Passepartout Duo (Italy/US)

Bio

Nicolette and Christopher are drawing from a carefully selected palette of electro-acoustic textures and shapeshifting rhythms, Passepartout Duo’s work investigates the way in which we listen to and connect with sound. Reassessing the tools they use to create their music, the group is continually developing a specialized and evolving ecosystem of handmade musical instruments that have ranged from analog electronic circuits and conventional percussion, to room-size textile installations and found objects. Looking for ways of sustaining an independent musical career and shaping an international network of artists and musicians, the group has been on a nearly continuous world tour ever since they began collaborating in 2015, and their experiences traveling have heavily influenced their unconventional creative process. A recent visit to Japan resulted in a unique collaboration with the duo Inoyama Land, which was subsequently released as Radio Yugawara (2024) by the label imprints of Tonal Union and Inpartmaint.

Project

Passepartout Duo built a small collection of simple musical instruments meant to act as a publicly accessible library for everyone. The research in materials easily accessible on site and local traditions of ‘almost forgotten’ instruments brought the duo to play with bullroarers, aeolian harps, and simple percussion. The hope was to establish a conversation about ways of cultivating sound imagination, and codifying what makes an object a ‘musical instrument’. Design details and performance with the instruments was also the focus of a participatory workshop in the cinema and a final performance where the acoustic features of the Kreenholm Factory played an additional role. The duo also filmed two pieces in the NART gallery spaces, where the research continues in the direction of mechanical complex rhythms and shared instrumentation.