At Borealis 2026, Borealis welcomes the audience to an immersive listening experience at Østre, Bergen’s central hub for electronic and experimental sound art. The collaborations flow between stillness and intensity, subtlety and richness, drawing audiences into a space where contrast becomes a creative force.

Roföldur, a composition for contrabass clarinet, soprano recorder and tape, was created by Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir and John McCowen during their two-week residency at the INA grm studios. John’s practice involves an extensive exploration of the contrabass clarinet’s sound spectrum, discovering multiphonics that he internalises in order to shape, manipulate and inhabit them. Together with Bergrún, these sounds were composed into form and then extended through the extraction of artefacts and resonances, coaxed into new textures that break free from the instrument’s physical constraints — evoking organisms evolving and expanding into unclaimed space.

Serene Din is a live electroacoustic performance born from the first collaboration between trumpeter and composer Hilde Marie Holsen and composer Mariam Gviniashvili. The work unfolds as an exploration of contrast and convergence, where the organic warmth of live trumpet meets densely layered noise. The title Serene Din alludes to this paradox — something loud and complex, yet carrying an underlying sense of calm and clarity.

Together, these two distinctive works explore sound, texture, and the interplay between organic and electronic material. They create expansive, otherworldly soundscapes, drawing the listener into detailed sonic worlds where subtlety and intensity coexist.

Stay for the rest of the night, as the listening room gradually transforms into a dancefloor.