"...the pairing of Jamie Drouin and Lance Austin Olsen bears the sort of fruit that makes the duo form so compelling - no place to hide or obfuscate, the great potential for a unilaterally-generated disaster, but equally the potential for what buddhists call the one taste - that is the state in which the boundaries between dissolve, and, as in Drouin and Olsen's music, what is revealed is one mind. Or as Steindl-Rast has it, the form is scrapped, and we return to silence." - Jesse Goin | Crow with no Mouth

"One of those all too rare experiences when an entirely lovely recording drops in from out of the blue, or Canada in this case" - Brian Olewnick | Just Outside

"...there is something somehow quite mature and refined about this duo’s music. Its as if while their palette is familiar how they apply the colours has a subtle, yet confident voice" - Richard Pinnell | The Watchful Ear


Jamie Drouin's compositions have been widely disseminated through live performances at galleries, festivals, and alternative venues over the past decade. In 2010, Drouin began to focus exclusively on improvisational methods for his performances, working both as a solo artist, and in collaborative environments. His new direction also included a revision of his chosen toolset, moving away from the laptop and replacing it with a small suitcase modular as the sole sound source.

Drouin continues to investigate notions of electrical noise, and the phenomenon of listening, while exploring the positioning of these concepts within new music frameworks.



DROUIN/OLSEN

At the forefront of these investigations is the project DROUIN/OLSEN, a collaboration with Lance Austin Olsen. Through improvised performances the two artists are exploring the live stage as a laboratory and continuous work in progress.

Employing a minimalist toolset and, intentionally, no computers, DROUIN/OLSEN explore their mutual interest in sound as an extension of physical experience, both for the audience and the artists. Each performance remains distinct and unplanned, focusing on the real-time conversation between the two artists and the freshness of discovery with their respective tools: Drouin's compact modular system and Olsen's amplified copper plates with toy acoustic guitar.

Listen to excerpts from performances

ONE | TWO | THREE

More information of this project on the DROUIN/OLSEN website.



MORE RECENT LIVE VIDEOS