Briefly

Victor Gelling (*1998 in Berlin) is an improviser and composer who uses stringed instruments including but not limited to upright bass, tenor banjo, Pedalsteel- and Nonpedalsteel-Guitars in addition to pedals, synthesizers and barely working self-coded computer programs to create sounds. Their work spans genres from jazz to noise to electric cowboy songs to complex music, which culminates in their large ensemble works with „Trash & Post-Chaotic Music“, their indie-rock alias „Slowklahoma“, solo works, the experimental endeavour "NOW MY LIFE IS SWEET LIKE CINNAMON" or their playing in the Jorik Bergman Trio.

Victors own work currently focuses on the tonal and indexical framework developed by the U.S.-American composer Harry Partch, in which they combine Partchs microtonal fabric with a contemporary approach to improvised music in various ensemble sizes and instrumentations. For this purpose Victor built modified electric versions of some of Partchs instruments.

Concert tours have taken them to Cuba, Poland, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, the USA, the Netherlands and Saarland. Festival appearances include the Acht-Brücken-Festival Cologne, the Warsaw Autumn Festival, the Centre Court Festival Cologne, Cologne Jazzweek and the Festival de La Habana de Música Contemporánea (Cuba). Texts written by Victor have been published in the German magazine Jazzpodium. They are part of the board of the Cologne Jazz Conference e.V. and a member of the cologne based collective impakt.

Works/Projects

Upcoming Shows

13. Sep - Portrait-Concert Nicolas Kuhn (Winner of The Zimmermann Grant of the city of Cologne 2024) - St. Peter Cologne
28. Sep - Jorik Bergman Trio - Jaki Cologne
4. Oct - Jorik Bergman Trio - Jazzclub Hameln
5. Oct - Jorik Bergman Trio - PENG Festival Essen
28. Oct - Victor Gelling presents their Electroacoustic Medium-to-large-sized Microtonal Extravaganza - LOFT Cologne

Contact

For any inquiries and/or criticism feel free to send an e-mail to: info [at] victorgelling.de