Bendik Giske’s adventurous music demonstrates how much potential a stripped back approach can have if you push hard enough against the limitations. In this episode of Doing Music, the celebrated Norwegian saxophonist talks to Craig Schuftan about his extended technique and the power of a minimalist method for music-making. As his performances and studio recordings prove, Bendik’s focus is on repetition as a route to deeper truths, but the conversation reveals that his exacting style also draws on mistakes as an essential creative tool, and the revelation that if you play a synth riff by The Prodigy a million times, it becomes your own.

Explore further:

Helen Thorington — The Noise of the Needle

Beatrice Dillon

Kodwo Eshun — More Brilliant Than The Sun: Adventures In Sonic Fiction

Jean Cocteau

Gertrude Stein — Portraits and Repetition

Jack Halberstam — The Queer Art of Failure

Keep up with Bendik Giske on Instagram and via his website — and check out his self-titled album Bendik Giske.Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com

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