any cultural influences or references.” More information can be found at: https://www.philminton.co.uk/feral-choir
We kindly ask that you register by email at klubisuhina@gmail.com. The workshop will go ahead once enough pre-registrations have been received, so please confirm your attendance well in advance!
The event is organized by Hietsu is Happening! and Suhina Klubi.
