Helen Papaioannou’s work draws from her varied experiences across electronic music, performing in bands, improvised musics, and experimental ensemble compositions. She is based in Leeds (UK).
Across her music, Helen’s style derives partly from a fascination with minimal sound palettes and evolving patterns, matched with an unrelenting intensity that spills out into music that is at once stark, visceral, playful, and precarious. She indiscriminately mixes a jigsaw of ideas and sounds from cultures of industrial, drone, electronic music, no wave and contemporary composition.
Kar Pouzi, Helen’s solo project, melds baritone saxophone & electronics into singular textures which move between heavy, fractured beats, ecstatic drones and minimalistic, incessant repetitions.
Helen’s ensemble compositions have often played with systems that intensify a focus on the interpersonal and social aspects of coordinating rhythmic actions or patterns. She explores this in various ways, from traditionally notated music revolving around hocketing, interlocking parts or persistent unison rhythms, to instructional text scores which focus on rules for patterns and systems of interactions in game-like scenarios.
Helen collaborates with various artists, from her audiovisual performances with Noriko Okaku, moving image scores, to improvisation with a range of musicians. Helen is currently part of an improvised electronics and percussion duo with Charlie Collins, focusing on very quiet sounds.
She has played as one half of the multi-instrumental duo Garlic Hug, and one third of the bands Beauty Pageant and HOKKETT.
You can watch a video interview piece by Helen here (contains flashing images).