Incredibly versatile Julian Sartorius often plays improvised music and jazz, but it would be a big mistake to label him as a jazz drummer. Although he has collaborated with pianists such as Sylvie Courvoiser and Colin Vallon, and he understands the swing and communication between the musicians in the band deeply, his playing is something more.

From the beginning of his career, Sartorius has followed his own interests, refusing to subordinate his style to a specific genre and rejecting any stylistic hierarchy. Ever since he became an integral part of the Swiss improvised music scene, he has persistently developed his solo practice and made new international contacts. There is no context in which Sartorius would not find himself musically. He has played pop with Electric Blanket, hip-hop with Big Zis, experimental music with Rhys Chatham, electronic music with Matthew Herbert, sophisticated pop with Johanna Borchert, contemporary music with Gyða Valtýsdottir, and electro-soul with Jameszoo. This diversity results from his flexibility. Sartorius is constantly invited to projects across genres, and each project benefits from his presence.

During this year’s Jazztopad, the artist appear solo. Sartorius has been developing solo practice for over a decade and puts a lot of energy into creating music on drums using all kinds of unconventional tools. In a 2019 article in the British magazine The Wire, Clive Bell, characterizing the album recorded by Sartorius and drummer Valentina Magaletti, wrote: “Sartorius brought a sack of knick-knacks that he scattered on the floor of [Malcolm's producer] Catto. ‘I have a lot of special tools, some I made myself, others I found at the markets. These are things that are not for playing, such as small metal objects or acoustic boxes that are created when you turn parts of the xylophone back to front. We decided on one seat for the percussion and one for the drum kit. And then we swapped roles, so we never had two people on a set or two on other percussion instruments. And these were laid out on the floor, not on the table or on the suspension.’” Sartorius doesn’t like to repeat himself, so you can be sure that it will be a one-of-a-kind concert.