Phil Minton / Kriton Beyer at Improtest

The MINTON-BEYER DUO seems like a study of the phenomenon of the voice with two different instruments: the human voice and the daxophone.

Phil Minton, perhaps the best-known vocal artist in free improvisation, is known for his remarkable extended vocal techniques that span the entire spectrum of human expression: from simple breathing, to murmurs, grumbling and whispering, to whistling, burping and rattling, screaming and moaning, from shrill highs to rumbling lows, all part of his vocabulary. And all his vocal abilities are always paired with an extraordinary, unique presence and an absolutely unfiltered expression.

Kriton Beyer in turn, uses his still quite obscure instrument, the daxophone, in an extremely voice-like way, often imitating human and animal sounds and speech patterns that seem to have been built into the nature and character of the instrument. Compared to other instruments, it seems to be very easy to imitate animal sounds and voices, from bird song to grunting, roaring, cawing, croaking, chattering, cooing and chirping of various animal species on the daxophone. All of this has been well researched and practically tested by Kriton Beyer in cross-species communication with his daxophone as an instrument and is also audibly processed in the musical dialogue in the work in this duo.