Markus Trige Frandsen
Respira
Artist in Residence, April 2025
Respira is a sonic explorer of subtle and mystical realms. Over the past decade, his fascination with the transcendental nature of sound and music has led him to collaborate on a wide range of projects - merging new creative technologies with transformative practices. Hailing from Copenhagen, Respira has performed and produced music for multichannel installations and interdisciplinary performances alongside acclaimed artists and studios across the globe. Behind the project is composer and sound designer Markus Trige Frandsen. At the core of his solo work are fluid, organic ambient soundscapes - yet an unpredictable universe shaped by a curiosity for psychoacoustics and altered states of perception. In recent years, Respira’s output has increasingly focused on the interplay between the experimental and the conventional, blending elements of new age bliss with deep, textured drone music. Markus is also co-founder of the cultural community and label Nature Tales and developing vibrotactile sound installations as part of the cutting-edge Copenhagen-based project VibroAcoustics.
Journey in Form & Formlessness
The piece is anchored in deep low frequency drones and spatial resonance, composed of sound material from both synthesized and acoustic origin. Exploring the mind-body expansive effects of vibroacoustic and spatial sound technology, the composition draws inspiration from the travel of consciousness beyond the physical realm, during for example dreaming and death, as described in Tibetan buddhism. The experience unfolds as a passage between earthly presence and radiant, ethereal vastness where each of the 5 elements - earth, water, fire, air, and aether - are represented and dissolved within the soundscape. In this liminal space, delicate shifts in timbre and resonance become portals to altered states of consciousness, evoking sensations akin to hypnagogic dreaming. Meanwhile the physical grounding of the vibrations is intended to bypass the thinking and analytical mind and calming the nervous system, creating a deep sense of safety from where the listener can explore this inner void.