ZSAMM (SLO/A)
maja osojnik – vocals, live sampling, dj-cd player and other lo-fi electronics
patrick wurzwallner – drums
christina bauer – sound engineering

Slovenian electronic musician and vocalist Maja Osojnik and Austrian drummer Patrick Wurzwallner, aka ZSAMM perform Let Them Grow (named after her recent solo-album), a performance, that has a quite temperament and temperature. Osojnik / Wurzwallner enter darker and more violent realms at times sounding like a grunting and howling wolf pack, like fluttering bats in the dark, like a squealing sawmill or like a kind of distorted version of The Doors’ Break On Through (to the other side) finally ending in a vocal Reiβwolf. In a highly energetic set she navigates through electronic fields, radically morphing her often lo-fi electronic sounds to even the amorphous. Osojnik does not hide in violent electronics. Rather the ferocious electronics trigger the expressiveness of her angry voice. She acts as a nimble master/mistress of the switching button board, the mike and the voice in her hands. It reveales as a powerful as well as enigmatic performance that arouses curiosity. (written by Henning Bolte for Londonjazznews)

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Elevate Festival Graz 2017, photos by clara wildberger

Wien Modern Festival Vienna 2015, photos by markus sepperer


Klingt.Org Festival Vienna 2016, photos by rania moslam

Moers Festival 2016, photos by elisa essex

Open Air Ottensheim Austria 2016, photos by Benjamin Wahl & Maria Linecker

A quirky combination, vocals , electronics and acoustic drums, a surprising work with enormous pit in it. But also serene moments with sound bowls on the drums, which sound playful together with vibrating and interfering tones Osojnik conjures from her extensive gaming table, where a simple tuning fork complements the electronics. It can not be summarized in a booth and it fascinates from the first to the last tone. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, google translation, writteninmusic.com

From the brooding atmosphere conjured from electronic drone and Maja Osojnik’s doomy vocals, the signs were that this would be no ordinary gig. Standing behind a table laden with electronica and dripping with wires, Osojnik’s conducted live sampling, dj-cd jiggery pokery and found-object sound sculpting, while vocally, she oscillated between baritone growl and tenor flight. Drummer Patrick Wurzwallner slipped in and out of the mix, bringing dynamic rhythmic impulse and whiplash percussive accents, while sound engineer Christina Bauer’s exerted significant influence. Electronic static bled from one sonic wave into the next, although it was a strain to understand the lyrics, even though Osojnik sang—and on occasion roared—in English. Dark and introspective at one extreme, thrashing and punkish at the other, what began as a slightly disorienting, not to say jarring sonic experience gradually exerted a strangely hypnotic quality, with the sonic middle ground exerting, arguably, the greatest pull. Rhythmic, vocal and electronic mantras were woven throughout the performance, while sci-fi abstraction dovetailed with foregrounded drone in an all-enveloping sonic whirlwind. Improvisation felt like a significant part of the duo’s equation, while the pockets of melody—organ-like motifs as well as quite lyrical vocal passages and layered harmonies—were rationed amid the maelstrom for maximum effect. A delightfully delicate, choral-like mantra, with gentling rippling chimes, closed out a memorable performance. During the concert, the sight of Osojnik hitting her head with a tuning fork to keep herself on the harmonic straight and narrow served as a metaphor for this very singular musical proposal—unorthodox, stylistically bold and impossible to remain indifferent to. ZSAMM @ JAZZCONFERENCE LJUBLJANA, SLO, by Ian Patterson for www.allaboutjazz.com/

Dans la très belle salle du CD Club, au sixième étage du Cankarjev Dom qui surplombe Ljubljana, se sont succédé sept concerts sur deux soirées. Parmi ceux-là, le duo Zsamm, composé de Maja Osojnik (voix, samples, DJ et autres effets électroniques) et de Patrick Wurzwallner (batterie) est venu électriser la salle avec l’œuvre Let Them Grow, faisant vibrer les murs en jouant sur une palette de fréquences qui ont littéralement traversé le public. Une douche sonore qui n’a laissé personne indifférent, et dont la précision millimétrée fut impressionnante. Il faut prendre le temps de se pencher sur le travail de Maja Osojnik, une artiste passionnée dont l’œuvre musicale et graphique revêt des aspects divers. ZSAMM @ LJUBLJANA 2017, by Raphaël Benoit for www.citizenjazz.com

