Ferran Fages : Acoustic guitar

Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga : Zither

ap’strophe is the duo of Ferran Fages and Dimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga. They began working together in 2006, when Ferran Fages recorded his last guitar album “Cançons per a un lent retard”, where Dimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga collaborated in the track Paraula clau, which they composed and interpreted together. After recording the album they realized the impossibility of re-interpreting this piece, which is based on the detuning(s) of the guitar, but they decided to continue working together. They decided to treat the piece Paraula clau as finished and started to search for a common sonoric space. The result of this survey gave shape to their present collaboration, which consists of a duo of acoustic guitar and zither. With their music they investigate the perception of the distinctive timbre of the guitar and the zither alongside the differences and similarities of their string instruments.

Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga Born in Thessaloniki (Greece) in 1981. Left Thessaloniki in 2004. Currently lives in Barcelona, Spain. Has studied semantics and is writing about the notion of (in)definiteness. Was not seriously interested in music, its nature and practice, until 2003. Gradually begun getting involved in experimental non-academic music. Influenced and attracted by free and electro-acoustic improvisation, its multiple historical situations and its concurrences with modern composition strategies and jazz. Then got aware of the various current improv communities. A lot of old habits – not musical- had to be silenced, new possibilities emerged. Plays the zither, seen as another piano or harp, extending its sonic possibilities by attaching objects and amplification dispositifs. Has recorded the piece Paraula clau in Ferran Fages’ guitar cd Cançons per a un lent retard. Has played with Ferran Fages, Ruth Barberán, Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Ivan Palacký, Birgit Ulher and Felipe Araya Muñoz. Recently collaborated with Constanza Brncic in the dance piece Entra_ser mirada. Since 2007 formed the duo ap’strophe with Ferran Fages.

Ferran Fages plays guitar, turntables and electronics.He lives and works in Barcelona (Spain).
He was member of the collective IBA from 1999 to 2006. He plays regulary in different improvisation projects like:
CREMASTER (with Alfredo Costa Monteiro), "Fages-Barberán-Costa Monteiro trio", "Fages-Gross-Guthrie trio","Fages-Gross-Möslang trio", FAGUS (with Pascal Battus), Rega-Fages duo.
He did different collaborations with the choreographers and dancers: Olga Mesa, Carme Torrent and Constanza Brncic.
He's played with Mattin, Margarida García, Ivan Palacky, Manuel Mota, Xavier Charles, Francisco López, Thomas Chamertant, Andrea Neumann, Taku Unami, Masahiko Okura, Masafumi Ezaki, Bukhard Beins, Ingar Zach, Guiseppe Ielasi, Mark Wastell.... among others.Also he works in his own compositons for guitar. As a guitarist he normally plays solo, but he has played with Derek Bailey, Pablo Rega, Phil Niblock and Rhys Chatham.
He has played in different festivals and venues such as: Nits de la Fundació Miró, Sonar, OFFF and LEM (Barcelona), Sonicscope (Lisbon), Ertz (Bera),Cruce, Auditorio Nacional Reina Sofia and La Casa Encendida (Madrid), Arteleku (Donosti), Sound 323 and LMC festival (London), Instants Chavirés and Les Voutes (Paris), Off-site (Tokyo), A4 (Bratislava), Cave 12 (Geneva), Music Lover’s Field Companion 2007 (Newcastle). (more info)

Official website: http://www.apstrophe.net