The Curious Voice Duo /
Wally Shoup & Paul Hession

May 27th 2005 at The Adelphi – concert put on by The Termite Club

‘... Speaking of magical, providing the meat (excuse the analogy) in tonight's Termite Club sandwich are the Curious Voice Duo. They comprise of two (clever, that, isn't it) Norwegians currently studying in Leeds. Quite unassuming and shy - I've no idea whether this is their first performance - Elisabeth Nygaard and Maria Jardardottir introduce themselves. What follows is quite simply the most spine-tingly beautiful and DIFFERENT collection of sounds I have ever witnessed at a Termite gig... Four or five pieces of semi-improvised/semi-composed vocalese. A capella singing. Mutant barbershop harmonising. Stretching words until they loose their original meaning, intonation and cadence; live human sampling and looping, only without the machine interface. A natural take on Alvin Lucier's 'I Am Sitting In A Room' only speeded up. Elisabeth and Maria, repeating lines and then breaking out. Think Phil Minton, Yoko Ono, Patty Waters, Diamanda Galas, hell - think Bobby Mc-fucking-Ferrin as sung by Bjork. This is all clichéd, but what I heard WAS NOT A CLICHÉ. Orgasmic hiccups, groans, whispers, tongue-clicks/pops: the shrieks of climax (sorry, another cliché). Absolutely sublime!’

- Jamie Stephenson, http://www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk/

(Curious Voice Duo informs: The duo only performs original work. Hence, the reviewer's mentioning of an Alvin Lucier's piece must be a misunderstanding or a misinterpretation of our original work. We have in fact never heard of the guy).

Review on:

The Conquistador / Curious Voice Duo / Jeffrey Morgan and Paul Hession

October 25th 2006 at The Wardrobe – concert put on by LIMA - Leeds Improvised Music Association.

’... If nothing else, you should check out the Curious Voice Duo, in which the quite extraordinary vocal talents of Maria Jardardottir and Elisabeth Nygard can be heard at their most stunning.’

- Johnny Ersatz-Culture, http://www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk/

Excerpt from feature on LIMA - Leeds Improvised Music Association in Sandman Magazine:
Published October 2005.

The British percussionist and drummer Paul Hession, internationally well acknowledged for his contributions and impact on avant-garde and freely improvised music, invited Curious Voice Duo to be one of the three ensembles featured at the concert celebrating Hession’s 50th birthday arranged by LIMA (Leeds Improvised Music Association) at the jazz club The Wardrobe, Leeds, UK.

”I imagine you’d normally run a mile from any gig designed to celebrate the 50th birthday of an unassuming geezer who looks like somebody’s boring uncle. Ordinarily, I’d probably agree with you, but seeing as its Leeds born and bred improvising percussion maestro Paul Hession’s 50th birthday, then the only reason I can think that you’d run a mile from such a gig would be that you’re a dull, unimaginative indie kid.

A product of the LIMA collective that Hession currently plays a major role in, the Curious Voice Duo represent one aspect of where he’s currently at. And Elisabeth Nygaard and Maria Jardardottir really are like nothing you’ve ever heard before. They sing pieces rooted in their native Norwegian language and folk culture that weave composition and improvisation seamlessly together. Leavened with wordless yelps, grunts, ecstatic shrieks, the occasional English lyric and scat-like octave leaping, the intricate arrangements often eerily suggest a third disembodied voice is making a contribution. Powerful and playful and searching in ways only women can be. A hugely enjoyable night."

nothing else, you should check out the Curious Voice Duo, in which the quite extraordinary vocal talents of Maria Jardardottir and Elisabeth Nygard can be heard at their most stunning.’


- Johnny Ersatz-Culture, http://www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk/