Reaching for the utmost limits – Making a process visible with The Hands, the Bow, and the Bass by Johannes Nästesjö

Can I, by reaching for the utmost limits on my instrument, in dynamically, technically and pitch related ways both find, for me, new contemporary techniques and expand the ways on how to play and perform them on the double bass? Can I, by illuminating, documenting, studying, organizing and re-documenting my musical process, design a toolkit for improvising bassists with contemporary techniques? Can I, in my musical process both act as the first person, i.e. the subjective musician and as the third person, i.e. the objective observer?  If so, can I, as the observer objectively observe and organize the ”discoveries” that I am doing in my daily work as first person. Can I create this tool kit through the limitations that my instrument offers acoustically (the hand, the bow and the bass). And can I through this immerse and widen my musical expressions? - A richer language - more elastic - with more colors.

The composition Appellen for the music theater Halina was composed based on several different contemporary techniques that I first recorded, and then put together as a musical collage where I copied small trosses of each technique and put them together as a musical composition.

This first recording with only bass sounds laid the foundations to the track to come.

I then gave the recording to my co-musicians Johan on the accordion and Filip on the violin with the task that I wanted them to translate their part to their instrument.

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Johannes Nästesjö - Reaching for the utmost limits – Making a process visible with The Hands, the Bow, and the Bass - 2022