Julian Sartorius

Julian Sartorius shapes sounds into previously unseen forms. As a drummer, percussionist and sound artist, he explores precise, multi-layered rhythmic patterns and excavates hidden tones from found objects and prepared instruments, bridging organic timbres with the vocabulary of experimental electronic music. Trained at the jazz schools in Bern and Lucerne, studying with instrumentalists such as Fabian Kuratli, Pierre Favre and Norbert Pfammatter, Sartorius developed a distinctly singular approach early on. Fascinated by fine-scaled variation, tension and release, and the interplay of mass and vibrancy, he realizes ambitious projects across formats: solo albums, audiovisual artworks, collaborations with musicians, writers and visual artists, and live performances in intimate venues and at festivals worldwide. Notable projects include the 12-LP box set Beat Diary (Everest Records, 2012) — 365 beat tracks accompanied by a photo book — the ongoing 8-second loop series Morphblog (since 2013), and Depot, an audiovisual installation for 16 loudspeakers and 16 screens shown at Kunstmuseum Thun. For the album Hidden Tracks: Basel – Genève (Everest Records, 2017), Sartorius hiked more than 200 km with drumsticks and recording gear, capturing an array of sounds and textures from objects encountered along the way. Other releases include the concept album Locked Grooves and the percussion-ensemble work RLLRLRLLRRLRLRLRLLRLRLR, conceived for ET|ET. Sartorius has collaborated with many acclaimed musicians — including Matthew Herbert, Sophie Hunger, Sylvie Courvoisier, Gyða Valtýsdóttir and Shahzad Ismaily — and his distinctive percussion can be heard on records by Kae Tempest and Jameszoo. He has toured and performed across North and South America, Asia and Europe, sharing bills with artists such as Marc Ribot, Deerhoof, Faust, Jaki Liebezeit and Arto Lindsay.

Bern, Switzerland