Thelin, Håkon

Double bass player and composer. He performs with the ensembles Oslo Sinfonietta and POING, and was active with Ensemble Modern and Musikfabrik. At present, his main interest lies in combining contemporary and folk music, and in the sonic exploration of harmonics and multiphonics on the double bass. This is reflected in his own compositions as well as in his collaborations with Norwegian folk singer Unni Løvlid.

His CD releases includes the 2004 solo record a preference to other things, featuring works by Iannis Xenakis, Bent Sørensen and Jacob Druckman. His second solo album Light featuring his own compositions was released in 2011, and was awarded the Spellemannsprisen ("Norwegian Grammy") for best contemporary album of the year in 2012. In 2015 he released another solo project called Folk, with works inspired by folk music.

In 2007-11, he worked as artistic research fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music on the project A New World of Sounds - Advancements in Contemporary Double Bass Techniques. He specifically focused on the music and techniques of Stefano Scodanibbio, exploring sounds and creating new techniques to be used in his own music. Together with Prof. Knut Guettler, he has also presented groundbreaking research on multiphonics on the double bass.

As a composer he has written mainly for the double bass, with a growing number of pieces from solo to octet. In the spring of 2017 he premiered his bass concerto The Ark, written for the Oslo Sinfonietta. In his most recent music, he is exploring microtonal tunings on the double bass along with styles and traditions of Norwegian folk music.

Håkon Thelin is an Associate Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, where he currently teaches subjects related to composition and improvisation, as well as giving lessons in contemporary double bass.

Selected works: Aleatüde for solo oboe (1998), Heartbreak Motel/a dog named garage for double bass and percussion (2004), Amarcord for double bass (2003), oibbinadocS for double bass (2004; version for violin and double bass, 2008), Minuet in C for string trio and percussion (2004), Sonata in B: Allegro - Andante for double bass and percussion (2004), Lost in Translation for saxophone (2005), Shared Moments for double bass and tape (2008), Light for double bass and violin (2009), Glasperlenspiel for tenor and double bass (2010), Kárma for four female voices and double bass (2010), Føn for double bass (2012), El bajo cantaor for double bass (2012), Melodía de los sueños for double bass and French horn (2012), Tablón-Táctil-Pulsar-Sonar for double bass (2012), Melodía (solo en el sueño) for double bass (2012), Solen for string quartet (2013), h­moll for folk singer, double bass and glass harmonica (2014), h­moll/D­dur for double bass (2014), Maltstein­suiten for double bass and cello (2014), Kristiania for double bass (2014), Traditional Norwegian Folk Tunes Arranged for Double Bass (2015-), Draumkvedet - vil du meg lye for folk singer, double bass, electroacoustic sound and video projection (2015), North of the Mountains for eight double basses (2016, also version for two double basses (2016), Bukkehornspolsen (Microtonal Tuning Pieces) for double bass (2016), Hør en kråke (Microtonal Tuning Pieces) for double bass (2016), Blått (Microtonal Tuning Pieces) for double bass, 2016), Leken hass Håkon (Microtonal Tuning Pieces) for double bass (2016), The Ark for double bass and ensemble (2017), Høstlått (Microtonal Tuning Pieces) for four double basses (2017).