Následovali Zsamm s nádherným hlasem Maji Osojnik, kteří publikum doslova zhypnotizovali. Výživný večer. ZSAMM @ HEARME! FESTIVAL PRAGUE 2017, Anna Bastyrova for fullmoonzine.cz

Moers festival as a music festival bears a strong personal signature of its artistic director Reiner Michalke (links to reports on his earlier editions are below). The festival is accustomed to making clear, forward-looking and eclectic choices which are full of contrasts. There was a strong component of vocalists including singer songwriters: Hildur Gudnadottir, Stian Westerhus, Sam Amidon, Maja Osojnik, Arve Henriksen, Natalie Sandtorv, Carla Kihlstedt, Becca Stevens, Jacob Collier, Cassandra Wilson. There was also a strong electronica presence: The Liz, Stian Westerhus, Warped Dreamer, Maja Osojnik, Hildur Gudnadottir). Stark Contrasts: Warped Dreamer, Maja Osojnik/Patrick Wurzwallner, Amok Amor, Stian Westerhus, Schnellertollermeier
As a sharply contrasting element Slovenian electronic musician and vocalist Maja Osojnik and Austrian drummer Patrick Wurzwallner performed right after the duo of Draksler/Santos Silva music that had a quite temperament and temperature. With the performance entitled Let Them Grow (named after her recent solo-album). Osojnik/Wurzwallner entered darker and more violent realms at times sounding like a grunting and howling wolf pack, like fluttering bats in the dark, like a squealing sawmill or like a kind of distorted version of The Doors’ Break On Through (to the other side) finally ending in a vocal Reiβwolf. In a highly energetic set she navigated through electronic fields, radically morphing her often lo-fi electronic sounds to even the amorphous. Osojnik did not hide in violent electronics. Rather the ferocious electronics triggered the expressiveness of her angry voice. She acted as a nimble master/mistress of the switching button board, the mike and the voice in her hands. It revealed as a powerful as well as enigmatic performance that aroused curiosity. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, www.londonjazznews.com/

Am anderen Ende Maja Osojnik mit ihrem Projekt „Let Them Grow“, das mit extremen Klangexperimenten die Schmerzgrenzen für Ohren und Bauch des Publikums auslotete. In diese Kategorie fielen am Sonntag auch die Skandinavier „Warped Dreamer“, die sich zwischen säuselndem Folk, Krach und Videogames bewegten. Anstrengend, aber auch spannend. Solche Formationen haben ihren festen Platz in Moers und prägen es wesentlich. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, derwesten.de

Maja Osojnik, supported by drummer Patrick Wurz Wallner, brought with her electronic experiments even the Festival Hall to boom, to throb. The artist moved between old and new music and surprised with a voice that can be emotional and aggressive. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, rp-online.de

Man könnte bei der vokalen und instrumentalen Klangwelt der Slowenin Maja Osojnik Parallelen zu Edvard Munchs Gemälde „Der Schrei“ ziehen. Tatsächlich wirkte die verstörende Darbietung der heute in Wien Lebenden wie eine Antwort auf eine immer labyrinthischer werdende Welt. Im Zusammenwirken mit Elektronik und einem wütend drauflos trommelnden Schlagzeuger lebte hier eine Form von modernem Expressionismus.. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, nmz.de/online/

Featuring a kind of song escavacada with punk attitude, Maja declaimed / chanted on an electronic fund manipulated in real time, with an attentive and responsive battery to dialogue. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, jazz.pt

