Nadar Ensemble, cond. Daan Janssens, Stefan Prins (live-electronics). 

Live at Orangerie, 21.7.2010

Collaborative project with Yaron Deutsch, who restructured/recomposed the solo part from under_current, the electric guitar concert I composed for him. Yaron's version is called "sub_current". 

"inhabit" the second release by Stefan Prins on Sub Rosa, brings together four recent, large-scale compositions in which traditional instruments-from bass woodwind trio to electric guitar and symphonic orchestra-merge seamlessly with electronics, feedback, and field recordings.

This release once again serves as a testament to how Prins, whose work is performed worldwide by some of the most celebrated musicians, ensembles, and orchestras, continues to stay attuned to the pulse of contemporary music. His compositions offer a refreshing, gripping, and consistently surprising exploration of the increasingly porous boundaries between the acoustic and electronic realms.

The first disc of this double album, co-produced by Deutschlandfunk Kultur, opens with 'Inhibition Space #1,' a piece for amplified bass woodwind trio and feedback, delivered in a masterful performance by the Berlin-based Ensemble Mosaik. This exploration of instrumentally controlled feedback is juxtaposed with an acoustic chamber orchestra in the multidimensional 'inhabit_inhibit,' captured during a gripping live performance by EnsembleKollektiv Berlin, conducted by Max Murray at Ultraschall Berlin in 2023.

The second disc features Prins' provocative electric guitar concerto, 'under_current,' performed by the formidable Yaron Deutsch on electric guitar and the dream-team of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Ilan Volkov. In this expansive sonic landscape, ranging from delicate flageolet whispers to ear-splitting outbursts-the orchestra functions as an acoustic meta-amplifier for the electric guitar, enhanced by a range of effect pedals.

The album concludes with 'Mesh,' for five instruments, feedback, electronics, and field recordings, in which the traditional boundaries between human, technology, and nature are completely deconstructed. In their place, Prins creates a world where unexpected sonic connections emerge and dissolve, like acoustic mirages. The Belgian Nadar Ensemble, which Prins co-directs, once again demonstrates why it is such a sought-after ensemble on the international concert stage, and one of Prins' principal musical ambassadors.

Additionally, this release includes an exclusive, insightful text on these compositions by music journalist, researcher, and novelist Joep Christenhusz.

This release is a co-production with Deutschlandfunk Kultur and BBC Radio 3 and was made possible by the generous support of the Flemish Community (Flanders State of the Art), the Nadar Ensemble, Ensemble Mosaik, and EnsembleKollektiv Berlin, along with all the musicians involved.

World premiere recording of Inhibition Space #2 for bass clarinet and live-electronics, by Dries Tack, who commissioned the piece and to whom it was dedicated.

Commissioned by, dedicated to & recorded by Decoder Ensemble 

Live recording by the Polish Classical Radio of Piano Hero #3 at Warsaw Autumn Festival 2018, performed by Stephane Ginsburgh (piano), Wannes Gonnissen (sound) & Stefan Prins (live-electronics). 

DVD: brand-new video recordings by Kobe Wens with Nadar Ensemble, Klangforum Wien+Bas Wiegers & Stephane Ginsburgh of Generation Kill, Mirror Box Extensions, Third Space and Piano Hero #1-4) [200 mins]

CD: Not I (2018 revised version) by Yaron Deutsch and myself, Third Space (Klangforum Wien & Bas Wiegers) and Infiltrationen 3.0 by Nadar Ensemble, Johannes Westendorp, Kris Delacourt and myself [80 mins]

Brand new studio recordings by Nikel Ensemble, for whom these pieces were composed originally. 

Clouds are generally amorphous.
A cloud can assume virtually any shape to someone looking at the skies with a bit of fantasy.
Cloud Chamber: a little cloud of chamber music for those open to listening with a bit of fantasy.

Peter Jacquemyn - October 2016

According to particle physics, a cloud chamber is a container made of supersaturated water or alcohol. When an otherwise imperceptible charged particle passes through it, a trace is left specific to that particle's shape. If a uniform magnetic field is applied across the chamber, the differently charged particles curve in opposite directions, creating elaborate traces.
In essence, improvising is like creating a cloud chamber. Inside the container of a performance, the unheard is made audible and energy is transformed into a network of traces and trajectories. Peter's double bass and my electronics act as a constantly changing magnetic field that curves these particles into different densities, constellations and forms. They appear for a fraction of an instance and then evaporate until the next particle makes its entry.

Stefan Prins - October 2016 

by collectief reFLEXible (Joachim Devillé, trumpet & flugelhorn; Thomas Olbrechts, alto saxophone; Stefan Prins, live-electronics)