Isabelle Lewis
Isabelle Lewis represents a bold fusion of artistic vision and musical innovation. Created by composer and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, countertenor and director Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe, and violinist Elisabeth Klinck. Their debut album, set for release in October 2024 under the prestigious Icelandic Bedroom Community label, marks a significant entry into the realm of genre-defying music.
The fictional persona of Isabelle Lewis serves as a vessel for their shared artistic vision, a shapeshifter with three distinct sonic dimensions embodying a blend of nostalgic charm and modern innovation. Each track unfolds as a dynamic soundscape, revealing new layers and textures that invite deep listener engagement. Draped in melancholic atmospheres, their music seamlessly integrates pop sensibilities with classical depth. continually revealing new auditory perspectives.
Isabelle Lewis crafts enigmatic narratives delivered through the transcendent operatic timbre of Meirhaeghe, interwoven with the refined electronic textures crafted by Sigurðsson, and enriched by the intricate musicality of Klinck. Together, they construct an experience that is as intellectually stimulating as it is viscerally compelling. Their magnetic live performances make Isabelle Lewis a must-see act, captivating audiences with their unique and transformative sound.
A one-of-a-kind combination of electronic and contemporary classical music
Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe (b. 1995) is a contra tenor, performer and director of operatic and visual productions. He interweaves elements from opera with pop , electronics, ballet and performance, and sees theatre as an echo chamber in which old and new forms exist interchangeably. “I’m conducting a conversation between the past and the present, rather than coming here to burn the place down.” Benjamin is not interested in presenting a clash of styles, but in ‘connecting’: his work builds bridges between genres, art movements, artists and audiences. Benjamin’s work surprises with radical scenographies and highly diverse casts. He entices dancers to sing and singers to dance – thus questioning notions like musical perfection and virtuosity in one fell swoop. All of this results in deeply sensitive, overwhelming shows with the power of rituals that resonate with today’s world.
Composer and producer Valgeir Sigurdsson is renowned for his multifaceted contributions to the world of music, often blurring the lines between contemporary classical writing and electronic production. An explorer of sound, he composes for film, visual media and stage works and is a performing musician who calls the studio second home. Valgeir is the artistic director of Bedroom Community, the record label & collective he founded with friends and fellow composers Nico Muhly and Ben Frost in 2005. At Greenhouse Recording Studios in Reykjavík, Iceland which he founded in 1997 he has been a prolific collaborator— producer, engineer and/or arranger—with artists from most disciplines and all corners of the world contributing to countless recordings.
His work has been presented at festivals and venues in Europe, North America and Canada such as Liquid Music, Sónar, Semibreve, Moogfest, Barbican Centre, The South Bank Centre, Philharmonie de Paris, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Elbphilharmonie, and his music has been performed by ensembles and orchestras worldwide.
Valgeir’s 4th LP DISSONANCE won ‘Album of The Year’ in the Classical & Contemporary category at Iceland Music Awards in 2018, and The New York Times named Dissonance Live among the top shows of the 2017 Sónar Barcelona Festival. DUST, a composition for multi-tracked violin and electronics written for Valgeir’s close collaborator British violinist Daniel Pioro, received a special jury prize at the International Rostrum of Composers in 2019. Valgeir’s scores for the environmental documentary Dreamland and Reykjavík City Theatre’s production of Medea and the National Theatre’s production Mutter Courage (co–written with Helgi Jónsson) were nominated for Best Score at the Edda Icelandic Film Awards / Gríman Performing Arts Awards respectively and in 2021 he won the Gríman award for National Theatre’s production of Vertu Úlfur. His chamber-opera Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists won the Music Theatre NOW award in 2015, Brokentalkers' Woman Undone earned a nomination at The Irish Theatre Awards and We Are in Time, an opera dealing with the subject of heart-transplant, was commissioned by The Scottish Ensemble’s to commemorate their 50th anniversary year 2020. In 2022 Valgeir collaborated with visual artist Sigurður Guðjónsson, co-creating the score for the artist’s PERPETUAL MOTION, a multi-sensory sculpture for the Icelandic Pavilion’s exhibition at the 59 International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Valgeir served as Associate Artist at the Arctic Arts Festival in Norway from 2019–2023, and most recently scored Danish director Ulaa Salim’s feature film Eternal.
Elisabeth Klinck is a violinist, composer and performer based in Brussels.
With a background in classical music, electroacoustic composition, improvisation and theater she navigates through fragile musical landscapes using tactile sound textures and atmospheric tones. Klinck released her debut album, Picture a Frame, on the Swiss label Hallow Ground. " An intimate record in which Klinck’s expressive playing that incorporates unconventional techniques forms the basis of something much bigger: an invitation to inhabit a specific space at a specific time."
As a composer and performer she often collaborates with different artists and organisations. This sense of community is as important in her music as it is in her day-to-day life. Previous collaborations include: Miet Warlop (One Song), Ben Bertrand, Lieselot Siddiki, Jarne Van Loon, OffOff Film, Kopergieterij and Nils Vermeulen and many more.