Das Moers-Festival 2016 gehörte den starken Frauen: Die Sängerin/Geigerin Carla Kihlstedt überzeugte in durch viel ruhige Ausstrahlung und intimes Songwriting und hatte gleich ein ganzes Streichorchester zur Unterstützung dabei. Maja Osojnik aus Slowenien verstörte – zusammen mit dem Schlagzeuger Patrick Wurzwallner – mit einer expressiven Performance zwischen dunkelstem Underground und harscher Urschrei-Ästhetik. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, nrwjazz.net

Personal and lived
With an ever more dropping melody phrase ‘You turn me down, I fall, I fall, I fall’ we then sank with the song ‘Authority’ in the world of a singer and electronica artist Maja Osojnik, who worked for this show with drummer Patrick Wurzwallner. This led to narrative and intense interactions between her singing anticipated noise cloaks and acoustic drums. A dynamic performance in which the intense, angry extremities of a song like ‘Condition I. nicely contrasted with the closing song’ A lullaby to an unborn child, a love song “in which lovely snowflakes fluttered down on the earth. ZSAMM at Moers Festival, 2016, http://www.gonzocircus.com/moersfestival20161/

Yet another concert has shown the right amount of musicality and great music performing. Maja Osojnik and Patrick Wurzwallner aka ZSAMM made us witness how much them as interpreters enjoy their musical communication and expression. Well balanced the whole of the album Let Them Grow, which they have presented to us at Showroom of Contemporary Sound festival, is carried by deep, velvet alt of Maja Osojnik. She is telling her life story through sound reminiscence and expressive dives in which she is helped by her own, well used electronic effects and accompanied by Wurzwallner on the drums. Melodically, Osojnik is close to soul, chanson and pop melody, although most impressive moments of the performance are the ones strong in expression, and in the sense of performance and technique far from known standard. ZSAMM at Showroom of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Nina Čalopek, kulturpunkt.hr

Zu Beginn klang’s hermetisch: Maja Osojnik und Patrick Wurzwallner bastelten sich einen imposanten Schutzwall aus herben Geräuschen. Dann die vokale Attacke: Aus abenteuerlichen Silbenrätseln wuchsen erkennbare Worte. Sie kreisten um die alte Bestie namens Liebe. Aus Angst vor dem Alleinsein taumeln die Protagonisten in Liebesfantasien: „I’ll become a frozen lake, so you can skate on me“, heißt es in „Tell Me“. Dieses Stück vom neuen Osojnik-Album „Let Them Grow“ sieht den Drang zur Bindung durchaus ironisch: Mit der spitzesten ihrer Stimmen erzählte Osojnik von der betäubenden Kraft der Liebe – und gefährdete auch die dicksten Trommelfelle. ZSAMM at Electric Spring Festival, Samir Köck, Subversion durch Subvention: Im Rausch der Elektronik, Die Presse, A

Danach servierten die slowenische Künstlerin Maja Osojnik und ihr kongenialer Partner am Schlagzeug, Patrick Wurzwallner, mit Musik zwischen Chanson, Ambient, Avantgarde und Noise durchaus schwere Kost für so einen lauen Sommerabend. Besinnliche Momente, immerzu gejagt von erbarmungslosen Ausbrüchen prägten das Klangbild. Ein stetiges Spiel mit Laut und Leise, das einen nicht so schnell zur Ruhe kommen lässt. ZSAMM at Ottensheim Open Air, subtext.at

(…) Für zwei Versionen hat Osojnik ihre aktuelle Arbeit Let them Grow arrangiert, für ihre sechsköpfige Band All.The.Terms.We.Are und eben für das Duo mit ihrem Partner Wurzwallner. Intensive LoFi-Elektronik, kluge, politische bis persönliche Texte, ruhig vorgetragen im dunklen Timbre, aber auch im Wut-Schrei- und dazu eine sensible Perkussion, die sich zur mächtigen Trommlerei auswachsen kann, growing eben. Und, nicht zu vergessen, in einem glasklaren Sound, selbst bei hundsgemeiner Lautstärke, fabriziert von Christina Bauer, die als drittes Bandmitglied nahmhaft gemacht wird. Große Klasse. Zsamm at Ottensheim Open Air, Andreas Fellinger, Freistil, A